Ceroplastes murrayi Froggatt 1919

Ceroplastes murrayi Froggatt, 1919

(Fig. 8)

Ceroplastes murrayi Froggatt, Martin & Lau, 2011: 34.

Material examined. YUNNAN: 3 ♀♀, Puer, on Alstonia scholaris (Apocynaceae), 24.iv.2013, coll. Jun Deng, Xubo Wang & Xu Zhang; 3 ♀♀, Puer, on Alstonia scholaris, 22.viii.2013, coll. Shimin Wang; 5 ♀♀, Puer, on Artocarpus heterophyllus (Moraceae), 22.viii.2013, coll. Shimin Wang.

Distribution in China. Hong Kong (Martin & Lau 2011), Yunnan.

Host-plants. Alstonia scholaris (Apocynaceae), Artocarpus heterophyllus (Moraceae), Melicope pteleifolia (Rutaceae).

Biology. Adult females occur on the twigs of the host.

Remarks. Ceroplastes murrayi was identified by comparison with the description and illustration in Williams & Watson (1990). In China, the species is closest to C. magnificus, but in C. murrayi the anal process is long and slender, about one-half as long as the body, and stigmatic setae are of one type, bullet-like; whereas in C. magnificus the anal process is short, not more than one-third the length of the body, and the stigmatic setae are of two types, bullet-like and hemispherical. In addition, their wax covers differ, that of C. magnificus having semi-transparent wax and lacking lateral filamentous rays, whereas C. murrayi has no transparent milky white wet wax, and has 4 long lateral filaments.

The adult female wax cover of C. murrayi is very similar to that of C. feltyi Hodges (2002) from America, but C. murrayi has 7-segmented antennae, and 20–25 marginal setae between the stigmatic clefts on each side; whereas C. feltyi has 6-segmented antennae and only 3 or 4 marginal setae between the stigmatic clefts on each side.