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Aleurodaphis [Cerataphidini]Aleurodaphis aphids are rather small oval flat scale-like aphids. In apterous females the body is aleyrodiform (=whitefly larva shaped), and there are no frontal horns (cf. Cerataphis aphids, which have frontal horns). Wax glands are arranged along the crenulated (=rounded notches) margin of the body. The head and prothorax are fused, as are the meso- and metathorax (cf. Cerataphis aphids, which do not have a very clear division between the prothorax and mesothorax). Abdominal tergites I–VII are also fused, and only abdominal tergite VIII is free. The antennae are 4 or 5-segmented, with the primary rhinaria small and ciliated. Eyes are triommatidia. Dorsal hairs are fine and sparse. The rostrum reaches to between mid and hind coxae. The apical rostral segment is longer than the second hind tarsal segment. The legs are short, and first tarsal chaetotaxy (=bristle arrangement) is 2–4, 2–4, 2–4 (on the fore, mid, and hindlegs). The dorsoapical hairs on second hind tarsal segments have a funnel-shaped apex. The siphunculi are ring-shaped. The cauda is knobbed and anal plate bilobed. Alate viviparae have 5-segmented antennae with near ring-shaped secondary rhinaria. Eyes are normal. The first tarsal chaetotaxy is 4, 4, 4, but sometimes 3 or 2. The fore wings have the media once branched, the pterostigma extended, and the two cubital veins either fused or separated at the base. The hind wings have two oblique veins. There are eight known species of Aleurodaphis feeding on quite a wide range of host plants, including several genera in the Asteraceae, and single genera in the Balsaminaceae, Gramineae, Moraceae, Plantaginaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Styracaceae, Theaceae, Verbenaceae and Violaceae. Five Aleurodaphis species appear to have a monoecious and anholocyclic life cycle, and two species are known from galls on the leaves of the primary host plants, but their secondary hosts are unknown. Little is known about the remaining species. Aleurodaphis aphids are found in China, Japan, India and Indonesia. Aleurodaphis blumeae (Wax-crested purple scale aphid) East & Southeast AsiaAdult apterae of Aleurodaphis blumeae are pinkish-purple to red-black, with glassy, marginal rays of wax and distinctive white spinal wax markings (cf. Aleurodaphis asteris, which is black). The body of apterous females is aleyrodiform (=whitefly larva shaped), with no frontal horns, and with wax glands arranged along the crenulated (=notched) body margin. The head and prothorax are fused, as are the meso- and mesothorax, and abdominal tergites I-VII; only abdominal tergite VIII is free. The eyes are triommatidia. The rostrum is long, reaching to the third pair of coxae. The apical rostral segment (RIV+V) is slender and long, 4.0-5.67 times as long as its basal width (cf. Aleurodaphis asteris on Asteraceae, which has RIV+V stout and short, less than 3.30 times as long as its basal width). The dorsal hairs are fine and sparse. The first tarsal segments have 3 hairs (cf. Aleurodaphis asteris, which has first tarsal segments with 2 hairs). The dorso-apical hairs on the second hind tarsal segments have funnel-shaped apices. The siphunculi are reduced to very small pores. The cauda is knobbed, clearly constricted at the base, with some long hairs. The anal plate is deeply bilobed, with some strong spiny hairs. The body length of adult Aleurodaphis blumeae apterae is 0.9-1.4 mm.
First image above copyright Harum Koh; second image copyright Jiang & Qiao (2011); The alate vivipara of Aleurodaphis blumeae has 5-segmented antennae, and secondary rhinaria without cilia. The forewings have the media vein once branched, an extended pterostigma and the two cubital veins (Cu1a & Cu1b) fused or separated at base; the hind wings have two obliques. Aleurodaphis blumeae is monoecious anholocyclic on various Asteraceae including Aster, Blumea, Carpesium, Chrysanthemum, Cynoglossum, and Erechtites. They live in dense colonies on the stems, and undersides of young leaves, causing slight leaf-curl. Van der Goot (1917) describes first finding the species in 1917 thus: "I found this strange aphid species initially in September in the Tenegger mountains in extremely numerous colonies on the flower stalks and peduncles of a Blumea species. I could only observe unwinged ones, and the same was true when I visited in November of the same year. So at the beginning of the rainy season, I visited the same place again, and succeeded in finding just a few winged ones". Aleurodaphis blumeae is found in east and south-east Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Assam, Philippines, Java, Malaysia).
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