Armored scale insect on pinyon, dorsal

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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies (Hemiptera) » Plant-parasitic Hemipterans (Sternorrhyncha) » Scales and Mealybugs (Coccoidea) » Armored Scale Insects (Diaspididae)

Photo#1036941

Copyright © 2015 Edward L. Ruden

Armored scale insect on pinyon, dorsal -

Sandia Mountains, Bernalillo County, New Mexico, USA
January 25, 2015
Size: 1.3 mm

Download high resolution image here.

I found this armored scale as shown on a pinyon needle (Pinus edulis) on Embudito Trl. (No. 192) at 6822 ft elevation in the Sandia Mountains, Bernalillo Co., NM. I pried off the cover after taking the first two images, and an adult female fell out. It was unattached to either the needle or scale. The last image is a ventral view. There are many tiny distinctive features than can only be appreciated in the high resolution image linked.

This image is from a CombineZP processed stack of 285 images with a 2.7 µm step taken with a Mitutoyo BD Plan APO 20×/0.42 ∞/0 mm microscope objective + Nikon 135 mm F2.8 AIS telephoto lens + Nikon D300 camera (magnification 13.5×; technique described here).

Images of this individual: tag all

Armored scale insect on pinyon, dorsal - female

Armored scale insect on pinyon, lateral - female

Armored scale insect adult female within, ventral - female

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Contributed by Edward L. Ruden on 29 January, 2015 - 10:49pm
Last updated 13 March, 2016 - 6:46pm

Ian Stocks reports

Ian Stocks responds by email:

"I think probably Diaspidiotus juglansregiae, which is recorded from many conifers, even though Juglans is the walnut genus; it is probably a cryptic species complex anyway. Another possibility is Nuculaspis*, which I understand to be another troublesome genus.

I can certainly slide mount the females if you would like to send samples.

Also, Dr Ben Normark, molecular systematists at UMass, might like to sequence specimens, especially of Nuculaspis, if that’s what it is.

*NB-To my knowledge, this is the only bona fide correct use of the root-form ‘nucu(l)-‘ instead of the root-form ‘nucl-‘ to convey ‘nuclear’; thus, ‘nucular’-in some linguistic universe-may technically be correct, but for the wrong reasons."

… Edward L. Ruden, 9 February, 2015 - 10:13pm

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