Bambusaspis bambusae (Boisduval)

Family

Asterolecaniidae

Common name

Bamboo pit scale

Field characters

Test oval; slightly convex in lateral view; test green, brown, or pale yellow; body covered by translucent test with faint medial carina; posterior apex of test often upturned. Marginal and dorsomedial areas with white or salmon wax filaments. Mature tests with shriveled body of female at anterior end. Occurring on stems and both leaf surfaces.

Validation characters

Complete row of submarginal quinquelocular pores; 20-40 quinquelocular pores in each spiracular furrow; 8-shaped pores present in dorsomedial areas; 30 or more multilocular pores in vulvar area; submarginal discoidal pores present near marginal 8-shaped pores; dorsal tube present anterior of anal ring; labium without setae. Other characters: Legs absent; antennae 1-segmented; without a pygidium; 8-shaped pores prevalent.

Comparison

Bambusaspis bambusae is similar to B. bambusicola (Kuwana) by having a complete row of marginal quinquelocular pores, a dorsal tube, and no setae on the labium. Bambusaspis bambusae differs by having multilocular pores near the vulva (absent in B. bambusicola) and dorsal 8-shaped pores (absent in B. bambusicola). It also is similar to B. miliaris (Boisduval) but differs by having a complete row of marginal quinquelocular pores (B. miliaris has marginal quinqueloculars absent from between the antennae, sometime completely absent or restricted to areas of the thorax and abdomen).

U.S. quarantine notes

This species was intercepted 12 times at U. S. ports-of-entry between 1995 and 2012, with specimens originating from Australia, China, French Polynesia, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Vietnam. ScaleNet lists it on 8 host plant families, but it is most commonly collected on bamboo. We also have examined specimens taken in quarantine from Algeria (bamboo); Antigua and Barbuda (Bambusa); Australia (bamboo); Bermuda (bamboo); Brazil (bamboo); China (Bambusa); Costa Rica (bamboo); Cuba (bamboo, Gynerium); Dominican Republic (Bambusa); Grenada (bamboo); Guatemala (Bambusa); Guyana (bamboo); Honduras (bamboo); India (Bambusa); Jamaica (bamboo); Mexico (bamboo, Phyllostachys); Panama (Saccharum); The Philippines (bamboo); Puerto Rico (bamboo); Sri Lanka (Gigantochola); St. Kitts and Nevis (bamboo); St. Lucia (Bambusa); St. Thomas (USVI) (Bambusa); St. Vincent and Grenadines (bamboo); Surinam (Bambusa); Taiwan (Bambusa), Thailand (Bambusa); Trinidad and Tobago (Bambusa, Gongora); Venezuela (bamboo); It is reported in all zoogeographic regions. No species of Bambusaspis other than B. bambusae and B. miliaris (Boisduval) have been intercepted at a U. S. port-of-entry.

Important references

Gill1993; Hamon1980g; Russel1941; Stumpf2000; WuZhLi2000.

Scalenet catalog and citation list

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