| Ceroplastes ceriferus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dorsal view with wax removed | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Suborder: | Sternorrhyncha |
| Family: | Coccidae |
| Genus: | Ceroplastes |
| Species: | C. ceriferus |
| Binomial name | |
| Ceroplastes ceriferus | |
| Synonyms | |
List
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Ceroplastes ceriferus, the Indian wax scale, [1] is a species of scale insect in the family Coccidae. It is native to southern Asia and has spread to many other parts of the world.
This species was first described in 1798 by the Danish botanist and entomologist Johan Christian Fabricius who gave it the name Coccus ceriferus. [2] The type specimen came from India, probably occurring on Maytenus emarginata , however for nearly two hundred years the authorship was wrongly attributed to (James) Anderson. [2] [3] The insect was later transferred to the genus Ceroplastes , becoming Ceroplastes ceriferus. [2]
The adult female Ceroplastes ceriferus is immobile, being permanently attached by its mouthparts to the plant on which it is feeding. The body is hidden under a roughly convex, circular or oval covering of wax which it has secreted; this is white in nymphs and young adults, and becomes pinkish in older individuals. Adults have a forward-pointing waxy horn and there are waxy filaments projecting from the margin of the scale, giving the insect a daisy-flower-like appearance. In many populations, only females exist, giving birth by parthenogenesis. [4]
Ceroplastes ceriferus is a polyphagous insect, meaning that it feeds on a wide variety of different plants. It has been recorded as utilising plants in 108 genera in 60 different families as hosts. These include such cultivated crops as apple, pear, plum, citrus, mango, tamarind, fig, pomegranate, avocado, tea, coffee, squash and pepper, as well as many ornamental plants. [2]
Ceroplastes ceriferus can occur on branches, twigs and foliage. It feeds on the sap of its host plant causing lack of vigour, wilting, shedding of leaves and dieback. On poplar, one of the main hosts, the bark is discoloured and peels off in patches. On ornamental plants the insects are unattractive, and the honeydew they copiously produce encourages the growth of sooty mould, which is both unsightly and blocks out the light, reducing photosynthesis. [4]
Scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient grouping than the superfamily Coccoidea due to taxonomic uncertainties. Adult females typically have soft bodies and no limbs, and are concealed underneath domed scales, extruding quantities of wax for protection. Some species are hermaphroditic, with a combined ovotestis instead of separate ovaries and testes. Males, in the species where they occur, have legs and sometimes wings, and resemble small flies. Scale insects are herbivores, piercing plant tissues with their mouthparts and remaining in one place, feeding on sap. The excess fluid they imbibe is secreted as honeydew on which sooty mold tends to grow. The insects often have a mutualistic relationship with ants, which feed on the honeydew and protect them from predators. There are about 8,000 described species.
Trialeurodes vaporariorum, commonly known as the glasshouse whitefly or greenhouse whitefly, is an insect that inhabits the world's temperate regions. Like various other whiteflies, it is a primary insect pest of many fruit, vegetable and ornamental crops. It is frequently found in glasshouses (greenhouses), polytunnels, and other protected horticultural environments. Adults are 1–2 mm in length, with yellowish bodies and four wax-coated wings held near parallel to the leaf surface.
Chinese wax is a white to yellowish-white, gelatinous, crystalline water-insoluble substance obtained from the wax secreted by certain insects. It may be used for the production candles and polishes, and for the sizing of paper. It resembles spermaceti but is harder, more friable, and with a higher melting point.
Ortheziidae is a family of scale insects commonly known as the ensign scales or ortheziids. They occur in most parts of the world but the majority of the species are found in the Neotropical and Nearctic regions while there are not many species in Australasia and the Far East. There are twenty valid genera and 198 species.
Paracoccus marginatus, commonly known as the papaya mealybug, is a small sap-sucking insect in the mealybug family, Pseudococcidae. It is found on a number of different hosts, including economically important tropical fruit trees and various ornamental plants.
Aleurodicus dispersus, the spiralling whitefly, is a species of small, white sap-sucking insect, a true bug in the order Hemiptera. It originated in Central America and the Caribbean region and has spread to many of the world's tropical and subtropical regions, where it has become a major pest of agricultural crops.
Coccus hesperidum is a soft scale insect in the family Coccidae with a wide host range. It is commonly known as brown soft scale. It has a cosmopolitan distribution and feeds on many different host plants. It is an agricultural pest, particularly of citrus and commercial greenhouse crops.
Eriosoma lanigerum, the woolly apple aphid, woolly aphid or American blight, is an aphid in the superfamily Aphidoidea in the order Hemiptera. It is a true bug and sucks sap from plants.
Aonidiella orientalis is a species of insect in the family Diaspididae, the armored scale insects. It is known commonly as the Oriental yellow scale. It is an agricultural pest on a wide variety of crop plants.
Drosicha corpulenta is a species of giant scale insect in the family Monophlebidae, in the superfamily Coccoidea. It is native to eastern Asia where it feeds on a range of trees, shrubs and non-woody plants.
Saissetia coffeae, known generally as hemispherical scale, is a species of soft scale insect in the family Coccidae. Other common names include the helmet scale and coffee brown scale.
Pseudaulacaspis pentagona, the white peach scale or mulberry scale, is a species of armoured scale insect in the family Diaspididae. This scale infests over 100 different genera of plants including many fruit trees and ornamentals.
Hemiberlesia lataniae, the latania or palm scale, is a species of armored scale insect in the family Diaspididae. It was first described by the French entomologist Victor Antoine Signoret in 1869 using Latania lontaroides, a species of palm tree endemic to Réunion as its host; since then, it has been found on avocado trees growing in South Africa, Australia, Israel, the United States, and on a range of other plants in many parts of the world.
Aspidiotus destructor, the coconut scale, is a species of armoured scale insect in the family Diaspididae, found in many tropical and subtropical parts of the world. It is a serious pest of coconut and banana, and attacks a range of other fruiting trees and ornamental plants.
Saissetia oleae is a scale insect in the family Coccidae. It is considered one of the three main phytophagous parasites of the olive tree, together with the olive fruit fly and the olive moth. Although it is a common parasite which occurs most often in olive trees, it is a polyphagous species, also attacking citrus trees as well as various ornamental shrubs such as oleanders, pittosporums, sago palm, and euonymus.
Geococcus coffeae is a species in the mealybug family, Pseudococcidae, commonly known as the coffee root mealybug, or brown scale. It lives underground where it inserts its mouthparts into roots and sucks the sap.
Protopulvinaria pyriformis, commonly known as the pyriform scale, is a species of soft scale insect in the family Coccidae. It is a pest of avocado and is found in many countries around the world where avocados grow.
Selenaspidus articulatus is an armoured scale insect in the family Diaspididae, commonly known as the West Indian red scale. It is a polyphagous species found in tropical and subtropical regions around the world as a pest species of Citrus and other fruit and ornamental trees.
Parlatoria blanchardi, the date palm scale, is a species of armored scale insect in the family Diaspididae. It is a widespread and serious pest of palms, both date palms and ornamental species.
Aleurodicus cocois, commonly known as the coconut whitefly, is a species of whitefly in the family Aleyrodidae; it feeds on coconut and other palm trees in South America and the Caribbean region.