Drosicha turkestanica Archangelskaya

(Fig. 79, distribution map Fig. 90A)

Drosicha turkestanica Archangelskaya, 1931: 69 . Drosicha media Borchsenius, 1949a: 339 .

Field characteristics: Live adult female red to red-brown, 12‒15 mm long.

Microscopic diagnosis: Body of slide-mounted adult female oval, with flagellate setae densely crowded on both surfaces; dorsal setae short, those on venter of abdomen each 2 or 3 times longer than a dorsal seta. Antennae each with 8 or 9 segments, third and apical segments longest. Legs well developed, with setae not numerous; hind tibia and tarsus each with spines on inner margins. Margin of body covered with 1 or 2 rows of long setae and a dense band of short setae. Abdominal spiracles numbering 7 pairs. Cicatrices numbering 3, middle cicatrice largest. Anal opening simple, surrounded by setae and pores. Vulva surrounded by multilocular disc-pores, each with 2 central loculi and about 8‒14 peripheral loculi. Multilocular disc-pores each with 1 central and 4‒14 peripheral loculi, pores with 8‒14 peripheral loculi present around anal opening and vulva; multilocular disc-pores each with 2 or 3 central and 8‒14 peripheral loculi, rarely present on end of abdomen.

Distribution: Drosicha turkestanica is known from China (Liaoning, Xinjiang Uygur), Kazakhstan (Kzyl Orda Oblast), Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Iran (García Morales et al. 2016), where it was recorded from Khorasan -e Razavi province (Moghaddam 2009).

Host-plants: The scale is polyphagous; in Iran, it has been recorded on Fraxinus sp. ( Oleaceae) (Moghaddam 2009).

Economic importance: Drosicha turkestanica is of no economic importance in Iran.

Natural enemies: None recorded in Iran.