Redescriptions of five of Takahashi's soft scale species (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae) with comments on their status and relationships.

This paper redescribes and illustrates five currently poorly known species of soft scale insect (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae) originally described by Ryoichi Takahashi, namely Coccus lumpurensis Takahashi, Maacoccus scolopiae (Takahashi), Membranaria sacchari (Takahashi), Platylecanium cyperi Takahashi and P. mesuae Takahashi. Lectotypes are designated for C. lumpurensis, P. cyperi and P. mesuae. Two of these species are known only from Taiwan, and three from Malaysia. Their status and relationships are discussed. A key to the species of Maacoccus is included.

A new genus and species of soft scale insect (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae) on Ficus sp. from Côte d'Ivoire.

During a brief visit to the West African Rice Development Association (WARDA) in Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire, several samples of scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) were collected. Amongst these was an undescribed genus and species of soft scale (Coccidae: Coccinae), Bandamacoccus labiosus Hodgson (gen. nov. and sp. nov.). The adult female and second-instar male nymph are described below. A striking feature of both stages is the large size of the labium, which is wider than the clypeolabral shield, whilst the second-instar male also has a prominent inner submarginal band of ventral microducts.

The genera Coccus and Prococcus (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae) in China, with two new combinations and descriptions of two new species.

The Chinese soft scale species in the genus Coccus Linnaeus, 1758 (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae) were studied. Coccus cambodiensis Takahashi and the Malaysian species C. cameronensis Takahashi are considered to be non-congeneric with Coccus hesperidum Linnaeus, 1758, the type species of Coccus, and are transferred to Prococcus Avasthi, 1993, as Prococcus cambodiensis (Takahashi, 1942), comb. n. and Prococcus cameronensis (Takahashi, 1952), comb. n. The generic diagnosis of Prococcus is revised. In the genus Coccus, two new species are described and illustrated based on adult females: Coccus nanningensis Cao Feng, sp. n. from Guangxi, China, on Ficus carica (Moraceae), and Coccus cephalotaxus Cao Feng, sp. n. from Shannxi, China, on Cephalotaxus sinensis (Taxaceae). Identification keys to separate adult females of Prococcus from Coccus, the 14 species of Coccus found in China, and all three species of Prococcus are provided.

Three new species of the genus Xenolecanium Takahasi (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae), with an updated generic diagnosis and key to species.

Among the scale insect slide mounts deposited in the Natural History Museum, London, U.K. are several that were originally collected by the late Ryoichi Takahashi. These include slides of three previously undescribed species of Xenolecanium (Coccidae: Coccomorpha), each given a manuscript name by Takahashi. These species are here formally described and illustrated: X. ryoichii Hodgson sp. nov., X. maritimum Hodgson sp. nov. and X. pendleburyi Hodgson sp. nov. A revised generic diagnosis and a key to the five species now known in Xenolecanium is included.

New genera, new species and new combinations for some African Coccomorpha (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha).

In the past, various authors have placed many species in genera that are now understood to be restricted to other regions of the world. Thus, in Africa, species of soft scale (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccomorpha: Coccidae) with this problem are those in Ceronema Maskell, a genus probably restricted to Australia; Ceroplastodes Cockerell, probably restricted to the New World; and Inglisia Maskell, which is restricted to New Zealand. The placement of these species is reviewed here. Four of the known Ceronema species are placed in three new monotypic genera, Neoceronema gen. nov., Illovococcus gen. nov. and Bugandacoccus gen. nov., as Neoceronema africanum (Macfie) comb. nov., N. brachystegiae (Hall) comb. nov., Illovococcus mobilis (Brain) comb. nov. and Bugandacoccus gowdeyi (Newstead) comb. nov.; Ceroplastodes ritchiei Laing and C. zavatarii Bellio are transferred to Drepanococcus Williams Watson, as D. ritchiei (Laing) comb. nov. and D. zavattarii (Bellio), comb. nov., and Inglisia grevilliae Hall, I. pluvialis Hodgson and I. theobromae Newstead are transferred to Cryptinglisia Cockerell as C. grevilliae (Hall) comb. nov., C. pluvialis (Hodgson) comb. nov. and C. theobromae (Newstead) comb. nov. Keys are provided to all Drepanococcus and Cryptinglisia species, and all the African species discussed are illustrated. In addition, another new genus of African Coccidae is described, Testudovestis gen. nov., to take a new species somewhat similar to Eucalymnatus Cockerell: T. africana spec. nov. In addition, a new species of Coccus L.: Coccus moorei, spec. nov., and a new species of mealybug (Heliococcus tinglei spec. nov., Pseudococcidae), are described, both from mainland Africa. The lecanodiaspid Lecanodiaspis zygophylli Hodgson is also recorded from Nigeria for the first time.

