COMPARATIVE MORPHOLOGY OF THE ANAL TUBERCLE AND ASSOCIATED STRUCTURES OF SOME LAC INSECTS (HEMIPTERA: COCCOIDEA: KERRIIDAE)

Abstract

COMPARATIVE MORPHOLOGY OF THE ANAL TUBERCLE AND ASSOCIATED STRUCTURES OF SOME LAC INSECTS (HEMIPTERA: COCCOIDEA: KERRIIDAE)

Specimens of Austrotachardia acaciae (Maskell), Austrotachardia sp. ex Cassinia spp., Kerria lacca (Kerr) and Paratachardina decorella (Maskell) were examined under the scanning electron microscope (SEM). SEM images were compared with observations under the light microscope. The anal tubercles and associated structures of each species are described and compared. The presence of what appears to be vestiges of an anal cleft in Paratachardina is interpreted as suggesting the possible evolution of the lac insects from a lecanoid ancestor that possessed an anal cleft. The results provide an easier interpretation of these characters under the light microscope.

Key words: morphology, pre-anal plate, supra-anal plate, tubular plate, anal fringe, anal ring, anal collar, anal ring wax-pores, anal tube, perisetal micropores, homology, Coccidae, Pseudococcidae, Acacia, Callitris, Australia, Thailand.