Valid Names Results

Neochavesia podexuta Schneider & LaPolla, 2023 (Xenococcidae: Neochavesia)

Nomenclatural History

• Neochavesia undescribed Schneider, et al. 2022: 641–647. unavailable name that is placed
• Neochavesia podexuta Schneider & LaPolla 2023: 11. Type data: PERU: Madre de Dios, Las Cruces, Manu Paradise Lodge, from Acropyga manuense nest behind lodge, in soil around small rotting branches; (13.055°S, 71.544°W); 5/31/2019; by J.S. LaPolla and S.A. Schneider. Holotype, female, by original designation Type depository: Lima: Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru.; Washington: United States National Entomological Collection, U.S. National Museum of Natural History, District of Columbia, USA; accepted valid name Notes: Paratypes: Peru • 6 adult females; same data as holotype; USNM (nest ID PER01-01; preps S0400A,B,C,D,E,F) • 1 immature female; same data as holotype; USNM (nest ID PER01-02; prep S0401A). Illustr.

Common Names

Ecological Associates

Associates:

Families: 1 | Genera: 1

Geographic Distribution

Keys

• LaPollSc2023: pp.14 ( Adult (F) ) [species of Neochavesia]

Remarks

• Systematics: Neochavesia podexuta bears a distinctive bald patch on the dorsal anterior surface of abdominal segment VIII. On slide-mounted specimens, it often appears as though this segment, including the anal lobes, has become detached from the rest of the body although it is still intact. Adult females of Neochavesia podexuta are similar to N. cephalonodus, N. eversi, N. iwokramae, and N. lapollai in possessing antennae that articulate at the basal segment with a sclerotized prominence (forming a socket) on the head. They also lack a pair of setae on the middle labial segment, a characteristic shared among these species as well. The new species is most akin to N. eversi; the former can be distinguished from the latter by the bald patch on VIII and by their longer antennae. In N. podexuta, the body is about 2.0–2.5 times longer than the antennae with the second segment almost 300 μm long; whereas in N. eversi, the body is roughly 3.5 times the length of the antennae with the second segment only about 150 μm long. (LaPolla & Schneider, 2023)
• Structure: In life, body bright white to cream colored and free of wax. Mounted on microscope slide, body elongate-pyriform, 1.35–1.58 mm long, 0.55–0.73 mm wide at widest point; head and thorax dilated with widest point at metathorax and abdominal segment I. Abdomen constricted after segment III. (LaPolla & Schneider, 2023)
• Biology: Direct association between A. manuense and N. podexuta was confirmed by collecting ants and root mealybugs into a nest-box and observing interactions (Schneider et al. 2022)
• General Remarks: Detailed description and illustration in LaPolla & Schneider, 2023.

Illustrations

Citations