Editor: Dug Miller
Systematic Entomol. Lab.
Building 005, Room 137
10300 Baltimore Avenue
Plant Sciences Institute
Beltsville Agric. Res. Ctr.
Beltsville, MD 20705 USA
dmiller@sel.barc.usda.gov
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Volume
XXX December 30, 2006
ISSIS-XI
Manuela Branco,
Instituto Superior Agronomia, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa (ISA-INIA), Portugal: The XI ISSIS meeting will take place
in Oeiras, Portugal,
on September 24-27th, 2007.
It will be jointly organized and sponsored by ISA-UTL and EAN-INIA. Located
near the Atlantic Ocean, about 20 km from Lisbon,
Oeiras offers mild and pleasant weather throughout the year. In September you
can count on temperatures about 25ºC. During the meeting a field trip is
planned to Sintra, a UNESCO World Heritage Centre and there the possibility of
a post-meeting excursion (September 28-30th) to Portuguese historical villages
and natural parks. At present we have about 40 pre-registrations from many different
countries covering a large spectrum of topics, such as genetics, zoogeography,
population dynamics, biological control and host-insect interactions. There is
still time to submit proposals for contributing presentations. Updated
information is available on the web site http://www.isa.utl.pt/dppf/issis.
Further information on accommodations, registration fees, instructions for the
preparations of abstracts and excursions will be sent in the second circular
and updated on the webpage in January 2007."
HISTORY OF “THE SCALE”
Because the future of “The Scale” is not clear at this
time, I thought it might be of interest to give a brief description of its
development over the years. The first
issue came out in February 1973 and was called the “Coccidologist’s Newsletter.” The front page contained images of the cover
of a male soft scale, an adult male soft scale, a lac scale female in cross
section, 7 covers or pairs of covers of a diverse array of armored scales
including crawler covers, a crawler of an armored scale, a mystery crawler, an
adult female of Plotococcus eugeniae,
a male mealybug cocoon, a Eucalymnatus
soft scale, and an ortheziid (probably Insignorthezia
insignis). I suspect the cover was
made by John Davidson. 1973 was the only
year that there were 2 issues with number 2 issued in November of 1973; I guess
I realized that each edition would take more effort, and there was limited time
for such activities. The sequence of
volumes and dates went as follows: Volume
I, February 1973 and November 1973; Volume II December 1974; Volume III ? 1975
(don’t have a copy of this to confirm this date); Volume IV March 1976; Volume V
September 1979; Volume VI February 1980; Volume VII June 1981; Volume VIII May
1982; Volume IX ? 1983 (don’t have a copy of this to confirm this date); Volume
X December 1984; Volume XI December 1985; Volume XII December 1986; Volume XIII
December 1987; Volume XIV June 1989; Volume XV July 1990; Volume XVI September
1991; Volume XVII October 1992; Volume XVIII December 1993; Volume XIX December
1994; Volume XX February 1996; Volume XXI March 1997; Volume XXII March 1998; Volume
XXIII March 1999; Volume XXIV March 2000; Volume XXV March 2001; Volume XXVI
April 2002; Volume XXVII April 2003; Volume XXVIII December 2004; Volume XXIX
December 2005; Volume XXX December 2006.
The years 1977, 1978, 1988, and 1993 were missed. In 1983 there was an edict from the USDA’s Agricultural
Research Service Information Office that no “newsletters” were to be issued
without their approval. When I realized
that Information Office approval was unlikely I found a loop hole by changing
the title to “The Scale.” It no longer
qualified as a newsletter and was continued in a new form. John Davidson designed the new cover, this
time with a balance scale weighing an armored scale on one side and a soft
scale on the other. Interestingly the
weight of the two seems equal. The 1987
volume was mislabeled as XII; it should have been XIII. The first few volumes were produced with a
typewriter; I am not sure when the computer took over. The first online edition was produced in
1996. We still mail out hard copies for
those who want them, but for those who are able, we ask that they download a
copy from the SEL Coccoidea Web Page at http://www.sel.barc.usda.gov/Coccoidea/scaleframe.html.
NEWS
Evelyna Danzig, Zoological
Institute, St.
Petersburg, Russia. I am now retired,
but continue to work as before. I have finished a revision of the genus Heliococcus
Sulc of the former USSR. The manuscript contains a key and review of 27 species
that is a majority of species of the genus. Helioccocus shows a wide
diversity of morphological characters, but the presence of special crateriform
ducts and the consistency of other morphological characters suggest that it is
a natural group. Description of separate genera for certain species does not
seem correct. This revision is a continuation of the monographic work on
“Mealybugs of Russia and neighbouring territories”. For the last several years
Ilya Gavrilov helped me with this work including the revision of some difficult
groups. In 2006 the English translation of the second part of the Phenacoccus
revision was published; as usual it was in Entomol. Rev. This year the paper “A
new species of Greenisca from Russia” was also published. This summer I lived in the forest
near St. Petersburg. I was very surprised by the enormous proliferation of two
species of the genus Eriopeltis: E. stammeri Schm. and E.
lichtensteinii Sign. For many years I have visited these forests but for
the first time I see millions of females. Perhaps it is connected with the unusually
warm and dry summer.
Ilya Gavrilov, Zoological
Institute, St.
Petersburg, Russia. I have finished the
catalogue of chromosome numbers and genetic system of scale insects of the
world. It will be published soon in Israel Journal of Entomology. Also, I have
published some taxonomic and faunistic papers, mainly on mealybugs. In
particular, I have described a new genus Nudicauda Gavrilov, 2006 with
type species Ehrhornia nigra Matesova, 1957. The new genus
differs from other mealybugs by a combination of characters but primarily in
the presence of oral rim tubular ducts with a broad flat ring and in an unusual
ovisac that opens over the posterior tergites of the female body. Also, I have
finished a review of genus Mirococcopsis Borchsenius, 1948 and I shall
send it to press soon. These and some
other revisions will be parts of the monograph “Mealybugs of Russia and neighbouring
territories” that Evelyna Danzig and I are preparing. Beginning this year Evelyna Danzig and I will
supervise a postgraduate student Irina Trapeznikova, who will prepare a PhD
thesis: “Karyosystematics and reproductive biology of mealybugs.” Irina has
already mastered methods of morphological preparation of scale insects and
preparation of chromosomes.