The Infraorder Coccomorpha (Insecta: Hemiptera).

The scale insects (infraorder Coccomorpha) are the most morphologically specialised members of the Hemiptera. They form a monophyletic group within the suborder Sternorrhyncha, having one-segmented tarsi and a single claw (all other hemipterans have a double claw). They show extreme sexual dimorphism: the more-or-less sessile adult females are wingless and larviform, whereas the motile adult males mostly are winged and lack mouthparts. Within the Coccomorpha, 54 families are currently recognised, of which 20 are known only from fossils and 34 are extant (García Morales et al. 2016).

A review of neococcid scale insects (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccomorpha) based on the morphology of the adult males.

The importance of adult male morphology in elucidating the phylogeny of scale insects (Coccomorpha) was first suggested by Balachowsky and Ferris in the late 1930s. However, the first extensive comparisons of adult male morphology were made by Jancke (1955) and Theron (1958), both of whom looked at the morphology of various groups of Coccomorpha. Theron's study, under the guidance of K.L. Boratynski, set a new standard for detail and accuracy (although he did not describe the setae). These studies were closely followed by Beardsley (1962), who described the adult males of 30 mealybug species from Hawaii, and then by three more of Boratynski's students who produced highly significant monographs on particular families, namely Ghauri (1962) who described 26 species of Diaspididae, Giliomee (1967a) who described 22 species of Coccidae and Afifi (1968) who described 17 species of Pseudococcidae and 7 species of Eriococcidae. Since then, the adult males of more than 300 neococcoid species have been described in considerable detail (Appendix A). Adult males of a further 48 species are described or redescribed and illustrated in this monograph (Acanthococcus adenostomae (Ehrhorn), Eriochiton armatus Brittin; Apiomorpha munita tereticornuta Gullan; A. ovicola (Froggatt); A. pharetrata (Schrader); A. rosaeformis (Froggatt); A. spinifer Froggatt; Dactylopius coccus (Costa); Callococcus leptospermi (Maskell);  Lachnodius ?eucalypti (Maskell); Tanyscelis verrucula (Froggatt); Beesonia dipterocarpi Green; Parastictococcus brachystegiae (Hall); P. hargreavesi (Vayssière); P. multispinosus (Newstead); Stictococcus intermedius Newstead; S. vayssierei Richard; Conchaspis angraeci Cockerell; C. capensis Linnaeus; C. socialis Green; C. vayssierei Mamet; Leucaspis gigas (Maskell); Labidaspis myersi (Green); Allokermes galliformis (Riley); Kermes shastensis Ehrhorn; Kermes sp.; Tachardina aurantiaca (Cockerell); Tachardiella sp.; Cerococcus artemisiae (Cockerell); Antecerococcus indicus (Maskell); A. ornatus (Green); Bambusaspis delicata (Green); B. longa (Green); Asterolecanium petrophilae (Fuller); Hsuia cheni Borchsenius; Aclerda arundinariae McConnell; A. distorta Green; A. tillandsiae Howell; A. tokionis Cockerell; Aclerda sp. A; Aclerda sp. B; Luzulaspis caricis (Ehrhorn); Akermes scrobiculatus (Maskell); A. pingue (Maskell); Cardiococcus major (Maskell); Ctenochiton serratus Green; C. eucalypti Maskell, and ?Pulvinaria dodonaeae Maskell). This paper summarises the data from all of these descriptions, and provides diagnoses for the adult male morphology for all of the neococcoid families and other taxa discussed here. Because our concept of the "Eriococcidae" remains uncertain, extra attention has been payed to the taxa considered to be most closely involved. At least 1 illustration is included of an adult male of each of the taxa (mainly families) discussed here. Identification keys are provided for most of the males described to-date.

