Ceroplastes cirripediformis Comstock

Family

Coccidae

Common name

Barnacle scale or barnacle wax scale

Field characters

Body oval; convex in lateral view; body dark reddish brown; with a thick wax covering; eggs laid in chamber under body of adult; ovisac absent. The following description is from Gimpel et al. (1974). Test: wet wax rectangular to oval in dorsal view, hemispherical laterally, without horn, dirty to grayish white, with marginal flange small or absent, not hiding lateral filaments, divided into 1 dorsal and 6 lateral plates, with nuclei. Dry wax with filaments as follows: cephalic filament appearing trifurcate, with acute apices; anterolateral and mediolateral filaments simple; posterolateral filaments bifurcate; caudal filaments with weakly divided, bifurcate apices; dorsal dry wax of first and second instars forming small central cap, surrounded by large dorsomedial nucleus, dorsal dry wax not tilted. Stigmatic wax bands directed dorsally, filamentous wax confined to stigmatic areas. Primarily on stems.

Validation characters

Dorsal setae capitate; about 30 stigmatic setae laterad of each stigmatic furrow, arranged in 3 or 4 rows; stigmatic setae triangular, sides of setae longer than width of base, with bluntly rounded or pointed apices. Other characters: Marginal setae simple; 1 pair of prevulvar setae (often obscured by anal plates); multilocular pores on all abdominal segments and near middle and hind pairs of legs; multilocular pores anterior of anterior spiracle, when present, predominantly with 5 loculi, about same size as pores laterad of anterior spiracle; tibio-tarsal sclerosis present; claw without denticle; claw digitules equal; antennae 7-segmented, rarely with 6; tubular ducts with inner filament unexpanded, present on head and near anal opening; area around anal region sclerotized, forming protuberance; anal plates rounded, without distinct angles; each anal plate with 1 subapical seta, 3 or 4 apical setae, and 1 subdiscal seta; anal fold with 4 fringe setae; preopercular pores inconspicuous, restricted to area anterior of anal plates; without submarginal tubercles.

Comparison

Ceroplastes cirripediformis is similar to C. cistudiformis Cockerell but differs by having some capitate dorsal setae (absent in C. cistudiformis), stigmatic setae that have the sides of the seta longer than the width of the base (the base width and the sides are about equal in C. cistudiformis), and 3 or 4 rows of stigmatic setae (5 or 6 in C. cistudiformis). Ceroplastes cirripediformis also resembles C. sinensis Del Guercio but can be distinguished by having capitate dorsal setae (absent in C. sinensis), without filamentous ducts (present in C. sinensis), and 1 subapical seta on anal plate (2 in C. sinensis). This species also is similar to C. rusci (Linnaeus); for a comparison see the description of that species.

U.S. quarantine notes

This species was intercepted 26 times on a variety of hosts at U. S. ports-of-entry between 1995 and 2012, with specimens originating from China, Colombia, Hawaii, Jamaica, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and Tonga. We also have examined specimens taken in quarantine from Bahamas (unknown host); Bermuda (Citrus, Codiaeum, Duranta, Hibiscus, Pittosporum, Russellia); China (Carmona); Dominican Republic (Mentha); Jamaica (Eugenia, Hoya); Haiti (unknown host); Hawaii (Ruelia); Martinique (Alpinia); Mexico (Brassia, Citrus, Chrysanthemum, Musa, Persea, Psidium, Rosa); The Philippines (Ardisia, Calocarpum, Codiaeum, Vanda); Puerto Rico (Chrysanthemum, Rosmarinus); St. Croix (Malphigia, Mangifera); St. Vincent (Alpinia); Taiwan (unknown host); Trinidad (unknown host). ScaleNet includes hosts on over 60 plant families from all zoogeographic regions except the Afrotropical region. One species of Ceroplastes other than C. ceriferus (Fabricius), C. cirripediformis, C. floridensis Comstock, C. japonicus Green, C. rubens Maskell, C. rusci (Linneaus), C. sinensis Del Guercio and C. stellifer (Westwood) has been intercepted at a U. S. port-of-entry, C. cistudiformis Cockerell (Mexico, on Punica).

Important references

Gill1988; GimpelMiDa1974; HamonWi1984; Granar1999.

Scalenet catalog and citation list

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