Saccharicoccus sacchari (Cockerell)

Malumphy, Chris, 2014, An annotated checklist of scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) of Saint Lucia, Lesser Antilles, Zootaxa 3846 (1), pp. 69-86 : 82

Saccharicoccus sacchari (Cockerell) — pink sugarcane mealybug

Occurs widely in tropical areas of the Americas (including the Lesser Antilles), Africa, Asia, Australia and the Pacific; oligophagous on Poaceae , a common pest of sugarcane and possible vector of diseases on rice. Recorded from Saint Lucia by Williams (1970), CABI (1977), and Malumphy (2012, incorrectly listed in the Diaspididae ).

Collection data. Gros-Islet Parish: Cas en Bas , single adult female on young Cocos nucifera fruit lying on grass, 22.viii.2013. Cocos nucifera is not a host plant for S. sacchari and presumably the mealybug was merely sheltering on the fruit .