| Asterolecanium | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Suborder: | Sternorrhyncha |
| Family: | Asterolecaniidae |
| Genus: | Asterolecanium Targioni-tozzetti, 1868 |
| Species [1] | |
See text | |
Asterolecanium is a genus of pit scale insects. [2] Asterolecanium is distributed worldwide: species have been found in each of the six biogeographic realms, and nearly all of their respective subregions. [3]
Many species of Asterolecanium are destructive to crops and other plants of economic importance such as bamboo and oak, and are therefore considered pests. [4] Asterolecanium species have been found on at least 37 plant families, most prominently Gramineae (grasses), Palmae (palm trees), and Fagaceae (beech trees). [3] Some species prefer a single host, while others feed on multiple host species. Some feed only on a single part of a plant, such as leaves or stems, while others infest the whole plant. Some create pits in their hosts, depending on the susceptibility of the host plant to damage. [3]
