The scale insect genus Myrtaspis (Sternorrhyncha: Coccoidea: Diaspididae)

The genus Myrtaspis Takagi, 1999, is distinguished from Chionaspis in having the antennae in the first instar nymphs five-segmented and the antennal setae in the adult females tending to be outstandingly elongated. Fifteen species are treated and 11 of them, all from Malaysia (Malaya, Sarawak, and Sabah) and one of them also from Singapore, are formally named as new species. The known distribution range of the genus composed of them and three other species includes the Nilgiri Hills and Dehra Dun in India, the Terai lowland in Nepal, and two localities in southern China. Twelve species are known to be associated with plants of the family Myrtaceae mainly or exclusively. Two species described as members of Chionaspis from New Guinea may also belong to Myrtaspis. Four species have the trullae in the adult females varying in their own manners. These peculiar cases are interpreted to represent some stages in the emergence of polyphenism in association with feeding sites on the host plants