Corroborating molecular species discovery: Four new pine-feeding species of Chionaspis (Hemiptera, Diaspididae).

ABSTRACT: The genus Chionaspis (Hemiptera, Diaspididae) includes two North American species of armored scale insects feeding on Pinaceae: Chionaspis heterophyllae Cooley, and Chionaspis pinifoliae (Fitch). Despite the economic impact of conifer-feeding Chionaspis on horticulture, the species diversity in this group has only recently been systematically investigated using samples from across the group's geographic and host range. This paper provides morphological recognition characters for four new species that were recently hypothesized to exist on the basis of molecular evidence. The new species, here described, are Chionaspis brachycephalon Vea sp. n., Chionaspis caudata Vea sp. n., Chionaspis sonorae Vea sp. n. and Chionaspis torreyanae Vea sp. n.  One of the new species, Chionaspis caudata Vea,

SUBMITTER: Vea IM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3652468 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature