Russellaspis pustulans (Cockerell)

Family

Asterolecaniidae

Common name

Oleander pit scale

Field characters

Test nearly round or oval, sometimes slightly produced posteriorly; nearly flat to convex in lateral view; brownish or greenish yellow with faint medial and transverse carinae. Marginal and dorsal areas with white or pink wax filaments; dorsal filaments scattered longer than marginal filaments, marginal filaments conspicuous. Occurring on bark, leaves, and fruit; sometimes in shallow pit.

Validation characters

8-shaped pores scattered over dorsal surface; marginal 8-shaped pores forming single band around perimeter of body; quinquelocular pores present in submarginal band around body; discoidal pores in band around body near quinquelocular pores; multilocular pores present from near vulva forward to metathorax. Other characters: Legs absent; antennae 1-segmented; without a pygidium; 8-shaped pores prevalent.

Comparison

Russellaspis pustulans is similar to R. brachylenae Russell by having marginal 8-shaped pores and marginal quinquelocular pores around perimeter of body and by having dorsal 8-shaped pores scattered over dorsal surface. Russellaspis pustulans differs by having a single row of marginal 8-shaped pores (double in R. brachylenae).

U.S. quarantine notes

This species was intercepted 25 times at U. S. ports-of-entry between 1995 and 2012, with specimens originating from the China, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Israel, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Mexico, South Africa, and The U.S. Virgin Islands. We also have examined specimens taken in quarantine from Antigua (Annona, Nerium, Spondias), Bahamas (Mangifera, Manilkara, Morus, Nerium); Barbados (Bougainvillea, Brya, Hibiscus, Psychotria); Bermuda (Hibiscus); Brazil (Ailanthus); The British Virgin Islands (Blighia); China (Garcinia, Pachira); Colombia (Manilkara); Cuba (Cattleyopsis, Mangifera, Melocactus, Nerium, Pimenta, Psidium, Russelia); Dominica (unknown host); Dominican Republic (Diffenbachia, Eryngium, Genipa, Gossypium, Kalanchoe, Mangifera, Manilkara, Psidium, Spondias, Tephrosia ); Ecuador (Cucumis); Egypt (Acacia); France (Prunus); Grenada (Theobroma); Guam (Flacourtia); Guyana (Hibiscus, Manilkara, Oncidium, Spondias); Haiti (Annona, Mangifera, Manilkara); Honduras (Begonia, Mangifera); Israel (Ficus); Jamaica (Adenium, Amherstia, Annona, Blighia, Broughtonia, Bryophyllum, Carica, Diffenbachia, Episcia, Mangifera, Manilkara, Momordica, Pelargonium, Spondias, Vanda); Lebanon (Mangifera); Madagascar (unknown host); Mexico (Alocasia, Codiaeum, Diospyros, Euphorbia, Ficus, Malus, Mangifera, Nerium, Plumeria, Psidium); Montserrat (Tamarindus); Nicaragua (Epidendrum); Panama (Blighia, Heliotrope, Hibiscus); Peru (Gossypium); The Philippines (Bougainvillea, Nerium); Puerto Rico (Annona, Cajanus, Calocarpum, Dombeya, Gomphrena, Mangifera, Manilkara, Montezuma, Prunus, Psidium, Rapanea, Salix, Sedum, Ternstroemia); South Africa (host unknown); St. Martin (Gardenia); Syria (unknown plant); Tahiti (Hibiscus); Trinidad (Blighia, Chrysophyllum, Malus, Theobroma); The U. S. Virgin Islands (Annona, Cassia, Mangifera, Nerium, Spondias). Russellaspis pustulans has been reported in all zoogeographic regions although there are fewer records from the Oriental region. ScaleNet lists it in 65 host families. It is commonly intercepted on fruits, particularly apple and mango. No other species of Russellaspis have been taken in quarantine.

Important references

Russel1941; Stumpf2000.

Scalenet catalog and citation list

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