Charles, J.G., Froud, K.J., & Henderson, R.C. 2001 Morphological variation in the mealybugs Pseudococcus calceolariae and P. similans (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Pseudococcidae).. Entomologica 33(1999): 165.
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Notes: [Special Issue: Proceedings of the ISSIS VIII International Symposium on Scale Insect Studies held at Wye College (U.K.), Aug. 31st - Sept. 6th, 1998.] Abstract only. Examination of slide-mounted laboratory-reared daughters from isolines of Pseudococcus calceolariae (Maskell) and P. similans (Lidgett) mothers collected from two widely separated locations in the North Island of New Zealand has thrown doubt on the validity of the defining characters of the species. For P. similans, the number and position of oral rim tubular ducts varied widely and sometimes fell outside the defined species limits. In addition, the characteristic `stout abdominal setae' were lost in the F1 generation. The combinations of leg-length and number of oral rim tubular ducts which separate P. calceolariae (Maskell) from P. similans co-existed in cohorts of F1 sisters and both character-sets could be manipulated by changing the temperature at which the mealybugs developed. Mating studies are proposed to investigate whether the two species are valid, or whether they merely represent the phenotypic extremes of one widely polymorphic species.
