Ortheziidae Amyot & Serville
Creators: name: Watson, Gillian W.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Ortheziidae

description: Family ORTHEZIIDAE Amyot & Serville
Common names: Ensign scales or ortheziids.
Background: The family Ortheziidae contains 24 genera and 214 species (García Morales et al. 2016). It occurs in all zoogeographical regions, but the greatest diversity occurs in the Neotropical and Nearctic regions, whereas far fewer species have been recorded from the Far East and Australia (Kozár 2004; García Morales et al. 2016). Most species have very localized distributions; very few are more widespread (García Morales et al. 2016).
Appearance in life: In life, some ensign scale species occur on leaf veins and twigs in association with sooty mould, where they are often quite conspicuous; however, many other species feed underground or in moss and are very difficult to find. The adult females secrete symmetrical wax plates on the dorsum and margin, and a long, often fluted ovisac that is attached to the posterior end of the body (not the host) and is carried about by the mobile female like a white flag (Fig. 23A). The legs and antennae are quite long and dark brown.
Identification: Ortheziids are covered by elaborate wax secretions whose distinctive shapes in life are used for identification; it is therefore recommended that specimens should be photographed in dorsal and side views before they are preserved in alcohol. The best specimens for slide-mounting for identification are young adult females quite soon after the final moult, before the body has developed large amounts of wax secretions. Adult female (Fig. 23) with antennae each tipped with a thick terminal seta; eyes each on a short stalk; with 2‒4 pairs of small abdominal spiracles; anal ring located on surface at apex of abdomen, containing pores and bearing setae; ventral ovisac band usually present, composed of spines and pores; and pores in derm mostly quadrilocular (Miller et al. 2014). Kozár and Miller (2000) used a numbering system for the wax plates on the body surface to facilitate species comparisons (e.g. Fig. 24).
Economic importance: A few species of ensign scale have extended their geographical distributions and can be pests, e.g., Insignorthezia insignis (Browne) on ornamental plants and fruit trees, and Praelongorthezia praelonga (Douglas) on citrus; both species occur in parts of Africa (García Morales et al. 2016). Honeydew eliminated by the insects causes development of sooty mould on plant surfaces near the infestation, and attendant ants may be present. Sooty mould makes foliage and produce unsightly, reducing their market value, and impairs photosynthesis, weakening the plant and reducing growth and productivity (Kondo et al. 2013).
Biology: Ortheziids occur on a wide range of host plants, from mosses and fungi to grasses, small herbaceous plants, woody shrubs and small trees (Kondo & Watson 2022 in press). There are 4 developmental instars in the female and probably 5 in the male (if present). It is not known whether the prepupa is mobile, as in most archaeococcoid groups, or sedentary as in neococcoid scales. As the eggs develop and hatch, first-instar nymphs escape from the ovisac through a gap at the distal end. In a greenhouse on Coleus, I. insignis reproduced parthenogenetically and completed its life cycle in 30 days; over a period of 24 days, each female produced 80‒102 nymphs (Shivakumar & Lakshmikantha 2001).
Checklist and distributions of Ortheziidae in continental Africa (8 genera, 35 species)
Subfamily Newsteadiinae
Newsteadia africana Miller & Kozár: Angola, South Africa
Newsteadia angustilinea Miller & Kozár: Tanzania
Newsteadia biracemus Miller & Kozár: South Africa
Newsteadia perpauca Miller & Kozár: Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Newsteadia scissa Miller & Kozár: Angola
Newsteadia southafricensis Miller & Kozár: South Africa
Newsteadia spiraculum Miller & Kozár: South Africa
Newsteadia turbinespina Miller & Kozár: Tanzania
Newsteadia wacri Strickland: Ghana
Subfamily Ortheziinae
Insignorthezia insignis (Browne): Algeria, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda
Praelongorthezia praelonga (Douglas): Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Gambia *
*New country record: GAMBIA, Dakar, on Bougainvillea sp., coll. R. Muniappan, 10.v.2013; on Citrus sp., coll. J. Faye, 6.viii.2013. Slide-mounted specimens are deposited in the California State Collection of Arthropods, Plant Pest Diagnostic Center, Meadowview Road, Sacramento, California 95832, U.S.A.