Michelle Leddel, retired
Century High School, Alhambra, California, USA mleddel@earthlink.net. After 35 years of teaching at the secondary
and adult levels, I have left my classroom, however, my interest in the study of Dactylopius spp. (cochineal scale
insects) continues at a more global level.
The III International Congress on Cochineal and Other Natural
Colorants (Morelia, Michoacan,
Mexico: November, 2006),
provided two new opportunities. First, I gave a slide presentation on our
cochineal scale classroom lessons and community outreach. Secondly, I met with and sat in on workshops
and presentations by growers, artists, weavers and dyers, promoters,
scientists, and researchers that are working with the cochineal scale
insects. In this case, their work centered on the 'fine' Dactylopius coccus Costa, where as
in southern California and parts
of Arizona, I found only the
'wild' species. Earlier in the year I also gave slide presentations to
educators at the State Conference of the California Continuation Education
Association in Los Angeles, and the
Teacher Recognition Day at the California
48th District Agricultural Association in Pomona,
California. Needless to say, teachers
see the unique entomological opportunities available in the study of this
colorful scale insect. Participants at three California
teachers' agriculture conference/seminars also received our 8-page cochineal mini-book,
complete with student lessons and drawings of the insects. Brief
discussions at three cactus and succulent societies meetings/conference in Tucson
and Phoenix, Arizona,
further helped to educate cacti hobbyists about the cochineal host plant, Opuntia spp. Interpreters at Colonial
Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia,
continue to discuss and display the many uses of this scale insect colorant
during the 1700 and 1800's. On display at this 'living museum' are examples of
cochineal as it was used as a natural pink coloring in liquid medicines; pink
powder for wigs; food coloring in multi-colored gelatin recipes and sugar
coated almond deserts; and as a colorant for pink book covers, yarns, and
fabrics. The John D. Rockefeller. Jr. Library also has historical
resources, used not only by the interpreters, but the general public. Finally,
as "The Scale" goes to press, the Internet indicates another book
about the Dactylopius, however, I
have not found it in the U.S.
Look for "Cochineal Red: Travels Through Ancient Peru," by Hugh
Thomas (published July, 2006) in United
Kingdom.
Yair
Ben-Dov, Department of Entomology, Agricultural Research
Organization, Bet Dagan, Israel: On November 2006, we (Yair Ben-Dov and Douglass R. Miller)
completed the First Edition of ScaleNet. As of December all 27 families
of the Coccoidea, namely Aclerdidae, Asterolecaniidae, Beesoniidae,
Carayonemidae, Cerococcidae, Coccidae, Conchaspididae, Dactylopiidae,
Diaspididae, Electrococcidae, Eriococcidae, Grimaldiellidae, Halimococcidae,
Inkaidae, Jersicoccidae, Kermesidae, Kerriidae, Kukaspididae, Labiococcidae,
Lecanodiaspididae, Margarodidae, Micrococcidae, Ortheziidae, Phenacoleachiidae,
Phoenicococcidae, Pseudococcidae and Stictococcidae, are on-line in
ScaleNet. This is the appropriate time
to thank colleagues for their comments, notes and corrections. We very much
appreciate your feedback, as it contributes to the upgrade of ScaleNet, for the
benefit of all.The Catalogue of eight scale insect families ( Ben-Dov,
Y. 2006.
A systematic catalogue of eight Scale Insect Families (Hemiptera:
Coccoidea) of the world Aclerdidae, Asterolecaniidae, Beesoniidae,
Carayonemidae, Conchaspididae, Dactylopiidae, Kerriidae and Lecanodiaspididae.
Elsevier, Amsterdam. 368 pp.) was published in August 2006. The Catalogue is available
for purchase from the Publisher; Elsevier Ltd.
Additional information is available at Elsevier’s site:
In 2004 I initiated and placed
on the Internet the website Directory of Scale Insect Systematists Directory
of Scale Insects (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) Systematists URL: http://www.agri.gov.il/Publications/systematists.
Feedback from colleagues and users will be highly appreciated. If you discover
that a particular scale insect systematist is not included in the Directory, or
you have new information and corrections, please contact me by email During 2006 I
started to re-construct and re-activate the web-site Scale Insect Forum. Hopefully it will be placed
on the Internet at a new site in 2007. The new web-site will also include,
among various items, a Directory of Coccidologists, i.e. a list of
persons who are studying or are interested in any aspect of scale insects
studies, such as taxonomy, phylogeny, economic importance, fauna, molecular
biology, cytogenetics, life history, biological control, zoogeography, chemical
ecology, useful scale insects, and interrelationship with ants. The
entry of each person will provide his/her affiliation address, email address,
phone and fax numbers and areas of research or interest. I believe that such a
list will be very useful and helpful for scale insects students all over the
world. If you are interested in having
your name included in the Directory please contact me at . Please
forward information about Scale Insect Forum to any of colleagues, who
are involved in Scale Insect Studies.
Chris Hodgson, The National Museum of Wales, Wales, UK: This has been another busy year and most of
the projects which were underway at the time of writing last year have now
either been completed or are very close to completion: the revision of some Porphyrophora species from the Middle
East etc. with Hassan Vahedi should come out in Biological Systematics and Diversity fairly early in the New Year;
the “Review of the Margarodidae sensu
Morrison (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) and some
related taxa based on the morphology of the adult males”, co-authored with
Imre Foldi, was published in Zootaxa
in July; the morphology of all stages of Marchalina
hellenica was published in Zootaxa
earlier in the year, co-authored with Sophia Gounari; the check list of alian
insects on the Galapagos Islands and implications for conservation was
published in Conservation Biology and
Biodiversity (by C.A. Causton, S.B. Peck, B.J. Sinclair, L. Roque-Abelo,
CJH and B. Landry) in January; and
lastly, the paper on the systematic and biology of the eriococcid Calycicoccus merwie (by P.J. Gullan, JH
Giliomee, CJH and L.G. Cook) came out in African
Entomology. If readers want copies of these papers, please email me at hodgsoncj@cardiff.ac.uk. The revision of the margarodoid genus Stigmacoccus has been completed
(co-authored by Heather Gamper, Amauri Bogo and Gillian Watson) and will
hopefully be published in the coming year.
