Odonaspis ruthae Kotinsky, 1915

Rodríguez, José Mauricio Montes & Kondo, Takumasa, 2016, First record of the Bermuda grass scale Odonaspis ruthae Kotinsky, 1915 (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Diaspididae) in Colombia, Insecta Mundi 2016 (485), pp. 1-6 : 4

Odonaspis ruthae Kotinsky

Diagnosis

Unmounted specimens ( Fig. 1A, B ). Scale cover of the adult female moderately convex, oval to cone shape, white in color; ventral side of cover thick; exuviae of earlier stages present on margin of waxy cover; scale cover yellow or brown when rubbed; male scale cover elongate oval, of similar color and texture to the female scale cover, of a yellow color when rubbed; adult female body pinkish in color; eggs pink or red in color; first-instar nymphs (crawlers) pink in color; commonly found on grasses, especially at the bases of leaf sheaths, stolons and roots, and occasionally on the leaves ( Miller and Davidson 2005).

Mounted specimens ( Fig. 1C, D and E ). Perivulvar pores present ( Fig. 1E ); vulva placed at level or posterior to level of anus; postvulvar sternite not sclerotized; ventral macroducts present on all abdominal segments, each as wide as dorsal macroducts; gland tubercles absent from thorax; pygidial margin with 1 pair of scleroses ( Ben-Dov 1988).

Remarks. Of the 43 species of scale insects assigned to the genus Odonaspis , nine species have been recorded from the Neotropical region, namely, O. benardi Balachowsky ( Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, Martinique), O. galapagoensis Ben-Dov (Galapagos island), O. greenii (Cockerell) (Guadeloupe, Guyana, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Suriname), O. litorosa Ferris ( Panama) , O. paucipora Ben-Dov ( Guyana) , O. ruthae ( Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Peru), O. saccharicaulis (Zehntner) ( Bahamas, Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, Puerto Rico and Vieques Island, Sao Tome and Principe, U.S. Virgin Islands, Venezuela), and O. secreta (Cockerell) ( Cuba, Guadeloupe) ( Garcia et al. 2016). Interestingly all species hitherto recorded from the Neotropical region have perivulvar pores which may be lacking in species of Odonaspis from other geographical regions.

The Bermuda grass scale is widely distributed in the New World, from North, Central and South America ( Garcia et al. 2016). Odonaspis ruthae is considered an invasive species in South America ( Wyckhuys et al. 2013); and it is a highly polyphagous species (recorded on plants from five different families), however, most of the host plants belong to the Poaceae and the main host is Bermuda grass ( Ben-Dov 1988, Miller and Davidson 2005).

The economic impact caused by O. ruthae is not known in pastoral areas of Colombia and it is difficult to quantify its damage due to its cryptic habits and because is part of a complex of sap sucking insects present in pastures. The only reports of damage caused by O. ruthae in the world are those on grass pastures in the southern United States, causing wilt and dieback on Bermuda grass ( Gill 1997).

Material examined. Odonaspis ruthae Kotinsky. Colombia: Norte de Santander, Cúcuta, Estadio General Santander. 07°53240.83N, 72°30206.83W. 350 m a.s.l., 23.ix.2015, col. F. Fuentes, ex. On the stalk of Bermuda grass Cynodon dactylon (L.) ( Poaceae ), 2 slides 2 adult females ( CTNI); Valle del Cauca, Palmira, Corpoica, Centro de Investigación Palmira, 03°312033N, 76°19206.13W, 998 m a.s.l., 25.x.2015, coll. T. Kondo, ex. Between leaf sheaths of the underground part of E. colona (L.) Link ( Poaceae ), 3 slides 3 adult females; 1 envelope with dry material ( MECP).

Figures

Figure 1. Odonaspis ruthae Kotinsky. A. Adult female (larger oval shape scale cover) and male (elongate test, e.g., specimen on left side of photo) and female (smaller round tests) second-instar nymphs after removing the leaf sheaths of its host. B. Close-up of adult female tests in life. C. Adult female as seen on slide. D. Details of the pygidium (dorsal side). E. Details of the pygidium (ventral side).