The genera Coccus and Prococcus (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae) in China, with two new combinations and descriptions of two new species

The Chinese soft scale species in the genus Coccus Linnaeus, 1758 (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae) were studied. Coccus cambodiensis Takahashi and the Malaysian species C. cameronensis Takahashi are considered to be non-congeneric with Coccus hesperidum Linnaeus, 1758, the type species of Coccus, and are transferred to Prococcus Avasthi, 1993, as Prococcus cambodiensis (Takahashi, 1942), comb. n. and Prococcus cameronensis (Takahashi, 1952), comb. n. The generic diagnosis of Prococcus is revised. In the genus Coccus, two new species are described and illustrated based on adult females: Coccus nanningensis Cao & Feng, sp. n. from Guangxi, China, on Ficus carica (Moraceae), and Coccus cephalotaxus Cao & Feng, sp. n. from Shannxi, China, on Cephalotaxus sinensis (Taxaceae). Identification keys to separate adult females of Prococcus from Coccus, the 14 species of Coccus found in China, and all three species of Prococcus are provided.

Primeiro registro de Coccus hesperidum L. (Hemiptera: Coccidae) em Mucuna bennettii F. Muell (Fabaceae)

A jade-vermelha (Mucuna bennettii F. Muell, Fabaceae) é uma trepadeira exótica facilmente encontrada em vários pontos do Distrito Federal, usada como forma de ornamentação de quadras e parques na região. Esse trabalho tem como objetivo relatar pela primeira vez a ocorrência da cochonilha Coccus hesperidum L. (Hemiptera: Coccidae) em M. bennettii. Amostras de cochonilhas foram coletadas de duas plantas de jade-vermelha situadas no Distrito Federal, Brasil e enviadas para identificação. Infestações desse coccídeo foram observadas nas folhas, hastes e troncos. A partir desse relato, a lista de hospedeiras desse inseto polífago e cosmopolita é ampliada. Além disso, a ocorrência de C. hesperidum é registrada pela primeira vez no Distrito Federal, Brasil.

An Early Bioinvasion in the Azores. Global Circulation and Local Dynamics (1840s–1860s) in Response to the Brown Soft-Scale Coccus hesperidum

Bioinvasions occurred in the past as they do in the present, raising a set of ecological, economic, cultural and scientific changes. This paper focuses on how people dealt with and overcame the introduction and spread of the brown soft scale (Coccus hesperidum) in the Azorean orange groves in the 1840s–1860s. It describes the difficulties in the detection and the identification of the causal agent, the underestimation of the impacts in the early moments, the slow response and the limitations on methods of control. This is the earliest historical case of a plant pest documented in the Azores archipelago and the first that led to regulations concerning preventive measures and control. Research results are discussed in the framework of the global transfer of living organisms, rethinking Crosby’s original model of “Europeanizing” the colonial and overseas territories in the context of the nineteenth century empires. They highlight the relevance of understanding local dynamics, which reconsider the relationship between the center and the periphery.

Determination of suitable host plant for rearing of Coccus hesperidum (Homoptera: Coccidae)

Brown soft scale, Coccus hesperidum Linnaues (Homoptera: Coccidae) is an economically important pest on wide range of horticultural and agricultural crops. A study was carried out to determine the suitability of three host plants, black nightshade (Solanum nigrum), mandarin (Citrus reticulata) and cotton (Gossypium barbadense), for mass rearing of C. hesperidum under laboratory conditions of 25±2 °C, 65±5% RH and photoperiod of 14D:10L. C. hesperidum was able to develop and reproduce on all three host plants. However, according to developmental period, longevity and fecundity, mandarin was the best among the three host plants.

An assessment of population fluctuations of a hemipteran citrus pest in the northeast of Algeria: A case study from Guelma region

<p>In this study, which takes place in the northeast of Algeria at the region of Guelma between January 2016 and June 2017, we were able to follow the spatio-temporal evolution of the main hemipteran pests in an orchard of citrus (orange variety). This monitoring showed the presence of 12 hemipteran species, their appearance in the orchard is closely linked to the sap flow. The most abundant species was <em>Aleurothrixus floccosus</em>. The number of the other species that found was very small or absent in most of the time. We also noted that <em>Aonidiella aurantii</em> and <em>Chrysomphalus dictyospermi</em> had a preference to develop in the center of the tree while the other species found, which are: <em>Dialeurodes citri, Aphis gossypii</em>, <em>Aphis spiraecola</em>, <em>Lepidosaphes beckii, Parlatoria ziziphi, Saissetia olea, Coccus hesperidum</em>, <em>Coccus pseudomagnoliarum</em> and <em>Icerya purchasi</em>, were found in the sunniest parts of the tree.<br /><strong> </strong></p>

Pathogenicity of Simplicillium lanosoniveum to Coccus hesperidum

<p><em>Simplicillium lanosoniveum</em> isolate SSBG2 was isolated from the diseased <em>C. hesper</em> collected from <em>Schefflera octophylla</em> in greenhouse of the South-Siberian Botanical Garden, and identified based on morphological observation and ITS region analysis. The infected plants were inoculated with conidial suspension of the isolate SSBG2 in concentrations 1.0*10⁵/mL. It was showed that after inoculation the <em>C. hesper</em> female adults were more vulnerable to infection. Larvae are affected to a lesser extent. The mycelium grows under the scale and cause the death of the insect. It was indicated that <em>S. lanosoniveum</em> had high infectivity against <em>C. hesper</em>. Infection symptoms appeared on day 7 after the inoculation, the infection reached the peak on day 20. Our study provides a new isolate that affects the <em>Coccus hesperidum</em>.</p>