Also completed is a revision of the rhizoecine mealybugs based on adult
male morphology – which (I believe) suggests that this could be considered to
be a separate family from the Pseudococcidae – but this is not supported by
cladistic studies currently being undertaken in Davis (!!) and so I await the
outcome of their analysis, based mainly on DNA (but including my data on adult
males). The study of the margarodoid
genus Palaeococcus has come to a halt
as type specimens of the type species (P.
fuscipennis) cannot currently be located.
P. fuscipennis was apparently
originally described from deciduous trees, whereas all the material currently
available from the Mediterranean is off Pinus species. If any reader has seen material off a
deciduous tree (or can suggest where I might locate specimens) I would be most
grateful. The main emphasis in the New
Year will be a redescription of the type species of South American Eriococcidae
genera (senior author Dug Miller); completion of my part of the soft scales of
Australia (with Penny Gullan); and, hopefully, a start will be made on the
immature stages of New Zealand Coccidae (senior author Rosa Henderson). I also hope to complete a review of the
non-margarodoid families based on the morphology of the adult males, which is
fairly well advanced; and perhaps to produce a more definitive phylogeny of the
Coccoidea based mainly on adult male characters. A number of other small projects are also
underway and some may come to fruition in the coming year. As before, this comes with my very grateful
thanks to The National Museum of Wales for on-going support and
facilities. And I look forward to
meeting you all in Portugal
next autumn.
University of California, Davis, USA
Penny Gullan: The
Gullan scale lab had a very productive year in 2006. Demian Kondo (postdoc),
Cory Unruh and Nate Hardy (PhD students) have written their own news, which you
can be read below. Penny returned from her South African sabbatical in February
via short visits to Tasmania and
then New Zealand.
In Tasmania, she collected a few
scales, especially Nothofagus- and eucalypt-feeding ones, and in New
Zealand she visited Rosa Henderson at the
NZAC. Much of the rest of 2006 was spent teaching, but Penny had a very
enjoyable research month in the summer when Lyn Cook from Australia
visited for work on several collaborative projects, including on coccids with
Demian. Penny, Lyn and Nate are working
on Nothofagus eriococcids, and Penny
and Lyn have several other scale projects in various stages of completion. Doug Williams and Penny published a small
paper on Icerya imperatae, which is a
new pest of grasses in Palau.
Doug has been working hard to complete the drawings and descriptions of all
known Protortonia species and Penny
has been helping a little. Demian and Penny have been looking at Paratachardina lac insects in order to
identify a species that has become a pest in Florida
and elsewhere. As usual, this paper has grown and Demian has been kept busy
measuring specimens and sequencing lac DNA, in addition to his coccid DNA.
Penny's former Masters student, Janie Booth, has completed her dissertation on
the phylogeny of Matsucoccus (one
small paper is published so far) and will become a mother early in 2007. Bora
Kaydan, our good colleague from Turkey,
has been here since early August working with Penny on the systematics of Ferrisia mealybugs and learning
molecular techniques from Demian, Nate and Cory. There are several new Ferrisia species, and Bora has become an
expert at discerning small differences among species and illustrating the adult
females. He returns home before Christmas, but we'll see him at ISSIS in 2007.
Xie Yingping is planning a short visit to our lab in mid December (currently he
is working with Paris Lambdin for a 6-month sabbatical).
Demian Kondo: Although it is a well-deserved retirement, it is
sad news to hear that Dug Miller will leave the US Department of
Agriculture/Smithsonian. He has been so helpful to my research, and to many
others who engage in taxonomic studies of scale insects. Without his help, my
studies in the past 10 years would have been impossible to achieve. I take this
opportunity to thank him for his great achievements in the field of coccidology
and for all his patience and help. Thank you Dug. His retirement will be a
great loss in our field of scale insect studies, but I hope he will find time
to continue working on scale insects from time to time, perhaps as a hobby or a
pastime and continue to guide the next generation of coccidologists. As for
myself, I have had and still am having the best days of my life here at UC
Davis. Soon after graduating (actually a month before graduating) on April 2003
from Auburn University
under the supervision of Mike Williams, I came to the Penny Gullan and Peter
Cranston’s lab. Since then I have been able to dedicate full time on the
research of my favorite insects and have been able to publish on various scales
including part of my dissertation. I have learned a lot from Penny and Peter,
not only about taxonomy, but also about dedication and hard work. I thank them
for encouraging me to work on a molecular level phylogenetic study of the
family Coccidae, my favorite family of scale insects. I thank Mike Williams for
introducing me to the soft scale insects. With Lyn Cook we have been working on
coccid phylogeny for almost 3 years, and we are starting to produce some
results which we hope to publish before my post-doctoral contract expires in
September 2007. I have been working on several side projects including
revisions of a few genera of coccids and lac insects, and other small projects
which have become a hobby to me. This year has been a slow one for me in
respect to published papers. Dug keeps telling me to stop writing TPs
(pronounced “tee-pees” and meaning short papers; an abbreviation for “toilet
paper”), so I have decided to write longer papers this year. I have also been
working on a taxonomic revision of the lac insect genus Paratachardina, this has proven to be a real challenge, but one
which I’ve been enjoying. My 2 trips to Chile
in 2003 and 2006 have resulted in the description of two new interesting genera
and species of eriococcids, and I was also able to write a paper on a new
coccid genus from Africa which resulted from a trip to Ghana
in 2005.
Nate Hardy: I became
a doctoral candidate and a published author this year (in a Zootaxa paper with
Demian, Lyn, and Penny), describing and illustrating a new felt scale genus and
species from Chile.
