Fauna of New Zealand, No 51: Coccidae

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The soft scale family Coccidae is one of ten families of plant sucking scale insects present in New Zealand.

This Fauna describes all the known adult males, pupae and prepupae of indigenous soft scales of New Zealand. Forty-three species of indigenous soft scales are currently known from New Zealand and, of these, 21 prepupae, 27 pupae, and 31 adult males are described and illustrated in this volume. Introduced species are not covered. Keys to genera and species of each of these stages are provided as far as possible.

This is only the second study on adult males of any scale insect group for a complete geographic area and the first to include the pupae and prepupae. The likely importance of the structure of the latter two groups in helping to understand the relationships within the family Coccidae is not yet known but knowledge of the structure of the adult males is considered to be essential.

This paper should provide a strong basis for a later phylogenetic study of the New Zealand soft scales, which is planned once all the immature stages have been described. NB: The adult females were described and illustrated in Fauna of New Zealand Number 41.