Valid Names Results

Rhizoecus graminis (Hambleton, 1946) (Rhizoecidae: Rhizoecus)

Morrisonella graminis Hambleton 1946: 28. Type data: U.S.A.: California, Alameda County, Oakland, on Agrostis sp.. Holotype, female, Type depository: Washington: United States National Entomological Collection, U.S. National Museum of Natural History, District of Columbia, USA; accepted valid name Illustr.
Coccidella graminis (Hambleton, 1946); Hambleton 1946a: 177. change of combination
Rhizoecus graminis (Hambleton, 1946); Ferris 1953a: 446. change of combination
Rhizoecus perprocerus De Lotto 1961: 228. Type data: SOUTH AFRICA: Hexriver, on roots of unknown plant.. Holotype, female, Type depository: London: The Natural History Museum, England, UK; junior synonym (discovered by Cox1978, 634).
Rhizoecus graminis Ramos-Portilla 2014: 9. reestablished synonymy (unpublished)

Families: 2 | Genera: 4

Countries: 4

Systematics: Cox (1978: 634) synonymized Rhizoecus perprocerus De Lotto, 1961 with Rhizoecues graminis Hambleton, 1946. However, Kozár & Konczné Benedicty (2007) studied type material of both species and concluded that the above are two distinct species and re-established Rhizoecus perprocerus De Lotto, 1961. Upon further examination by Ramos-Portilla (2014), R. perprocerus was once more synonymized with R. graminis after reexamination of the morphology of the type material. After studying the variation in the number and distribution of rows of ventral tritubular ducts on the abdomen in a number of specimens, including type material of both species, it was found that this character state is variable and the shape of the genitalia in both species are very similar.
Biology: Living on the roots of its host plants.
General Remarks: Description and illustration of adult female by Hambleton (1946, 1976), Ferris (1953a), McKenzie (1967), Cox (1978, 1987) and by Kozár & Konczné Benedicty (2007). Description and illustration of adult female by De Lotto (1961) and by Kozár & Konczné Benecicty (2007). Illustration and description of genetalia in Ramon-Portilla (2014).