I also had two additional papers accepted, one to the Australian Journal of
Entomology, describing a new genus and four new species of felt scale on Eucalyptus, and a second to Systematic
Entomology discussing the phylogenetic utility of two new nuclear protein-coding
loci for scale insect phylogenetics. I also submitted a short paper describing
a new species of Phacelococcus to The
Australian Entomologist. As mentioned above I have been working with Penny, Lyn
and Rosa Henderson on the Nothofagus
felt scale fauna, redefining the genus Madarococcus,
using a combination of morphological and molecular data, and describing a
number of new Australian species. Chris Hodgson, Nate and Penny are working
together on a subfamily level classification of the Pseudococcidae.
Cory Unruh: I
have been working hard this year to finish my PhD research on the systematics
of iceryine scale insects and expect to graduate in spring 2007. Penny and I produced a revision of the ground
pearl genus Heteromargarodes which
should be published in The Entomological Society of Washington in January,
2007. As for my dissertation research, I completed molecular labwork at the
beginning of the year and worked with Lyn Cook this summer sorting out the the
intricaces of iceryine molecular data. (Many, many thanks, again, to everyone
who provided fresh material for this study.) I am currently preparing the
results of my phylogenetic study for publication and a new classification of
the tribe. I am also revising the
iceryine species of the southwestern U.S.
and am working with the USDA to make available an interactive Lucid tool to the
species of the Iceryini. Demian Kondo and I are describing a new species of iceryine
from Colombia.
We were very lucky to secure a loan (with Penny and Demian's hard work and help from Peter
Cranston and Dug Miller) of type material for several Icerya species from the Museu Zoologio de Sao Paolo, Brazil.
This material was extremely useful to us in identifying a new pest (Icerya genistae Hempel) from Florida
and the Caribbean.
Imre Foldi, Museum national d’Histoire
naturelle, Paris. I am mainly working on the archaeococcoid
genera to provide an illustrated generic revision and an assessment of generic
relationships based on a phylogenetic analysis of the morphology of the adult females
and immature instars. In 2006, three
works were published, i.e., two new species of the archaeococcid genera Protortonia from Ecuador, described
females and males of the unusual genus Stigmacoccus
from Brazil, including the female, cyst, and first instar-nymph, and a joint
work consisting of 250 pages with Chris Hodgson on the morphology of the adult
males of Margarodidae sensu Morrison and related taxa. We published (Foldi
& Kozàr) two new mealybug species, Cataenococcus from Brazil and Puto from Venezuela, with data on other species of mealybugs collected on one of my
collecting trips in South America. Several projects are in
preparation or at an advanced stage that probably will be published in 2007 or
2008. The generic revision of the
Monophlebidae (44 genera) is progressing well and currently includes four new
species belonging to the genera Crypticerya
and Icerya. A taxonomic review of the Afrotropical genus Aspidoproctus has been initiated; the
type species of the genus, A. pertinax, and some other adult females,
males and first instar-nymphs will be described and illustrated. This is a fascinating group that includes
very large specimens, not only long but very wide and high. I have already received material from Berlin (except the Lindinger’s species which could not
be found in the museum fur naturkunde Humboldt-Universitat), from Pretoria, from London and we have in Paris Vayssière’s material
including six of the 20 known species. Many
of the original descriptions are brief and poorly illustrated, therefore, Aspidoproctus species identifications
may be confused. In some cases, old,
sclerotized females were utilized to describe species with only external
macroscopic morphological features, and never included teneral females in slide
mounted-specimens. In spite of these difficulties, it appears that one or two
new species will be described and a key may well be provided. A revision of two small archaeococcoid
families, the Coelostomidiidae and the Steingeliidae, with descriptions of new
species, is also in progress. In groups
other than the archaeococcoids, we are working on the Eriococcidae with Ferenc
Kozár, a project on our material from South America.
University
of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts,
USA
Benjamin Normark: The
central project in our laboratory continues to be molecular systematics of
armored scale insects. We are always
keen to receive specimens of any armored scale insects (ideally in 100%
ethanol) and to discuss collaborative projects.
Currently four graduate students in my laboratory are working on scale
insect projects. Matthew Gruwell is
completing his dissertation research on endosymbiotic bacteria associated with
armored scale insects. Rodger
Gwiazdowski is the first author of a 2006 paper on phylogenetics and
phylogeography of beech scale (Cryptococcus
fagisuga) and his dissertation will be about the molecular phylogenetics of
sexual and parthenogenetic lineages in the Chionaspis
pinifoliae complex. Two first-year
graduate students, Jin Wu and Jeremy Andersen, are working on an expanded study
of armored scale phylogeny. I am about
to embark on an 8-month sabbatical at the University
of Queensland in Brisbane. I plan to collect lots of Australian armored
scales for our phylogenetic studies and to work with Scott O'Neill (who studies
bacterial endosymbionts of insects) and with
Lyn
Cook.
Matthew Gruwell, University of
Massachusetts, graduate student in Entomology
and Organismic and
Evolutionary Biology, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA. I am completing my dissertation research on
the endosymbionts of armored scale insects. In the scope of this research we
have found the primary endosymbionts of armored scales to be in the Phylum
Bacteriodetes and class Flavobacteria.
We have evidence that these endosymbionts have co-speciated with their
host insects and follow strict verical transmission from mother to
offspring. We have also found a
scattered distribution of Cardinium secondary endosymbionts in the armored
scale insects and are working to understand this distribution using
phylogenetics. I plan to finish my Ph.D.
program in June of 2006 and am currently looking for post-doctoral work that
will allow me to continue investigateing scale insects and endosymbionts.
Lyn Cook, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia: The second half of 2006 has been a
fun, interesting and a busy time for me. During June and July I visited Penny
Gullan's lab at UCDavis to work on some collaborative projects with Penny, Nate
Hardy and Demian Kondo. An added bonus to visiting Penny at that time of year
was watching the world cup soccer at a decent time of day and escaping the cold
Canberra winter - swapping it for a
nice hot Californian summer. In August, I moved from the ANU (Canberra)
to the University of Queensland
in Brisbane to take up the insect
molecular systematics position. My new contact details are: School
of Integrative Biology, The
University of Queensland, Brisbane,
Qld, 4072, Australia. email: l.cook@uq.edu.au
For all of September and half of October, I went on a collecting trip through
tropical eastern Australia
with Mike Crisp and David Morris from ANU. The trip was fantastic - visiting
very interesting places in rainforest and the monsoon tropics through to the
arid zone, and also finding new species (genera?) of gall-inducing eriococcids
(sensu lato).
