Acutaspis albopicta (Cockerell)

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 : 248-249

Acutaspis albopicta (Cockerell)

Aspidiotus (Chrysomphalus) albopictus Cockerell 1898a: 433 .

Aspidiotus albopictus leonis Townsend & Cockerell 1898: 179 .

Aspidiotus koebelei Townsend & Cockerell 1898: 179 .

Chrysomphalus albopictus (Cockerell) ; Cockerell 1899a: 396.

Aspidiotus albopictus (Cockerell) ; Cockerell 1905a: 46.

Aspidiotus leonis (Townsend & Cockerell) ; McKenzie 1939: 53.

Acutaspis albopicta (Cockerell) ; Ferris 1941a: 329.

Field diagnosis. Adult female scale cover circular to slightly oval, flat, or slightly convex, and rigid, 1.2‒1.5 mm in diameter, with subcentral exuviae; cover usually dark brown but sometimes gray or grayish white, mainly in immatures. Adult female body pyriform with acute posterior end, white to creamy white in life, about 1.2 mm long.

Discussion. Acutaspis albopicta can be confused with Ac. scutiformis because of the similar color and shape of the scale cover; morphologically, in slide mounts, these species can be differentiated by the relative sizes of the paraphyses on L2. In Ac. albopicta , the paraphysis on the external angle of L2 is almost twice the size of that on the internal angle, whereas in Ac. scutiformis these two paraphyses are almost the same size or the external paraphysis is only slightly larger than the internal one.

Habits on the hosts. During sampling, Ac. albopicta was found on branches, leaves and fruits; it was observed forming large colonies on fruits and leaf upper and lower surfaces, as well as small colonies or isolated individuals on the different substrates. It was found alone or sharing space with other diaspidid species such as H. cyanophylli , H. diffinis , H. lataniae and D. near coccois .

Hosts. Acutaspis albopicta is polyphagous; it has been recorded attacking members of 14 plant genera belonging to 13 families worldwide. Some of these plants are economically important, such as coconut, avocado and citrus ( García Morales et al. 2016). In this study, the scale was found on the avocado varieties Fuerte, Hass and Hass-Méndez.

Distribution. The species is reported to be present in nine countries in the Americas, from USA to Brazil. In México it has been recorded in the states of Colima, Guerrero, Morelos, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Sinaloa, and Tamaulipas ( García Morales et al. 2016). González Hernández & Atkinson (1984) collected Ac. albopicta on avocado in Tetela de Ocampo, Puebla, México. In our study it was found in the following states and orchards: Morelos: Xolosuchitl 1 and Tlalnepantla 1; and Jalisco: La Quinta, Fruticola GMI-3 Marias, Agro Leal, and Loma Delgada 1.

Natural enemies. The following hymenopteran parasitoids have been reported attacking Ac. albopicta : Paraphytis acutaspidis Rosen & DeBach (Aphelinidae) , and Signiphora sp. (Signiphoridae) ( García Morales et al. 2016; Noyes 2019). In the present study, the following species were found parasitizing it: Aphytis holoxanthus (6F), Aph. lepidosaphes (18F, 4M), Aph. lingnanensis (13F, 5M), Aph. melinus (3F, 6M), Signiphora flavella (1F) and Pseudhomalopoda prima (1F).