Erratum: Addendum to Zootaxa 4612 (3): On some new and old soft scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae) from Africa, with description of a new Coccus species and introduction of a new genus by B. Lagowska and Chris J. Hodgson.

Due to an oversight, the depositories of the new species, Coccus giliomeei Lagowska Hodgson, and of the new material of Coccus rhodesiensis (Hall) collected in the Transvaal, South Africa, was omitted from the manuscript.  Both lots of slides will be deposited in SANC, The South African National Collection of Insects, Pretoria, South Africa.

On some new and old soft scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae) from Africa, with description of a new Coccus species and introduction of a new genus.

A new species of soft scale (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha; Cocccidae) from South Africa, Coccus giliomeei Lagowska Hodgson sp. n., collected on Gymnosporia buxifolia (L.) Szyszyl, is described and illustrated. Also, Coccus rhodesiensis (Hall) is recorded for the first time from South Africa and is redescribed and illustrated based on the adult females of the type series and fresh South African specimens. An updated key to the species of Coccus and similar species known from Africa is included. Based on this latter study, (i) Marsipococcus proteae (Brain) and M. durbanensis (Brain) are considered not to be congeneric with Marsipococcus marsupialis (Green), the type species of Marsipococcus Cockerell Bueker, and are placed in a new genus Proteacoccus Lagowska Hodgson, gen. n. with Lecanium proteae Brain as the type species; (ii) it is considered that Coccus asiaticus Lindinger is clearly not a junior synonym of Parasaissetia nigra (Nietner) and is accepted as a full species, rev. stat., and (iii) Neoplatylecanium adersi (Newstead) is considered to be non-conspecific with N. cinnamomi Takahashi, the type species of Neoplatylecanium Takahashi, and is transferred to Maacoccus Tao Wong, as Maacoccus adersi (Newstead), comb. n.

Assessing the ability of silage lactic acid bacteria to incorporate and transform inorganic selenium within laboratory scale silos.

Selenium (Se) is a non-metallic trace element essential for normal cellular function, which has been linked with reduced risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline and thyroid disease in humans. Se deficiency in livestock is associated with white muscle disease, retained placenta, ill-thrift and mastitis. Where Se status or bioavailability from the soil for plants is poor, livestock rely on supplemental Se in their diets predominantly as either sodium selenite (inorganic form) or selenised-yeast (organic form). As lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have been shown to incorporate Se as either organic or elemental (Nano-Se) there may be potential to use silage inoculant bacteria to improve the Se status of feed to provide the Se requirements of livestock. We screened twenty-seven LAB in MRS broth in the presence of sodium selenite for growth and uptake of Se as organic (selenocysteine and selenomethionine), inorganic (selenite and selenate) or/and Nano-Se, with the aim to identify potential candidates for a mini-silo study. Sodium selenite addition into the growth medium of LAB reduced growth rates but also resulted in the conversion of the inorganic sodium selenite into predominately Nano-Se and small quantities of organic-Se. Based on a rank analysis of growth and ability to take up (total Se content) and convert inorganic Se (Nano and organic Se content), three LAB were selected for further investigation as silage inoculants: L. brevis DSMZ (A), L. plantarum LF1 (B), and L. plantarum SSL MC15 (C). Each LAB was used as an inoculant within a grass mini-silo trial, either cultured in the presence of sodium selenite before inoculation or sodium selenite added to the inoculum at inoculation versus controls with no Se. The addition of sodium selenite either into the growth media of LAB or applied at inoculation of grass silage did not interfere with the ability of the LAB to act as a silage inoculant with no difference in silage fermentation characteristic between LAB with no Se added. The addition of sodium selenite either to the LAB growth medium or at inoculation resulted in the conversion of sodium selenite into Nano-Se and organic-Se (Nano-Se, ca. 103 higher than organic), as previously shown in the screening trial. There was no difference between the three LAB for incorporation of Se or in silage quality, indicating the potential to develop silage inoculants to increase the bioavailable form of Se (elemental and organic) to livestock through conversion of inorganic forms during ensiling.