Aclerda sacchari Teague

Family

Aclerdidae

Field characters

Body elongate; body probably orange brown, body apex dark brown; body covered by a thin, glassy, translucent coat of wax. Usually in leaf sheaths, sometimes on stems and roots (McConnell 1954).

Validation characters

Dorsal and ventral marginal areas of head, thorax, and abdomen with numerous microducts. Other characters: Margin of posterior abdomen crenulate; single anal plate; legs absent; antennae 1-segmented; spiracles with conspicuous pores in atrium; body margin with conical setae; anal cleft present but short.

Comparison

Aclerda sacchari is most similar to A. takahashii Teague by having the anal plate only slightly cleft and multilocular disk pores on the submargin of the venter. Aclerda sacchari differs by having the ventro- and dorsomarginal areas of the head, thorax, and abdomen with numerous microducts (microducts absent from dorsomarginal areas of the head, thorax, and abdomen in A. takahashii).

U.S. quarantine notes

This species was intercepted 21 times at U. S. ports-of-entry between 1995 and 2012, with specimens originating from Mexico, and St. Kitts and Nevis. We have examined specimens taken in quarantine from Costa Rica (Saccharum). ScaleNet lists hosts in Poaceae, and interceptions are primarily on sugarcane (Saccharum). ScaleNet distribution records for A. sacchari include Cuba, El Salvador, Puerto Rico & Vieques Island (Puerto Rico) in the Neotropical zoogeographic region, and The Philippines in the Oriental region. Two species of Aclerda other than A. takahashii Kuwana and A. sacchari have been intercepted at a U. S. port-of-entry including: Aclerda berlesii Buffa (Italy, on Arundo and "reed stem"); and Aclerda oaxacaensis McConnell (Mexico, on Bamboo).

Important references

McConn1954

Scalenet catalog and citation list

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