A newly recognised species that has been confused with the global polyphagous pest scale insect, Coccus hesperidum Linnaeus (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae)

Coccus hesperidum L. (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae), the type species of the soft scale genus Coccus L., the family Coccidae and the whole of the scale insects (Coccoidea), is a cosmopolitan plant pest. Using DNA sequence data and morphological comparisons, we determine that there is a distinct species that is morphologically very similar to C. hesperidum. Here, we describe the species as Coccus praetermissus Lin & Tanaka sp. n., based on adult female specimens from Australia, Malaysia and Thailand. The adult female of C. praetermissus sp. n. differs from C. hesperidum in having dorsal setae with bluntly rounded tips, whereas they are sharply pointed in C. hesperidum. A detailed description of the newly recognised species is provided, incorporating adult female morphology and DNA sequences from mitochondrial and nuclear loci. Our examination of slides from The Natural History Museum, London, and several Australian institutions indicates that C. praetermissus sp. n. has been confused sometimes with C. hesperidum s. s. These findings have potential relevance to plant biosecurity and quarantine because C. hesperidum is cosmopolitan whereas C. praetermissus sp. n., which is also polyphagous and the two species can share many host plants, currently appears to be more geographically restricted. Additionally, there is deep genetic divergence within C. praetermissus sp. n. that might indicate that it is a cryptic species complex, but wider geographic sampling is required to test this possibility.

Integument of soft scale insects and the invasion of the pathogenic fungus Lecanicillium lecanii

In order to understand how the entomopathogenic fungi infect soft scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Coccidae), the integument of four species, namely Ceroplastes japonicus Green, Didesmococcus koreanus Borchsenius, Rhodococcus sariuoni Borchsenius and Coccus hesperidum L. were infected with the pathogenic fungus, Lecanicillium lecanii, strain NO. 3.4504. The invasion process was studied using the electron microscopy and chemical analyses methods. The results showed that the fungal conidia easily become attached on the surface of the cuticle, especially the sites with furrows and ridges. The hyphae penetrate the integument using mechanical force and also by the cuticle degradation by the extracellular enzymes. The fungal penetration results in the structural anamorphosis and disruption of chitin in the procuticle, causing damage and separation of cuticle from the epidermis with wax gland cells. The rise in fungal protease activity occurs prior to the production of chitinase and the activity values correlate with the quantities of the protein and chitin contained in the cuticle of the target scale insects.

Popis štitastih uši (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) na domaćinima iz roda Quercus L. u Hrvatskoj s naglaskom na prvi nalaz štitaste uši hrasta crnike – Kermes vermilio Planchon, 1864

Sažetak Popis štitastih uši na domaćinima iz roda Quercus L. sastavljen je od svih dostupnih literaturnih podataka faunističkih istraživanja štitastih uši u Hrvatskoj i podataka faunističkih istraživanja koja su trajala od 2005. do 2014. Prema literaturnim podacima u Hrvatskoj registrirano je 15 vrsta štitastih uši na hrastu. Istraživanjima je utvrđeno 12 vrsta štitastih uši, od kojih je u odnosu na vrste iz literaturnih podataka registrirano šest novih. U ovom trenutku popis štitastih uši na hrastovima obuhvaća 21 vrstu iz četiri porodice kako slijedi: porodica Asterolecanidae: Asterodiaspis ilicicola (Targioni Tozzetti 1888), A. quercicola (Bouche 1851), A. variolosa (Ratzeburg 1870), porodica Coccidae: Coccus hesperidum Linnaeus 1758, Eulecanium tiliae (Linnaeus 1758), Parthenolecanium rufulum Cockerell 1903, Pulvinaria sericea (Fourcroy 1785), porodica Diaspididae: Chionaspis etrusca Leonardi 1908, C. lepineyi Balachowsky 1928, C. salicis (Linnaeus 1758), Diaspidiotus alni (Marchal 1909), D. bavaricus (Lindinger 1912), D. ostreaeformis (Curtis 1843), D. zonatus (Frauenfeld 1868), Gonaspidiotus minimus (Leonardi in: Berlese & Leonardi 1896), Lepidosaphes beckii (Newman 1869), L. ulmi (Linnaeus 1758), Targionia vitis (Signoret 1876) i porodica Kermesidae: Kermes quercus (Linnaeus 1758), K. roboris (Fourcroy 1785) i K. vermilio Planchon 1864. U srpnju 2014. godine, zamijećeno je propadanje hrasta crnike u Poreču. Nakon što je obavljen vizualni pregled, uzeti su uzorci. Dijagnostička analiza, koja je obavljena u Laboratoriju za zoologiju Zavoda za zaštitu bilja, pokazala je da se radi o štitastoj uši crnike K. vermilio. Budući da je ovo prvi nalaz K. vermilio u Hrvatskoj, vrstu možemo smatrati novim članom hrvatske entomofaune. Ova štitasta uš napada zimzelene domaćine iz roda Quercus, ponaj­prije Quercus ilex L. Široko je rasprostranjena u zemljama Mediteranskog bazena. U prošlosti, štitasta uš K. vermilio imala je značajnu gospodarsku važnost kao izvor crvene boje za tkaninu, no danas ima status invazivnog gospodarski značajnog štetnika.