Submitted to: Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/21/2021
Publication Date: 4/13/2022
Citation: Skvarla, M.J., Schneider, S.A. 2022. First record of crapemyrtle bark scale (Hemiptera: Eriococcidae: Acanthococcus lagerstroemiae) from Pennsylvania. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 123:(4)862-868. https://doi.org/10.4289/0013-8797.123.4.862.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4289/0013-8797.123.4.862

Interpretive Summary: Crapemyrtles are extremely popular ornamental plants in the United States, especially in the Southeast. Crapemyrtle plant sales in 2019 totaled $69.5 million, more than any other group of deciduous flowering trees. Crapemyrtle bark scales are sap-feeding insects that are recently invasive to the United States. They were first detected on crapemyrtles in Texas in 2004 and have subsequently spread sporadically throughout the southeastern United States. This article documents the spread of crapemyrtle bark scales into the northeastern states, with the first report of an infestation from Pennsylvania, and updates our current knowledge about their distribution. The information presented in this article is useful to systematists, ecologists, and other scientists studying scale insects, and is of interest to federal and state regulatory agencies and consumers.

Technical Abstract: Crapemyrtle bark scales (Acanthococcus lagerstroemiae (Kuwana, 1907)) are an introduced pest that feed on crapemyrtle (Lagerstroemia Linnaeus). First detected in North America in Dallas County, Texas in 2004, crapemyrtle bark scales have since spread patchily across the Southeast. The specimens reported here are the first recorded in Pennsylvania and represent the most northern occurrence of the species to date.