Phalacrococcus howertoni Hodges & Hodgson

Family

Coccidae

Field characters

Body large (about 4mm long), elongate oval. Coloration green to yellow green, with dark striations on dorsum, with a thin layer of clear wax. Without an ovisac, eggs laid underbody of female and hatch immediately after being produced. Occurring on the stems and leaves of the host.

Validation characters

Dorsal setae absent; marginal setae spinose; spiracular setae 3-8 in number, central seta only slightly larger than others, setae usually bent slightly with rounded almost truncate apices; spiracular cleft sclerotized; tubular ducts absent; multilocular pores with 5-8 loculi, present on abdomen and thorax; without tubular ducts; preopercular pores scattered over dorsal surface of abdomen and posterior thorax, in “v-shaped” pattern anterior of anal plates; claw digitules clubbed, equal in size; with conspicuous tibio-tarsal sclerosis; antennae 8-segmented.

Comparison

Phalacrococcus howertoni is similar to species of Philephedra by lacking dorsal setae, by having spinose marginal setae, a conspicuous tibio-tarsal sclerosis, and 8-segmented antennae. Phalacrococcus howertoni can be distinguished (characters in parentheses are of Philephedra species) by lacking two-ringed ducts and tubular ducts (present); multilocular pores with 5-8 loculi (10 loculi) and present on thorax (absent); preopercular pores in “v-shaped” pattern anterior of anal plates (scattered over dorsum).

U.S. quarantine notes

This species was intercepted at U. S. ports-of-entry 8 times between 1995 and 2012, with specimens originating from Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. No older quarantine specimens were examined. ScaleNet lists hosts in 14 plant families. It has been intercepted on a variety of plants. ScaleNet distribution records for P. howertoni include The United States of America (Florida) in the Nearctic zoogeographic region and Guatemala in the Neotropics. Phalacrococcus has only one valid species.

Important references

HodgesHo2010; AmarasMa2011.

Scalenet catalog and citation list

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