Ceroplastes rusci (Hemiptera: Coccidae)
citrus wax scale
barnacle scale, Ceroplastes cirripediformis
Chinese wax scale, Ceroplastes sinensis
United States: Florida.
Worldwide: Africa, Asia, Australia, Central America, the Caribbean, Mediterranean region, Pacific Islands, and South America.
Native to Africa.
This pest has a very wide host rangehost range:
the range of species that a particular organism can feed on to achieve successful growth and reproduction
, including many with economic significance. A partial list includes:
Females overwinter on twigs. First instars emerge from eggs as crawlers and locate a leaf surface on which to feed. After approximately one month, the nymphs migrate to leaf petioles or new shoots to complete their life cycle. Adult females lose their wax coating so that they appear brown in color and are usually found on tree branches. One to two generations are reported annually.
All phloem-feeding, honeydew-producing pests have the potential to be tended by ants. The ants feed on the honeydewhoneydew:
the sugar-rich waste product excreted by aphids, mealybugs, and scales insects as a result of feeding on the phloem of plants
excreted by the pest and protect the pest from natural enemies. This protection can disrupt biological control programs.
Fig wax scale is reported to transmit the grapevine leaf-roll virus.
Ben-Dov, Y. 1993. A systematic catalogue of the soft scale insects of the world. Flora and Fauna Handbook No. 9. Sandhill Crane Press: Gainesville, FL.
Eberling, W. 1959. Subtropical fruit pests. Univ. Calif., Div. Agric. Sci.: Berkeley, CA.
Flint, M.L. 1999. Pests of the garden and small farm: a grower's guide to using less pesticide. Univ. of California Press: Berkley, CA.
Gill, R.J. 1997. Coccid pests of important crops: Citrus, pp. 207-215. In Y. Ben-Dov, C.J. Hodgson (eds.). World Crop Pests, Vol. 7B, Soft scale insects - their biology, natural enemies and control. Elsevier Science, B.V.
Hamon, A.B., and G.J. Mason. 1997. Fig wax scale, Ceroplastes rusci (L.), in Florida (Homoptera: Coccoidea: Coccidae). Entomol. Cir. 380. Fla. Dept. Agric. Consumer Svcs.
Mahfoudhi, N., M. Digiaro, M.H. Dhouibi. 2009. Transmission of grapevine leafroll viruses by Planococcus ficus (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) and Ceroplastes rusci (Hemiptera: Coccidae) Plant Dis. 93: 999-1002.
Mannion, C. 2008. Exotic pests - What to look for: Fig wax scale (Ceroplastes rusci). (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/IN344).
Miller, G.L., and D.R. Miller. 2003. Invasiveinvasive:
term used to describe species that are not native and have the ability to adversely effect habitats they invade either ecologically or economically
soft scales (Hemiptera: Coccidae), and their threat to U.S. agriculture. Proc. Entomol. Soc. Wash. 105: 832-846. (http://www.sel.barc.usda.gov/Coccoidea/MillerMi2003.pdf).
Miller, D.R., A. Rung, G.L. Venable, and R.J. Gill. 2007. Scale Insects: Identification tools for species of quarantine significance. CBIT Publishing, Queensland, Australia (http://www.sel.barc.usda.gov/ScaleKeys/ScaleInsectsHome/ScaleInsectsHome.html).
Rainato, A., and G. Pellizzari. 2010. The adult male and male nymphal instars of Ceroplastes rusci (Linnaeus) (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Coccidae). Zootaxa 2357: 50-62. (http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2010/f/z02357p062f.pdf).
Martin, K.W., J.A. Weeks, A.C. Hodges, and N.C. Leppla
fig wax scale adult; photo by Jeffrey W. Lotz, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, www.bugwood.org
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