Soo-jung Suh, National Plant Quarantine
Service(NPQS), South Korea: I've started the new
project, "taxonomic revision of the Korean armored scale insects" and
found two new species records. I wish I could add more species to the list of
Korean armored scale insects. Greg Hodges and I have written a paper on a new
record (Kuwanaspis hikosani (Kuwana)) from South Korea that will be out soon. This species was previously
reported in Korea by Paik (1978), according to ScaleNet. This is incorrect
because he only provided a key to 4 species of Kuwanaspis, including K.
hikosani, but didn’t report it
from Korea. I’ve had the opportunity to examine lots of foreign
specimens of scale insects taken in quarantine at ports of entry. I'm trying to
identify undetermined specimens of mealybugs and armored scales taken in
quarantine from New
Zealand (on
Echeveria), Netherlands (on Crassula), Taiwan (on Cycas) etc. I am extremely grateful to Drs. Greg Hodges
and Sadao Takagi for their help.
Douglas Williams, The Natural History Museum, London, UK: In the past
year I have been completing some short papers that I have had in mind for many
years, working mainly at home. At present, I am trying to finish a work on
Linnaeus including the scale insects he described and listing all the scale
insect literature in bibliographical form that Linnaeus cited. I am still
unable to make sense of two of his references. I have a few other papers
in press including Lichtenstein with Daniele, Pulvinaria urbicola and its synonyms, a paper with Yair on Coccus limonii Murray, Sternorrhyncha of Ascension Island, a new Conchaspis with Daniele, Asterolecaniidae
and Eriococcidae of New Caledonia, two forgotten species of Coccus
described by Westwood with Yair, and papers on Stringaspidiotus and Furcaspis
with Dug Miller. I am working on papers on a revision of Protortonia and the Icerya
of Australia
with Penny. Unfortunately
during the last month or so my eyes have deteriorated to such an extent that I
fear I may never be able to illustrate another scale insect.
Michael Kosztarab,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA:
Although the curator of the VaTech dry
insect collections, Mr. Eric Day, provided me with the key to the building
housing the collection, unfortunately there are no Coccoidea kept, except for
displays and teaching. Also, there are no scales in the liquid collection,
curated by Dr. J. Reese Voshell. As reported in The Scale earlier, after my
retirement, the Coccoidea collections from VaTech were donated to the
USDA-ARS-SEL, with my library, also the photographs, and slides on scale workers.
- Our VaTech collections benefited from two short visits by the USDA scientist
Dr. Oliver Flint last summer.- In May, I attended the meetings of the Hungarian
Entomological Society in the building where I taught horticultural entomology
in Budapest and met a number of
old-time colleagues and friends. - While visiting in S. Slovakia
in June, also in Belgium
and Hollland in August, I have collected some pest scale insect samples. - I am
looking forward to meeting many former students and colleagues at the ESA
National Meetings in Indianapolis
in December and ISSIS in Portugal
next year. Some good family news: both grandsons are biology majors at the University
of Virginia.
Jon Martin, The Natural History Museum, London, UK: Curates the Sternorrhyncha collections at London's
Natural History Museum, and is appealing for scale insect field workers in the
Neotropical Region to look out for whitefly nymphs that resemble soft scale
insects. Jon is investigating a group of
neotropical whiteflies which have unusually large nymphal stages. The taxonomy
is traditionally based upon the last (4th) nymphal stage, termed a
"puparium" because a fully winged adult emerges from it. A few adults
are present in collections that exceed 8 mm in length, with one even exceeding
1 cm - but all of these are lacking any associated puparia and their taxonomic
position is highly uncertain. From field observations (a paper is in press
about this matter), Jon thinks that such large adults will have puparia that
resemble those shown in the accompanying three photographs. These are atypical
for their subfamily, developing individually (rather than in distinct colonies)
and having much reduced waxy secretions (others in the group have dense tangles
of white filaments, as in the Spiralling and Giant whiteflies). When an adult
is close to emergence, a telltale pair of reddish eyespots are usually visible
at the anterior end. The ideal is for any such large puparia to be kept in a
small container to see if an adult emerges, and to then preserve both adult and
associated empty case in alcohol. If, instead, a parasitoid or group of
hyperparasites emerge(s) that is also of interest. If puparia are found with no
signs of adult emergence, those puparia are still of interest and they can be kept
dry on the leaves. Jon expects that the puparia of the really large species
will exceed 5mm in length, but that they will be widely scattered. Mating
aggregations of large adult whiteflies are also of interest - collected into
alcohol. Jon will provide feedback on any material that is discovered, and
sends thanks in advance.
Rosa Henderson, Landcare Research, Auckland, New Zealand: The two papers on gall-inducing scale insects of New Zealand finally got into print in June of this year (New Zealand
Entomologist 29). Since then I have been delving into the Eriococcidae of New
Zealand including some species established here from Australia. Penny Gullan visited my lab one hot day in February to
discuss species that feed on Nothofagus
and to give me advice on the labia of Eriococcidae. A paper describing a tiny
species with quite unusual morphology, that was collected from epiphyte mats 30
m high up native trees, is accepted for publication in the next issue of New
Zealand Entomologist. A manuscript describing some interesting genera and
species adapted to alpine wet grasslands is ready for submitting. I am ever
hopeful that the revision of New Zealand Diaspididae might get underway very
soon, especially now that I have figured out how to draw the figures electronically.
At the moment (November 2006) our summer weather is slow to arrive and keeps
yo-yoing back to cold spells, probably because of the effect of some enormous
icebergs floating off our southern coast. These apparently broke off the other
side of Antarctica in 2000 and have circled round to catch a current towards
us. This must be global warming, but it sure is cool!
