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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) » Ground Pearls (Margarodidae)
Photo#487183
Underground scale insects?
Copyright © 2011 Charley Eiseman

Underground scale insects?
Huntington, Chittenden County, Vermont, USA
April 19, 2008
Size: ~3 mm
Found under a log.

Images of this individual: tag all
Underground scale insects? Underground scale insects?
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Contributed by Charley Eiseman on 26 January, 2011 - 1:59pm
Last updated 3 February, 2011 - 6:52pm

Moved
Moved from Ground Pearls.
Based on this, 'ground pearls' are not just in the genus Margarodes, so I'm moving these up to family level.
… Charley Eiseman, 3 February, 2011 - 6:52pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from ID Request.
… Charley Eiseman, 3 February, 2011 - 6:46pm login or register to post comments

I wonder if they could be the
I wonder if they could be the empty "shells" of Ground Pearls (Margarodes sp.)?
… Dennis Haines, 3 February, 2011 - 6:25pm login or register to post comments

 
That's what I was wondering...
but I couldn't find any images of them that really look like this.
… Charley Eiseman, 3 February, 2011 - 6:29pm login or register to post comments

 
Most pictures feature the liv
Most pictures feature the live nymphs in their "cysts" or "shells" and they seem to be more yellow. But they're described as being yellowish-purple. These are clearly empty of the insect that was inside (assuming ground pearls) and so they may age to this brownish color. Its just a guess, but I can't think of anything else off the top of my head.
… Dennis Haines, 3 February, 2011 - 6:34pm login or register to post comments

 
According to
this website, "The voided, waxy, spherical covering of the insect is the most likely structure to be encountered. The sphere is pink to yellowish-brown in color and measures from 1/6 of an inch in diameter to as small as a grain of sand."

Seems pretty good to me; I'll move these to the (new) guide page, and hopefully someone will let us know if we're wrong.
… Charley Eiseman, 3 February, 2011 - 6:45pm login or register to post comments

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