Download high resolution image here.
This is the first image set of a series (linked below) documenting the life cycle of what I'll refer to as "NM pinyon needle scale" infesting a pinyon tree (
Pinus edulis) in the southeast corner of the Federal Credit Union parking lot on the Corner of Sherman Ave. and Chanute St. (
Albuquerque East 7.5 minute quadrangle), Kirtland AFB, Bernalillo Co. NM. The species resembles
Matsucoccus acalyptus, based on its host, images of the adult
M. acalyptus males and females, and the distinctive larval cyst covering from which it emerges shown in Gill 1988
(1),
Steed 2010, and McCambridge 1964
(2). It differs from descriptions in the latter in that its
larvae have black/gray eyes instead of pink, and the adult male has 10 antenna segments instead of 9. These may be regional variations, though.
Update: I sent specimens in ETOH to
Ian Stocks. He determined this species to be
Matsucoccus acalyptus.
We start our series with extensive coverage of egg masses, shown in this image set, on the trunk of the pinyon. The dimension cited is of the length of the egg in the lower left corner. The fine white extruded fibers holding the egg masses together have a sticky consistency (like cotton candy) that traps other small insects, such as the one in the upper right corner. Larvae were actively hatching at the time this egg mass sample was collected. One can be seen in the upper center of the image. This linked image set pans back to provide a wider field of view of the egg masses.
This image is from a
CombineZP processed stack of 363 images with a 3.6 µm step taken with a
Mitutoyo BD Plan APO 20X/0.42 ∞/0 mm microscope objective + Nikon 135 mm F2.8 AIS telephoto lens + Nikon D300 camera (magnification 13.5×; technique described
here).
Phases of development: