Lepidosaphes pallidula

Lepidosaphes pallidula (Williams)

(Also known as Insulaspis palidulla (Green))

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

Common name: Maskell scale insect.

Distribution: Egypt, Iran, eastern Asia, Mauritius and Australia.

Host plants: Various crops, including eggplant (Solanum melongena L.), guava (Psidium guajava L.), mango, as well as some ornamentals.

Morphology: Shield oystershell-like, black-brown, juvenile exuvium brown, located at the narrow end, male shield shorter and narrower than female cover, similar color. Body of female white, elongate. Pygidium with 2 definite pairs of lobes, third and fourth lobes minute. The two-barred dorsal macroducts arranged in transverse rows, perivulvar pores in 5 clusters, about 25 pores all together.

Life history: Lepidosaphes pallidula has 3-4 annual generations in Egypt and occurs mostly on foliage

Economic importance: Lepidosaphes pallidula is an importance pest of guava and mango in Egypt. Its feeding results in defoliation and branch drying.

Management

Monitoring: Examination of the leaves of susceptible hosts for the elongate, mussel-shaped, reddish-brown pest shields.

Chemical control: Products of the entomopathogenic fungi Metarhizium anisopliae Metschnikoff) Sorokinand and Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin, as well as a pyrethroid, effectively controlled the pest within a few weeks.

Biological control: The aphelinid parasitoids Aphytis attack the pest in Egypt. Several Phytoseiidae developed when feeding on the eggs of I. pallidula.

References

Abou-Elella, G.M., Saber, S.A. and El-Sawi, S.A. 2013. Biological aspects and life tables of the predacious mites, Typhlodromips swirskii (Athias-Henriot) and Typhlodromips swirskii (Athias-Henriot) feeding on two scale insect species and plant pollen. Archives of Phytopathology and Plant Protectio 46: 1717-1725

Bakry, M.M.S, Fouad, M.S., Moussa, S.F.M. and Ahmed, F.F. 2015. Field evaluation of some insecticides against Insulaspis pallidula and Icerya seychellarum on mango trees at Qena Governorate, Egypt. AshEse Journal of Agricultural Science 1: 28-32.

Elwan, E.A.H. 2005. Population dynamics of Maskell scale, Insulaspis pallidula (Green) (Homoptera: Diaspididae) on mango trees in Egypt. Egyptian Journal of Agricultural Research 83: 1199-1212.

Miller, D.R., Williams, D.J. and Davidson, J.A. 2006. Key to conifer-infesting species of Lepidosaphes Shimer worldwide (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Diaspididae), with descriptions of two new species and a redescription of L. pallidula (Williams). Zootaxa 1362: 23–42.

Takagi, S. and Moghaddam, M. 2005. New or noteworthy armoured scale insects occurring in Iran (Homoptera: Coccoidea: Diaspididae). Insecta Matsumurana 61: 43-74.

Website

https://www.google.co.il/search?q=Lepidosaphes+pallidula&biw=1280&bih=687&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjRrO-SsYfRAhUIeVAKHfYXAjUQsAQIGA