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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fort Lauderdale, Florida » Invasive Plant Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #220072
Title: The genetic diversity,relationships,and potential for biological control of the lobate lac scale,Paratachardina pseudolobata Kondo&Gullan(Hemiptera:Coccoidea:Kerriidae),a pest in Florida,the Bahamas,Cuba and Christmas Island

Author
item SCHROER, SIBYLLE - UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
item Pemberton, Robert
item COOK, L. - UNIV.QUEENSLAND,AUSTRALIA
item KONDO, T. - UNIV.CALIFORNIA,DAVIS,CA
item GULLAN, P. - UNIV.CALIFORNIA,DAVIS,CA

Submitted to: Biological Control
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/10/2008
Publication Date: 8/1/2008
Citation: Schroer, S., Pemberton, R.W., Cook, L.G., Kondo, T., Gullan, P.J. 2008. The genetic diversity,relationships,and potential for biological control of the lobate lac scale,Paratachardina pseudolobata Kondo&Gullan(Hemiptera:Coccoidea:Kerriidae),a pest in Florida,the Bahamas,Cuba and Christmas Island. Biological Control, Vol. 46, Issue 2, pps. 256-266.

Interpretive Summary: The lobate lac scale, Paratachardina pseudolobata (Kerriidae), is an invasive plant sucking insect which attacks numerous woody species in Florida, the Bahamas, Christmas Island, and Cuba. Biological control research has been underway for several years, but parasitoids collected in India from the morphologically similar P. silvestri and P. mahdihassani failed in quarantine testing to induce parasitism in the lobate lac scale, except for low level parasitism caused by an encyrtid wasp. Better understanding of the relationship of P. pseudolobata and related Paratachardina will facilitate the search for natural enemies which may be able to control the pest. DNA comparisons were made with the lobate lac scale and related Paratachardina. Sequence data from the D2-D3 region of the nuclear large subunit ribosomal RNA gene (LSU rRNA, 28S) and the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase I (COI) distinguished P. pseudolobata from P. silvestri and P. mahdihassani, and showed P. pseudolobata to be more closely related to these Indotropical species than to an Australian species of Paratachardina. The lobate lac scale was genetically uniform throughout its exotic range, consistent with a single geographic origin, although lack of variation in these genes is not unusual for scale insects. Because of the greater relatedness of the lobate lac scale to Indotropical Paratachardina species, the native range is probably South or Southeast Asia, which is where we suggest future biological control surveys for the scale and its natural enemies be made.

Technical Abstract: The lobate lac scale Paratachardina pseudolobata Kondo & Gullan (Kerriidae) is a polyphagous pest of woody plants in Florida (U.S.A), the Bahamas, Cuba, and Christmas Island (Australia). Its recent appearance as a pest in these places indicates that this scale is introduced; however, its native range is unknown. Until 2006, this pest species was identified mistakenly as Paratachardina lobata (Chamberlin) [now P. silvestri (Mahdihassan)], which is native to India and Sri Lanka. Quarantine laboratory acceptance trials with Indian P. silvestri parasitoids indicated a strong immune response of P. pseudolobata. Gregarious development of encyrtid wasps was the only observed parasitism, but parasitization levels were below 3%. Identification of the native range of P. pseudolobata would facilitate the search for natural enemies better adapted to the scale. Sequence data from the D2-D3 region of the nuclear large subunit ribosomal RNA gene (LSU rRNA, 28S) and the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase I (COI) distinguished P. pseudolobata from the morphologically similar species P. silvestri and P. mahdihassani Kondo & Gullan, and showed P. pseudolobata to be more closely related to these Indotropical species than to an Australian species of Paratachardina. Paratachardina pseudolobata was genetically uniform throughout its exotic range, consistent with a single geographic origin, although lack of variation in these genes is not unusual for scale insects. Molecular identification of morphologically similar Paratachardina species was possible using the D2-D3 region of 28S, despite its length variation, suggesting that this gene region might be suitable as a non-COI barcoding gene for scale insects.