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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #347786
Research Project: Systematics of Parasitic and Herbivorous Wasps of Agricultural Importance

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: A new species of Comones Noyes and Woolley (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), a parasitoid of flat grass scale, Aclerda takahashii Kuwana (Hemiptera: Aclerdidae), a new pest on sugarcane in Florida

Author
item Mottern, Jason
item STOCKS, IAN - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA)
item Gates, Michael

Submitted to: Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/15/2019
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Scale insects cause millions of dollars of crop losses annually in the USA. Parasitic wasps attack scale insects, providing an environmentally friendly means of controlling these pests. I n this paper we describe a new species of encyrtid wasp attacking a scale pest on sugarcane. We compare the new species with related species and discuss implications for control. This paper will be used by entomologists, farmers, extension agents, and biocontrol workers in sugarcane systems.

Technical Abstract: Comones dulcis sp.n. Mottern is described from specimens reared from flat grass scale, Aclerda takahashii Kuwana 1932, on sugarcane in Palm Beach County, Florida. The new species exhibits considerable size variation and apparent allometric scaling of body parts that are often used for encyrtid species diagnosis. Therefore, both morphological and molecular data are presented to describe and diagonse the species. Photographs of the congeners C. ferrierei (Burks, 1964) and C. gastron (Walker, 1847), are included for comparison. Prospects for incorporating C. dulcis into a biological control program targeting flat grass scale are discussed.