Dug Miller and
Alessandra Rung, Beltsville, Maryland, USA: The
big news is that the first “edition” of ScaleNet is now available on line. It
has been nearly 12 years since Yair and I received our first grant from the
Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund (BARD) in 1995. BARD was
an important financial force in making the project happen. Major players include the Israel
team headed by Yair Ben-Dov, the US
team headed by Dug Miller, the data base system developed by Gary Gibson and
Jennifer Read, the reference system maintained and enhanced by Karen Veilleux,
and the query system developed by Jane Laroussi of Carson & Associates. It has been a lot of hard work and headaches,
but from the comments that we hear, it was worth the effort. In Beltsville there are 2 major thrusts to
our research program. Alessandra is working on the development of a molecular
diagnostic tool to differentiate Planococcus
minor from P. citri. The COI sequence differences that she has
discovered have already been useful to the US
quarantine service (APHIS) in sorting out a quarantine problem in California. We plan to publish our results in the next
few months. Other major projects include
finishing Lucid keys for the identification of scale insects intercepted at U.
S. ports-of-entry. To date a family key, mealybug key, and soft
scale key are available on line, with a beta version of the “other scales” key currently
in draft form (see http://www.sel.barc.usda.gov/ScaleKeys/ScaleInsectsHome/ScaleInsectsOthers.html). APHIS/CPHST plans to issue a CD with all 4
keys. With my impending retirement (January
3, 2007) I am spending considerable time cleaning out the backlog
of materials that have accumulated for the past 37 years. My plan is to continue to work on
scale-insect systematics about half time, so the Miller Hotel will still be
functional and available for visits to the collection. I am hopeful that the USDA administration will
fill my position in 2007. Research that
currently is in press or near completion includes 2 armored scale papers with Doug
Williams, a paper on South American eriococcids with Chris Hodgson, and a ScaleNet-based catalog on the Diaspidinae, Leucaspidinae,
and Ulucoccinae. The Miller Hotel had a few visitors this year including Jan
and Warnia Giliomee, Benjamin Normark, Rodger Gwiazdowski, Matt Gruwell,
Peter Cranston, and Bora Kaydan.
RECENT LITERATURE
Compiled by Karen Veilleux
Each year I have
had the opportunity to write a short message in this part of “The Scale” about Karen’s major contribution
to keeping us aware of the vast reference information that has been published
over the past year. Each time I have
felt that I haven’t given sufficient accolades for all of the energy, effort,
and devotion that she has given to this project. Karen is a special person, who quietly
manages one of the most difficult areas in the ScaleNet system, i.e., the
reference file. Through her librarian,
computer, and language skills she has added enourmously to the success of
ScaleNet for all of our benefit. Without
her I am not sure how it would have been done, but certainly not with the
accuracy that we have all come to expect. Unfortunately, Karen has decided to
end her valuable input to the ScaleNet system. I guess with my retirement it
seemed like a good time to take on new challenges. I am sure that I speak for the entire
coccidology community in wishing her well and giving our hearty thanks for a
job well done!!
Results
Abd-Rabou, S.
2005. The effect of augmentative releases of indigenous parasitoid, Anagyrus
kamali (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) on populations of Maconellicoccus hirsutus
(Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) in Egypt.
Archives of Phytopathology and Plant Protection 38(2): 129-132. Notes: The
encyrtid parasitoid Anagyrus kamali (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) was mass reared and
released at monthly intervals in grape orchards infested with Maconellicoccus
hirsutus (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) at two locations in Egypt.
Approximately 300,000 adult individuals were augmentatively released from
August 2001 to August 2002. Increases of the rate of parasitism were from 35 to
76 and from 28 to 68 in Beni-Suef and El-Minya, respectively. These results
indicate that A. kamali is an effective parasitoid in controlling M.
hirsutus on grapes in Egypt. It
is concluded that the releases of parasitoid for control of M.
hirsutus were suitable for control. However, it is essential for a
successful control programme that this parasitoid should be continually reared
and consecutively periodically released so as to attain the maximum benefit of
biological control of this pest.
Abd-Rabou, S.
2005a. Importation, colonization and establishment of Coccophagus cowperi Gir.
(Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) on Saissetia coffeae (Walk.)
(Homoptera: Coccidae) in Egypt.
Journal of Pest
Science 78(2): 77-81. Notes: The hemispherical soft scale, Saissetia coffeae (Walker)
(Homoptera: Coccidae), is one of the most important pests attacking olive trees
in Egypt.
During the period 2001-2003, a total of about 300,000 individuals of the
parasitoid Coccophagus cowperi Girault (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae),
obtained from India, was
released at 35 sites for the biological control of S. coffeae on olive trees
in Egypt. The
maximum parasitism rates reached 53 and 62%, while average parasitism rates
were 17.2 and 30.8% in the Marsy Mattrouh and El-Arish locations, respectively.
These results indicate establishment of this parasitoid on this important
economic plant in Egypt.
Abd-Rabou, S.
2005b. The holotype deposition of Aphytis sinaii Abd-Rabou
(Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae), an external parasitoid of the California red
scale, Aonidiella aurantii (Maskell). Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest
Control 15(1/2): 159. Notes: Aphytis sinaii, a newly recorded
species from Aonidiella aurantii (infesting Ficus nitida [F.
benjamina] in Sinai Peninsula, Egypt), is
described for the first time. The depository for the holotype of A.
sinaii was designated in the Plant Protection Research Institute,
Agricultural Research Centre, Dokki, Giza, Egypt.
Abd-Rabou, S. & Abd-El-Samea, S.A.
2005. New record and host of Encarsia bifasciafacies
(Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) on sugarcane soft scale, Pulvinaria tenuivalvata
(Homoptera: Coccidae), on sugarcane in Egypt. (In
English with summary in Arabic.) Egyptian Journal of Agricultural Research
83(3): 1213-1215. Notes: In September 2004, sugarcane leaves heavily infested
by the sugarcane soft scale, Pulvinaria tenuivalvata (Homoptera:
Coccidae), were collected from Qena (Nag-Hammadi), and then transferred to the
laboratory for parasitoid emergence and identification. Encarsia bifasciafacies
emerged from soft scale samples. This parasitoid is recorded for the first time
attacking its new host, P. tenuivalvata, in Egypt.
Abd-Rabou, S. &
Hendawy, A.S. 2005. Updating nomination of the parasitoids of pink hibiscus
mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae), in Egypt.
