Genus: PSEUDOCOCCUS, Westwood.
Adult females covered with cottony secretion; stationary; antennæ of nine joints; anogenital ring conspicuous, with six hairs; upper digitules of the foot absent.
64. Pseudococcus asteliæ, Maskell.
N.Z. Trans., Vol. XVI., 1883, p. 139.
([Plate XVIII.], Fig. 2.)
Adult female about 1/10in. long, yellowish-brown, covered with a not very abundant white cotton; segmented; anal tubercles inconspicuous; anal ring with six hairs. Antennæ with nine joints, of which the third, fourth, and fifth are the longest; the second, sixth, and ninth a little shorter; the first, seventh, and eighth the shortest. The fourth, fifth, and sixth are the narrowest, the two ends of the antennæ being thicker than the middle. The eighth joint is a little expanded at the tip; and the ninth is fusiform, with a shallow depression at the extremity. All the joints have a few long hairs, and on the eighth is one a good deal stronger than the others. The legs have the tibiæ twice as long as the tarsus; the claw is slender, and has no tooth on the inner edge. There are only two digitules (the lower pair), which are long and fine. The trochanter bears one short bristle. The whole leg is slender and long. The eyes are tubercular and smooth, showing after maceration in potash a small dark terminal spot. The body is covered with a number of spinnerets of two kinds: those with simple concentric circles are the largest, and are found all over the integument; the others are multilocular, and are placed in groups at the edges of the segments and also in great numbers at the cephalic and abdominal extremities. Interspersed with these spinnerets are several hairs, mostly very short, but on the head are some pretty long. From the anal tubercles spring two strong setæ with tubercular bases, not very long. The mentum is dimerous, and bears a few hairs on the tip. In the groups of spinnerets at the edges of the segments are found a few small conical spines. The four spiracles are small and simple.
Adult male unknown.
Habitat—On Astelia sp., in forests, Hawke's Bay.
Allied to P. Mespili, Geoffroy; but differs in the antennæ, feet, and spinnerets.