Descriptions of three economically important species of root-feeding mealybugs in Japan (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae)

Two new root-feeding species of the genus Rhizoecus from Japan are described and illustrated : R. theae, n. sp., collected from Thea sinensis in Shizuoka-ken is close to R. kondonis, from which it is distinguished by fewer ventral multilocular disc pores and by having only one circulus. R. hibisci, n. sp., collected from various potted ornamentals in Tokyo and from Hibiscus rosasinensis in Kagoshima-ken is allied to R. falcifer and R. nitidalis, but it is distinct in having bitubular pores instead of tritubular ones. Ferthermore, a redescription of R. kondonis, a pest of citrus in Japan, is given.