Egyptian Journal of Agricultural Research 83(3): 1135-1139. Notes: This study
was carried out to update the checklist of parasitoids of the pink hibiscus
mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus, in Egypt.
Eight primary parasitoids and five hyperparasitoids associated with the pest
were collected. Four parasitoids and three hyperparasitoids were collected and
re-identified. The new list includes primary parasitoids (Allotropa sp., Anagyrus
kamali, Clausenia josefi, Gyranusoida indica, Leptomastidea abnormis,
Leptomastix algirica, Leptomastix nigrocoxalis, Rhopus nigiriclavus)
and hyperparasitoids (Chartocerus subaeneus, Marietta
leopardina, Pachyneuron sp., Prochiloneurus aegyptiacus, Prochiloneurus
annulatus).
Abdel-Moniem, A.S.H.,
Farag, N.A. & Abbass, M.H. 2005. Vertical distribution of some
piercing sucking insects on some roselle varieties in Egypt and
the role of amino acids concentration in infestation. Archives of
Phytopathology and Plant Protection 38(4): 245-255. Notes: The cotton aphid, Aphis
gossypii Glover was found to be the only aphid species infesting the
tested roselle varieties (Sudani, Masri and White), Hibiscus sabdariffa L.
which were cultivated in El-Kanater El-khayria (about 30 km north Cairo) as ex
situ old land. The vertical distribution of the whitefly, Bemisia
tabaci (Genn.); the leafhopper, Empoasca spp. and the pink hibiscus
mealy bug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus Green, as insect pests attacking this
crop had been studied. Moreover, certain morphological characters and amino
acids concentrations in the three varieties of roselle, were obtained. The
obtained results indicated that the experimental insect pests severely attacked
leaves of the stem nodes from the 8th to the 11th (counting from the top of the
plant), whereas whitefly were more abundant on these nodes. All tested insect
species were less abundant on the 4th stem node. This may be due to the
extensive existence of gland hairs that excrete some compound, especially
phenols, that might prevent the insects from reproducing on the leaves. The
opposite was, however, true for M. hirsutus as it did not attack
Sudani and Masri varieties but the infestation occurred at the highest level on
the White variety.
Abdullah, M., Biswas, M.M.
& Siddiquee, M.N.A. 2006. Response of some promising
sugarcane clones to major insect pests of sugarcane. Indian Sugar 56(3): 23-28.
Notes: A field experiment was conducted during 2003-04, in Pabna and
Thakurgaon, Bangladesh, to evaluate the response of 6 promising sugarcane
clones (I245-99, I262-99, I429-99, I433-99, I446-99 and I486-99) and 2 standard
cultivars (Isd 20 and Isd 32) to some major insect pests. Results revealed that
early shoot borer (Chilo infuscatellus) and black beetle (Alissonotum impressicolle)
infestation ranged from 0.51 to 3.32% and 0.22 to 15.48%, respectively, among
the test clones/cultivars. Top shoot borer (Scirpophaga excerptalis)
and stem borer (Chilo tumidicostalis) infestation ranged from 4.55 to 53.58%
and 5.25 to 55.21%, respectively, with the highest level of infestation being
observed in clone I429-99. Rootstock borer (Emmalocera depressella [Polyocha
depressella]) infestation ranged from 6.40% (in Isd 20) to 40.55% (in
I245-99). The lowest scale insect (Melanaspis glomerata) and mealy bug
(Saccharicoccus
sacchari) infestation was observed in the clones I429-99 and I446-99,
respectively. White grub (Scarabaeidae) populati on ranged from 0.00 to 3.67
among the test clones/cultivars.
Abdullah, M., Rahman,
M.A. & Biswas, M.M. 2006. Reaction of some promising
sugarcane clones to major insect pests under field condition. Indian Sugar
55(10): 37-42. Notes: A field experiment was conducted to evaluate promising
sugarcane clones I 5-98, I 82-98, I 89-98, I 98-98, I 101-98, I 110-98, I
117-98, I 120-98, I 124-98, I 139-98, I 142-98 and the standard cultivar Isd 29
against some major insect pests at Ishurdia and Thakurgaon, Bangladesh, during
2002/03. In Pabna, early shoot borer (Chilo infuscatellus), black beetle (Alissonotum
impressicole [A. impressicolle]), top shoot borer
(Scirpophaga
excerptalis), stem borer (Chilo tumidicostalis) in stalk, stem
borer in internode, rootstock borer (Emmalocera depressella [Polyocha
depressella]), scale insect (Melanaspis glomerata), mealy bug (Saccharicoccus
sacchari) and white grub incidence was lowest in I 5-98, I 120-98, I
124-98, I 139-98, I 142-98, Isd 29, I 98-98, I 101-98 and Isd 29, respectively.
Comparative data on the infestation levels of some major insect pests to
promising clones in Thakurgaon during 2002/03 are also tabulated.
Aguilera, P.A., Ellena,
D.M., Seguel, B.I., Montenegro,
B.A., San Martin, A.J. & Torralbo, B.L. 2005. [First records of
insects and other phytophagous invertebrates associates with Murta
berry ugni Molinae Turcz. (Myrtaceae), in south of Chile.].
(In Spanish.) Idesia 23(1): 7-11. Notes: [Original title: Primeras
determinaciones de insectos y otros invertebrados fitofagos asociados a murta Ugni
molinae Turcz. (Myrtaceae), en el sur de Chile.]
This study provides information about phytophagous invertebrate species that
were found feeding on murta, Ugni molinae, a wild plant berry
from southern Chile. As
far as a two-Year survey maly indicate, 18 insect species, one spider mite, and
three terrestial arthropods were recorded. An armored scale Dactylaspis
sp., and the murta green-moth, Palaephatus albicerus Davis, are
registered for the first time feeding on a host-plant species in Chile.
Akkuzu, E.,
Arslangundogdu, Z. & Selmi, E. 2006. Contribution to the knowledge of
scale insects (Homoptera: Coccoidea) of coniferous trees from Turkey.
