Crypticerya rosae (Riley & Howard)

Family

Monophlebidae

Common name

Rose icerya

Field characters

Body oval to elliptical, covered with thick white wax, body black on thoracic dorsum, red elsewhere; immature stages red. Without an ovisac; eggs are laid under the concave body of female. Males are unknown. Occurring on the leaves and branches of the host.

Validation characters

Without ovisac band; 3 pairs of abdominal spiracles; antennae 9- to 11- segmented; anal ring simple, without pores; usually 3 cicatrices near anal opening. Other characters: Thoracic spiracles larger than abdominal spiracles; tarsus unsegmented; labium 1- or 2-segmented; abdominal spiracles simple, without pores; thoracic spiracles without pores in atrium or surrounding atrium; claw digitules not expanded apically.

Comparison

Crypticerya rosae can be distinguished from all other monophebids taken in quarantine by lacking an ovisac band and by having 3 pairs of abdominal spiracles and 3 cicatrices near the anal opening.

U.S. quarantine notes

This species was intercepted 2 times at U. S. ports-of-entry between 1995 and 2012, with specimens originating from Mexico. We also have examined specimens taken in quarantine from Colombia (Annona); Costa Rica (palm); Guatemala (Chamaedorea); Panama (Musa); St. Croix (Meliococcus). ScaleNet includes hosts in 7 plant families from the Nearctic and Neotropical zoogeographic regions. Four species of Crypticerya other than C. rosae and C. genistae (Hempel) have been intercepted at a U. S. port-of-entry including: C. littoralis (Cockerell) (Mexico, on Carica, Chamaedorea, and Persea; Guatemala, on Chamaedorea); C. montserratensis Riley & Howard (Colombia, on orchid; Dominican Republic, on Annona; Guatemala and Mexico, on Chamaedorea); C. similis Morrison (El Salvador, on Laelia); and C. zeteki (Cockerell) (El Salvador, on orchid).

Important references

Morris1928; RileyHo1890b; Vayssi1926.

Scalenet catalog and citation list

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