Valid Names Results

Octococcus africanus (Brain, 1915) (Pseudococcidae: Octococcus)

Nomenclatural History

• Puto africanus Brain 1915: 151. Type data: SOUTH AFRICA: Cape Town, on Tamarix articulata. Syntypes, female, by original designation Type depository: Pretoria: South African National Collection of Insects, South Africa; Washington: United States National Entomological Collection, U.S. National Museum of Natural History, District of Columbia, USA; accepted valid name Notes: Miller & Giliomee, 2016, selected as lectotype an adult female mounted on a slide with one other adult female (specimen nearest slide label is the lectotype) that was labelled as ‘Paratypes’ by Brain. Left label ‘Puto africanus Brain/ on Tamarix articulata/ Vahl./ Cape Town./ Jan. 1898./ -Paratype-’. A ‘Lectotype’ label has been placed on the slide, which is deposited in SANC. Illustr.
• Octococcus africanus (Brain, 1915); Hall 1939: 93. change of combination
• Octococcus africanus; Afifi 1968: 151. misidentification Notes: Males described by Afifi are representatives of Octococcus minor.
• Octococcus africanus; Hardy, et al. 2008: 57. misidentification Notes: Hardy et al. accepted the incorrect determination of the adult male of Afifi (1968) and used the characteristics of the adult male of Octococcus minor in their character matrix

Common Names

Ecological Associates

Hosts:

Families: 2 | Genera: 3

Geographic Distribution

Keys

• Hodgso2020: pp.32-34 ( Adult (M) ) [higher groups of Pseudococcidae]
• MillerGi2016: pp.140 ( Adult (F) ) [Key to species of Octococcus]
• MillerGi2016: pp.140 ( First instar ) [Key to species of Octococcus]
• DeLott1977: pp.30 ( Adult (F) ) [South Africa]

Remarks

• Systematics: Octococcus africanus is quite variable; at one point Miller & Giliomee, 2016, hypothesised that it included two species, but they were unable to find characters that would consistently separate the species. Two populations (De Doorns and Kamiesberg) usually have small anterior ostioles and two clubbed tarsal digitules on the front legs, but a few specimens from the same collections lack the anterior ostioles and have one clubbed digitule on each front tarsus. There also is considerable variation in the distribution of the discoidal pores. Some specimens have only one or two such pores that generally are located on the posterior abdominal segments, whereas others have them scattered as far forward as the prothorax. This species is most similar to Octococcus barbarae and O. minor by possessing dorsal lanceolate setae on the posterior abdominal segments. Octococcus barbarae differs (character states in brackets are those of O. africanus) by having dorsal multilocular pores present (absent) and by possessing more than three conical setae in the anal-lobe cerarius (two or three in O. africanus). Octococcus minor difers by having dorsal multilocular pores present (absent) and by having the large-sized dorsal oral-rim tubular ducts in small numbers, generally restricted to a medial and two lateral longitudinal lines on the abdomen (large-sized dorsal oral-rim tubular ducts numerous, forming transverse rows across the abdominal segments, not restricted to medial and lateral areas).
• Structure: From Brain (1915) ‘Adult 9 enclosed in a dense felted or papery sac, which is generally white or yellowish in colour. Many of the sacs, in the dry material at hand, are broken at one end, and appear as white caps attached to the stems of the host-plant. The sacs, when not deformed by massing together, are regularly elongate oval about 2mm long and 1.2mm in diameter. The large number of small slender sacs beneath the larger ones suggests that either the younger female form inhabits a sac, or that large numbers of males are produced.’ Brain also indicated that the adult female turns deep black then dark green in NaOH. (Miller & Giliomee, 2016)
• Biology: The host plant of the type series Tamarix articulata most likely is a misidentification of E. rhinocerotis which is superficially similar in appearance. Specimens of O. africanus have been collected numerous times on plants in Elytropappus or in Stoebe (both Asteraceae) but only once on ‘Tamarix.’(Tamaricaceae), which is not native in the region where the holotype was collected. (Miller & Giliomee, 2016)
• General Remarks: Good description and illustration of the adult female given by De Lotto (1958a, 1977). Description and illustration of the adult male given by Afifi (1968) is a description of a male of Octococcus minor.(Miller & Giliomee, 2016) Descriptions and illustrations of second-instar female and first instar nymph in Miller & Giliomee, 2016)

Illustrations

Citations