Subfamily Ortheziolinae
Matileortheziola angolaensis Kozár & Foldi: Angola
Matileortheziola lanceolata Kaydan, Konczné Benedicty & Szita: Kenya, Rwanda
Orthezia maroccana Kozár & Konczné Benedicty in Kozár (2004): Morocco
Orthezia urticae (Linnaeus): Algeria, Morocco
Ortheziola britannica Kozár & Miller: Algeria
Ortheziola szelenyii Kozár & Konczné Benedicty: Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia
Ortheziolacoccus angolaensis (Kozár & Konczné Benedicty): Angola
Ortheziolacoccus ankazobeensis (Mamet): South Africa
Ortheziolacoccus barrosmachadoi Kozár & Konczné Benedicty in Kozár: Angola
Ortheziolacoccus benedictyae (Kozár & Miller): Tanzania
Ortheziolacoccus demeteri (Kozár & Konczné Benedicty): Ethiopia
Ortheziolacoccus ethiopiensis (Kozár & Miller): Ethiopia
Ortheziolacoccus fercsii (Kozár & Miller): Tanzania
Ortheziolacoccus giliomeei (Kozár & Miller): Tanzania
Ortheziolacoccus jermyi (Kozár & Miller): South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda
Ortheziolacoccus mahunkai (Kozár & Miller): Democratic Republic of the Congo
Ortheziolacoccus matileferreroae (Kozár & Miller): Malawi, Tanzania
Ortheziolacoccus millari Kozár & Konczné Benedicty in Kozár: Tanzania
Ortheziolacoccus multisetosus Kozár & Konczné Benedicty in Kozár (2004): Gabon
Ortheziolacoccus nelliae (Kozár & Miller): Tanzania
Ortheziolacoccus saringeri (Kozár): Angola
Ortheziolacoccus williamsi (Kozár & Miller): Tanzania
Ortheziolamameti guineensis (Morrison): Ghana
Ortheziolamameti kosztarabi (Kozár & Miller): Angola
Key to genera of Ortheziidae in continental Africa, based on Kozár (2004).
1(0) Tibia and tarsus well separated. Antenna usually with 7 or 8 segments...................... (subfamily Ortheziinae)...2
- Tibia and tarsus fused or not clearly separated. Antenna with 3‒7 segments....................................... 4
2(1) Area enclosed by ovisac band with segmental transverse rows of spines.......................................... 3
- Area enclosed by ovisac band without segmental transverse rows of spines.............. Insignorthezia insignis (Fig. 23)
3(2) Dorsum of head with sclerotized plates....................................... Praelongorthezia praelonga (Fig. 25)
- Dorsum of head membranous, without dorsal sclerotized plates.................................. Orthezia (Fig. 26)
4(1) Antennal segments I and II long and cylindrical. Base of antenna separate from eye sclerotization. Antenna usually with 6 or 7 segments (occasionally fewer)...................................(subfamily Newsteadiinae) ... Newsteadia (Fig. 24)
- Antennal segments I and II short and wide. Base of antenna fused with eye sclerotization.Antenna usually with 3 or 4 segments only........................................................................ (subfamily Ortheziolinae)...5
5(4) In life, centre of dorsum with a series of at least 5 wax plates along mid-line................. Ortheziolamameti (Fig. 27)
- In life, centre of dorsum not divided into a series of plates along mid-line........................................ 6
6(5) Area enclosed by ovisac band with only 1 ventral transverse spine band........................... Ortheziola (Fig. 28)
- Area enclosed by ovisac band with 2 ventral transverse spine bands............................................. 7
7(6) In life, dorsal margin with only 1 narrow, compact wax plate band.......................... Matileortheziola (Fig. 29)
- In life, dorsal margin with 2 bands of wax plates....................................... Ortheziolacoccus (Fig. 30)
description: Published as part of Watson, Gillian W., 2022, Towards identification of the scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) of continental Africa: 2. Checklists and keys to six archaeococcoid families, pp. 301-356 in Zootaxa 5105 (3) on pages 338-341, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5105.3.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6332761