Lecanodiaspis africana

Lecanodiaspis africana (Newstead)

Common name: African scale insect.

Taxonomic placing: Insecta, Hemimetabola, Hemiptera, Sternorrhyncha, Coccomorpha, Coccoidea, Lecanodiaspididae.

Geographical distribution: Africa, including Egypt, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Morphology: The shield is yellow-brown with a waxy covering that bears eight transverse ridges and a longitudinal ridge in the center. Body with numerous 8-shaped pores and cribriform plates. With small, well-developed legs.

Host plants: Polyphagous, infesting many plants of the genus Acacia. In Egypt a pest of guava (Psidium guajava L.).

Life history: In Israel this species is biparental, developing a single annual generation, whereas in Egypt it has two. Females occur on the twigs of host plants.

Economic damage: Infestations of guava cause defoliation, less blossoming, drop or production of smaller, dryer fruits

Biological control: Several natural enemies attack the pest in Egypt. The most important parasitoid is Scutellista caerulea, which parasitized about 50% of the scale population on guava; two Coccinellidae also prey on the pest.

References

Ben-Dov, Y. 2009. The species of Lecanodiaspis Targioni Tozzetti, 1869, in the Mediterranean region (Hemiptera, Coccoidea, Lecanodiaspididae). Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France 114: 449-452.

Hodgson, C.J. 1973. A revision of the Lecanodiaspis Targioni-Tozzetti (Homoptera: Coccoidea) of the Ethiopian Region. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Entomology 27: 413-452.

Morsi, G. A. 2010. Population abundance of the African scale insect, Lecanodiaspis africana Newst. and its parasitoid, Scutellista cyanea Motch. in Upper Egypt. Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control 20: 131-134. .

Website

https://www.google.co.il/search?q=Lecanodiaspis+africana+image&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjU9_q_hL3VAhXqJ8AKHVBRA8sQsAQIJQ&biw=1280&bih=667