Journal of Biological Sciences 6(3): 591-595. Notes: To date, a total of 31
species of scale insects have been recorded on coniferous trees in Turkey. The
scale insect families Margarodidae, Pseudococcidae, Coccidae, Eriococcidae and
Diaspididae consist of 3, 3, 6, 1 and 18 species, respectively. Thirteen out of
31 species were found in the European part of Turkey.
From the zoogeographical standpoint, 3 are native, 11 are cosmopolitan and 17
are palearctic species.
Aleman, J., Martinez,
M.A., Milan, O.,
Masso, E. & Rijo, E. 2005. [Monitoring the quality of growth
of Cryptolaemus
montrouzieri.] Monitoreo de calidad en la cría de Cryptolaemus montrouzieri.
(In Spanish.) Fitosanidad 9(1): 71-72. Notes: Cryptolaemus montrouzieri
has been introduced to Cuba for
the control of Maconellicoccus hirsutus. Studies on the quality of this
predator were carried out on several populations. The evidence indicated
favourable adaptation to artificial culture conditions during the first
generations.
Amar, Z., Gottlieb, H.,
Varshavsky, L. & Iluz, D. 2005. The scarlet dye of the holy land.
Bioscience 55(12): 1080-1083. Notes: We present evidence based on chemical
analysis that identifies the scarlet dye produced by the scale insect Kermes
echinatus as the shani ("red" in Hebrew) used toward the end
of the second Holy Temple (AD
70). We know that this dye is produced by a coccoid species of scale. However,
it is not yet known which of the coccoid species was used in the Holy
Land in ancient times. Our results confirm the presence of the red
pigment kermesic acid in K. echinatus extracts. The fact that
K.
echinatus is found in Israel
suggests that the origin of the shani color mentioned in the Bible could have
been local and that this dye was not an import from abroad, as most scholars
have assumed. Our hypothesis, backed by our long-term observations, is
supported by the color quality of kermesic acid, by the relative concentration
of the pigment, and by the prevalence of K. echinatus in Israel.
Aonidiella citrina.
2005. Bulletin OEPP 35(2): 327-330. Notes: Field identification and important
characters are provided.
Apenite, I. & Cinitis, R. 2006. Major
pests in cranberry plantations in Latvia. (In
English with summary in Polish.) Journal of Fruit and Ornamental Plant Research
14 (Suppl. 3): 133-136. Notes: [International workshop on pest and weed control
in sustainable fruit production, Skierniewice, Poland, 1-3
September 2005.] Major pests in cranberry (cv. Stevens) plantations in Latvia were
studied during 2002-05. In the eastern part of Latvia, the
cranberry tipworm (Dasineura vaccinii [D. oxycoccana]) was the main cause of yield
loss (6.2, 4.4 and 1.75 t/ha in 2002, 2003 and 2004, respectively). In the western
part of Latvia, Orgyia
antiqua was the major pest, and its population reached 9-20 larvae/m
SUP 2. In a plantation in Talsu, this pest reduced the yield by 8.0 t/ha in
2003 and by 4.0 t/ha in 2004. Other pests observed were Rhopobota naevana, Sparganothis
sulfureana, Chionaspis salicis, Lochmaea caprea and Mamestra
pisi [Lacanobia pisi].
Aversenq, S., Gratraud,
C. & Pinatel, C. 2005. [Olive tree pests and beneficials: a
summary of three years of monitoring in S.E. France.] Ravageurs et auxiliaires
des oliviers: synthese de trois ans d'observations dans le Sud-Est de la
France. (In French with summary in English.) Phytoma 586: 32-36. Notes: A study
of the entomofauna of French olive groves was conducted for 3 years to enhance
integrated pest management after providing details of the main olive pests
present in France, i.e. olive fly (Bactrocera oleae), olive moth (Prays
oleae), olive scale (Saissetia oleae) and olive psyllid (Euphyllura
olivine), and their natural enemies found around the world. The olive
scale, psyllid and moth appeared to be well regulated, the former by mass
release of the hymenopterous insect Metaphycus lounsburyi in association
with its natural enemies, the second by its natural enemies and the third by
general predators. The olive fly is more of a problem due to pest infestations
and no natural enemies, whether in conventional olive groves with integrated
pest management or in organic groves.
Bacandritsos, N.,
Sabatini, A.G., Papanastasiou, I. & Saitanis, C.
2006. Physico-chemical characteristics of Greek FIR honeydew honey from Marchalina
hellenica (GEN.) in comparison to other Mediterranean honeydew honeys.
(In Italian with summaries in English and Italian.) Italian Journal of Food
Science 18(1): 21-31. Notes: The first samples of recently produced fir
honeydew honey, obtained from Marchalina hellenica (Gennadius)
(Homoptera, Coccoidea, Margarodidae), originating from Mount Helmos in Greece
were analysed and examined on the basis of physical and chemical parameters
including humidity, acidity, sugar profile, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and
diastase activity. These data were compared with five other Mediterranean
honeydew honeys of different origin obtained from the literature. Analytical
data of the Greek fir honey from M. hellenica honeydew complied with
the E.U. legal limits. The sensorial analysis indicated that the organoleptic
characteristics of this type of honeydew honey were very similar to the Greek
fir honey derived from other coccids with respect to colour, taste and smell.
The statistical analysis of the physico-chemical parameters of the six honey
types revealed two major groups. One group consisted of three Greek honeys and
the other included one Spanish and two Italian honeys. It also showed a marked
similarity between the two Greek honeys that came from M. hellenica honeydew on
either fir or pine trees.
Balakina, G.G.,
Vasiliev, V.G., Karpova, E.V. & Mamatyuk, V.I.
2006. HPLC and molecular spectroscopic investigations of the red dye obtained
from an ancient Pazyryk textile. Dyes and Pigments 71(1): 54-60. Notes: The
cloth specimens of Pazyryk culture from frozen burials of Altai
Mountains (500-200 B.C.) were investigated by
molecular spectroscopy and high performance liquid chromatography coupled with
diode-array and mass selective detection. The qualitative and quantitative
analyses of ancient red dyes were conducted. Natural dyes of plant origin -
alizarin and purpurin and of insect origin - carminic acid and kermesic acid
were determined.