Live Appearance and Habitat
Female scale cover pyriform, white to creamy white, with golden brown terminal exuvia; when on underside of fronds of silver fern (Cyathea dealbata) the scale covers are more silver-grey and blend with the colour of the substrate; female body bright yellow, eggs pale yellow. Male scale covers are similar but smaller, not carinated. On underside of fronds of its fern host.
Diagnosis
Adult female, measurements taken from 30 specimens. Body oval to fusiform, length 0.56–1.25 mm, width 0.34–0.67 mm, widest at about abdomen I, lateral abdominal lobes weakly developed; pygidium shape oval, median deeply notched. L1 yoked, free margin always dentate, median cleft usually wide, sometimes more narrow; with a pair of setae in medial space; L2 bilobed, rounded, the medial lobule with fine basal scleroses extending onto venter, the lateral lobule smallest, sometimes dentate or notched, L3 bilobed, rounded, or notched, lateral lobule sometimes a point, L4 a marginal serration. Pygidium gland spines long, pointed, 1 pair on each segment. Marginal macroducts barrel-shaped, 7 pairs, their openings oval and slightly asymmetric to margin. Submedian and submarginal pygidial dorsal ducts about same size as marginal macroducts, in 2–4 short rows of 1–4 ducts each side usually on segments IV–VI; prepygidial dorsal ducts small, about 1/2 size of pygidial macroducts, distributed mostly on dorsal submargins and occasionally present on ventral submargins. Anal opening round, about 12.5–17.5 µm, positioned 60–100 µm from posterior margin. Ventral ducts, microducts, and gland tubercles as for genus. Antenna with 1 long seta and usually 2 or more short stubs. Anterior spiracles each with a group of 7–22 trilocular pores; posterior spiracles each with 0–12 trilocular pores. Perivular pores in 5 distinctly well separated, often rounded groups, a total of 55–82 pores on each female. Vulva positioned beneath level of anal opening.
