Acanthococcus araucariae (Maskell)

Family

Eriococcidae

Common name

Norfolk Island pine eriococcin

Field characters

Newly mature adult female brownish yellow with 1 pair of purple stripes on sublateral area of dorsum; older females purple. Crystalline rods noticeable along body margin only. Felted ovisac white, enclosing adult female and up to 207 eggs. Occurring on foliage of host.

Validation characters

Large sized enlarged setae with rounded or slightly truncate apices, restricted to body margin, abdominal segments usually with 3 setae on each lateral margin of each abdominal segment, remainder of dorsum with small sized enlarged setae with truncate apices; microducts with bifurcate orifices; anal lobe heavily sclerotized on both surfaces, without teeth; hind tibia with 4 setae. Other characters: Anal lobes protruding; invaginated tubular ducts present; hind coxa and femur with translucent pores; cruciform pores present on venter along body margin.

Comparison

Acanthococcus araucariae is similar to A. coccineus (Cockerell) by having large sized enlarged setae with slightly truncate apices around body margin, small sized enlarged setae on remainder of dorsum. Acanthococcus araucariae differs by lacking large sized enlarged setae in medial area of thorax and head (present in A. coccineus), has microducts with bifurcate orifice (single orifice in A. coccineus), and anal lobes heavily sclerotized (lightly sclerotized in A. coccineus).

U.S. quarantine notes

This species was not intercepted at U. S. ports-of-entry between 1995 and 2012, but it had been intercepted at least 5 times before that. We have examined specimens taken in quarantine from Argentina, Azores, Bermuda, Guatemala, Italy, Mexico and Spain all from Araucaria. ScaleNet includes hosts in 5 plant families from all zoogeographic regions. No species of Acanthococcus other than A. araucariae, A. coccineus (Cockerell), and A. dubius (Cockerell) have been intercepted at a U. S. port-of-entry.

Important references

Gill1993; Hoy1962; Koszta1996; MillerMi1992; WilliaWa1990.

Scalenet catalog and citation list

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