Family Diaspididae - Armored Scale Insects

Classification · Numbers · Identification · Life Cycle · Remarks · Print References · Works Cited

Fiorina Species on Western Hemlock - female

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Hemiptera (True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies)

Suborder Sternorrhyncha (Plant-parasitic Hemipterans)

Superfamily Coccoidea (Scales and Mealybugs)

Family Diaspididae (Armored Scale Insects)

Numbers

The largest family of scale insects.

Identification

Females small and soft-bodied, concealed under a scale that is usually free from the body of the insect. Scale is made of wax along with remnants of cast skins of earlier instars.

Life Cycle

Reproduction may be bisexual or parthenogenetic. some species are oviparous, others give birth to living young.

Remarks

They injure plants by sucking sap and eventually may kill a plant.

Print References

(1)

Works Cited

1.	Borror and DeLong's Introduction to the Study of Insects By Norman F. Johnson, Charles A. Triplehorn

Contributed by Eric R. Eaton on 23 February, 2006 - 12:59pm
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset
Last updated 9 December, 2007 - 11:07am

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2008 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by Iowa State University Entomology.

Printer Friendly Version