Platylecanium faveolatum Hodgson, 2025

Hodgson, Chris, 2025, Revision of the soft scale genus Platylecanium (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae), with descriptions of eight new species, Zootaxa 5646 (2), pp. 151-198 : 171-174

Platylecanium faveolatum Hodgson , sp. nov.

Material examined

MALAYSIA: left label: Platylecanium / faveolatum / Hodgson / holotype ♀. Right label: Cameron Highlands / Road, Malaya / 25-iii.-1964 / on Castanopsis hullettii / S.W. Brown / Entomology / U.C. Davis Calif. / 508 (1/1 adf, fairly young; good) ( USNM)). Paratype slides: collection data as for holotype (2/2 adf, fairly heavily sclerotised) ( USNM).

Note. According to Kew Gardens (https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid;ipni. org:names:295369-1),

Castanopsis hullettii is a synonym of C. lucida (Nees) Soepadmo.

Unmounted material. Unrecorded.

Slide-mounted adult female ( Fig. 8 ). Body oval, quite broad and rounded at both ends, length 2.8‒2.9 mm, width 2.0‒ 2.5 mm; dorsum more-or-less symmetrical but venter clearly asymmetric; anal cleft about 1/8 th of body length.

Dorsum. Derm of holotype lightly sclerotised, with a fairly broad membranous margin; older specimens appearing uniformly sclerotised, but at high power, surface with a broad band of areolations present submarginally and most of derm with marking somewhat resembling a honeycomb; with slightly denser derm associated with anal plates, around each clear area, along margin (on older specimens) and around each eyespot. Each stigmatic cleft with a strongly sclerotised inner margin. Layout of reticulation plates not always clear but probably with 4 longitudinal bands on each side; with 13 marginal reticulation points on head between anterior stigmatic clefts and, on each side, 4 between stigmatic clefts and 13 on abdomen. Unsclerotised rays arising from each stigmatic cleft indistinct, only indicated by absence of dermal areolations, even on most mature specimens. Dorsal setae robust, each 8‒10 μm long, with a wide basal socket 5‒7 μm wide (socket clearly larger than that of a marginal seta), setae mostly distinctly curved and with a clearly capitate apex; none apparently located on a raised fleshy base; setae rather sparse within reticulation lines, most abundant near margins. Clear areas present as in diagnosis, each surrounded by a large group of preopercular pores, pores mostly each 3.5‒5.0 μm wide (distinctly larger than a dorsal simple pore) but a few as large as 6.0 μm wide; each with a distinct border and a few dark spots medially; distributed as follows: (anteriormost) CA 1, 17‒28; CA 2, 22‒33; CA 3, 21‒29; CA 4, 18‒25. Dorsal microducts each represented by a clear area in derm, each about 2 μm wide, present in a distinct reticulate pattern with dorsal setae. Anal plates each 149‒158 μm long and 128‒141 μm wide, only slightly longer than broad, with a blunt apex; each with 4 setae 8‒10 μm long, often on small ridges on each plate but otherwise as in diagnosis, although apical seta set back from apex; without pores medially; underside of each plate without a deep cleft about half-way along inner margin. With 1 pair of short fine setae on anterior margin of anogenital fold, 1 or 2 pairs of fine setae along each lateral margin, each 8‒10 μm long, plus 1 seta at posterior end of each apodeme (obscure on all specimens). Anal ring with 6 setae; anal tube about as long as anal plates; length of anal ring setae up to about 200 μm. Eyespots each oval, located on dorsum almost dorsad to scape; each lens about 20‒30 x 15‒22 μm.

Margin. Margin not crenulated. Marginal setae all quite long, usually slightly curved and finely spinose, each about 20‒27 μm long (clearly much longer than a dorsal seta), with apex pointed; each basal socket only slightly smaller than that of a dorsal seta (about 5.0 μm wide) and quite deep; setae slightly displaced onto dorsum, with mostly 2 setae (occasionally only 1) roughly associated with each marginal reticulation point, but also with fairly frequent setae between reticulation points; with about 29 marginal setae between anterior stigmatic clefts and, on each side, 7‒13 between stigmatic clefts and 23‒26 on abdominal margin. Stigmatic clefts not as deep as in some species, each with outer margins almost touching; inner part of cleft widening and becoming quite broad, with inner margin strongly sclerotised; with 3 long, narrow to stout, blunt stigmatic spines, median spine longest, 30‒42 μm long, extending out to margin, lateral spines each 16‒25 μm long. Outer margins of stigmatic clefts without marginal setae. Anal cleft with margins touching along entire length.

Venter. Multilocular disc-pores unusual, each small, mainly with 6‒8 loculi, present in segments VII and VI only, with 5‒9 on each side of VII and 7‒10 on each side of VI. Spiracular disc-pores, small and mostly with 5 loculi, present in a narrow band mainly 1 pore wide between each spiracle and margin, number of pores very variable, depending on asymmetry, with up to 25 pores per band on broad side and as few as perhaps 7 on narrow side. Ventral microducts minute, probably present throughout. Ventral setae: quite hard to see due to sclerotisation but pair of longer setae present medially in abdominal segment VII, each 25‒42 μm long, plus some much shorter setae across all abdominal segments, more anterior and lateral setae becoming shorter, each about 8 μm long. Antennae very reduced, with almost no indication of segmentation; setae only visible near apex, number reduced, possibly only 2 or 3 fleshy setae and 1 or 2 other setae; total antennal length 35‒45 μm. Clypeolabral shield about 120‒130 μm long. Spiracles small, width of each peritreme 35‒40 μm. Legs only visible on holotype specimen, represented by a short claw, with no digitules .

Comments. Adult female P. faveolatum sp. nov. is unique amongst known Platylecanium species in having only 6‒8 loculi in each multilocular disc-pore and in lacking a membranous ray extending medially from each stigmatic cleft. Other characters of note are: (i) the honeycomb appearance of the derm in mature specimens; (ii) the long marginal setae, much longer than dorsal setae; (iii) capitate dorsal setae; (iv) preopercular pores rather abundant and approximately equally frequently associated with all four clear areas; (v) a non-crenulated margin; (vi) anal plates only slightly longer than combined width and each with apical seta set back from apex; (vii) legs reduced to just claws, lacking digitules, and (viii) antennae with obscure segmentation and a reduced number of setae.

In having: (i) a body less than twice as long as broad; (ii) anal plates about as wide as their combined widths, and (iii) very reduced antennae, P. faveolatum is closest to non-asymmetric P. asymmetricum , P. mesuae and P. cribrigerum but differs from all of them in having: (i) multilocular disc-pores with only 6 or 7 loculi, (ii) quite large preopercular pores which are about equally frequently associated with all clear areas, and (iii) capitate dorsal setae. The other species have (i) multilocular disc-pores mostly with 10 loculi, (ii) rather small preopercular pores which are few or absent in association with anterior clear areas, and (iii) sharply pointed dorsal setae. Platylecanium faveolatum is currently known only from the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia, on Castanopsis lucida ( Fagaceae ).

Name derivation. The species name, faveolatum , refers to the honeycomb marking on the dorsum: it is derived from the Latin faveolatus, meaning “finely honeycombed”.

Figures

FIGURE 8. Platylecanium faveolatum Hodgson, sp. nov., adult female.