Mycetaspis personata (Comstock)

Lázaro-Castellanos, Carlos, González-Hernández, Héctor, Nápoles, Jesús Romero-, Ortega-Arenas, Laura D., Equihua-Martínez, Armando & Ochoa-Ascencio, Salvador, 2023, Armored scale insects (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) associated with avocados (Persea americana) in México’s main production areas, with keys for identification and natural enemies, Zootaxa 5357 (2), pp. 241-269 : 261

Mycetaspis personata (Comstock)

Aspidiotus personatus Comstock 1883: 66 .

Aspidiotus (Mycetaspis) personatus (Comstock) ; Cockerell 1897a: 24.

Aonidiella personata (Comstock) ; Leonardi 1897b: 286.

Chrysomphalus personatus (Comstock) ; Fernald 1903: 292.

Melanaspis personata (Comstock) ; Lindinger 1921: 427.

Mycetaspis personata (Comstock) ; MacGillivray 1921: 442.

Pseudaonidia personata (Comstock) ; Gómez-Menor Ortega 1941: 139.

Chrysomphalus (Mycetaspis) personata (Comstock) ; Merrill 1953: 40.

Mycetaspis personata (Comstock) ; Borchsenius 1966: 357.

Field diagnosis. Adult female scale cover 0.5‒1.0 mm long, almost hemispherical, often taller than wide, black, brittle, with central exuviae ( Watson 2002).

Discussion. According to Watson (2002), M. personata can be confused with M. apicata , but differs as follows (characteristics of M. apicata given in parenthesis): M. personata has the sclerotized area on the head forming a somewhat flattened bulge (forming a rounded cone); eyes each represented by an unsclerotized boss (each modified into a pointed spur); and ventral microducts absent from around the mouthparts and anterior spiracles (microducts numerous near the mouthparts and anterior spiracles).

Habits on the hosts. Mycetaspis personata was found on leaves and branches; it was abundant on the upper surfaces of leaves and less frequent on terminal branches ( Solis et al. 1992).

Hosts. The scale is polyphagous, attacking members of 30 genera belonging to 19 plant families, some of which are of economic importance such as mango, coconut, guava, and avocado ( Watson 2002; García Morales et al. 2016).

Distribution. Mycetaspis personata is known to be present in 44 countries in Africa, America, Asia, and Europe ( Watson 2002; García Morales et al. 2016). In México it has been collected on avocado in the municipality of Allende in Nuevo León ( Solis et al. 1992).

Natural enemies. Among the natural enemies that regulate M. personata are the following parasitoid wasps: Aphelinidae : Aphytis chrysomphali , Aph. equatorialis ; and Signiphoridae : Signiphora falcata and S. fax ( García Morales et al. 2016) .