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Parthenolecanium corni
The female lecanium scale, having overwintered on a twig, matures in spring and develops a hard, turtle-shaped shell, about a seventh of an inch long. At this point, she looks a bit like a small ladybug that has been glued to the twig. Most likely, she has not mated and will reproduce parthenogenetically, as her generic name – Parthenolecanium – suggests. She lays eggs – sometimes more than 1,000 of them – beneath her protective shell and then dies and dries up. In a week to 10 days, the eggs hatch, and tiny, yellowish hatchlings crawl out from the shell and onto a nearby leaf. Red ,round structure,size of a lady beetle,on apple tree,new branch. I categorized this as Arthropod because I am assuming that this is some insect gall. Pic 3 shows a very sticky exudate from these red round formations. The underneath of the gall shown in 4,5,6 shows (what seems to be!!) ,scales and Aphids. When I touched the underside it was very sticky.
The copious honeydew that the scales excrete is often colonized by a sooty mold,
Spotted on Apr 16, 2013
Submitted on Apr 16, 2013
23 Comments
http://entoweb.okstate.edu/ddd/insects/b...
Makes sense because we have an Elm tree in the vicinity . The scale is not necessarily found on the Elm tree though. However it does host a stage of the life cycle of the scale insect.
Martini, I will study your link before I answer!!
MArtini,I am in the learning process and that is the reason I asked you so many questions!
My question to was related to the fact that how do they breathe underneath "IF" it is a dome like structure.OR is it an extension of their skin?
I think to make it a little clearer,this is not a turtle like shell?So how do they carry on the other functions underneath it , "IF" it is a dome.?
Jemma, I didn't think scale insects made shells other than their own skin. Maybe I am wrong. I have seen one similar. Do you think this is the same as yours? http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/223...
I believe this is the only spotting on PN of "Parthenolecanium corni"
A case of convergent evolution. Thanks so much for making it so interesting, Arlanda!!
Martini, I was hesitant to cut this open because was not sure if it was alive or dead. Yes they do die,after a few days though.
No, I would say it is a case of convergent evolution.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convergent_...
Both species are completely unrelated but achieve a concrete purpose in the same way, in this case both advert potential predators that they are toxic or distasteful by using strong colour contrast, black and red in this case.
ladybug mimic scale insect?!
Arlanda,thanks again! :))
it is a bit confusing but lady bugs are something completely different, the ir family is Coccinellidae and has no relation with Coccoidea at all. Lady bugs are coleoptera while scale insects are hemiptera, they only have in common to be insects
thanks. I will update it. Lady bugs are Coccoidea too? What an interesting phenomenon.
Hi Jemma. I am not expert in insects but scale insects are those included in Coccoidea superfamily. Parthenolecanium corni belongs to the Coccidae family which is included in coccoidea superfamily. So yes, Parthenolecanium corni is a scale insect
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_insec...
Thank you Arlanda. I consider a very unique spotting and the out come surprising.So ,basically" Parthenolecanium corni is a scale insect?
Congratulations Jemma, I think you finally got it. This Parthenolecanium corni seems to be the right answer
The copious honeydew that the scales excrete is often colonized by a sooty mold,
The female lecanium scale, having overwintered on a twig, matures in spring and develops a hard, turtle-shaped shell, about a seventh of an inch long. At this point, she looks a bit like a small ladybug that has been glued to the twig. Most likely, she has not mated and will reproduce parthenogenetically, as her generic name – Parthenolecanium – suggests. She lays eggs – sometimes more than 1,000 of them – beneath her protective shell and then dies and dries up. In a week to 10 days, the eggs hatch, and tiny, yellowish hatchlings crawl out from the shell and onto a nearby leaf.
http://northernwoodlands.org/articles/ar...
http://www.agroatlas.ru/en/content/pests...
Parthenolecanium corni?
Please check new pics for more clues!!
Martini and Arlanda, I uploaded a few more pictures.
Jemma. for the sake of science, you need to cut this open and show us the contents. Galls are complex and confusing. As plant parasites, they are often appropriately further parasitized by other insects and the contents inside the gall may not be the one who built it.
I do not know!. I guess that you first separate it from the tree and look inside ...
Thanks Arlanda. How do i check to see if it is a scale insect?
Nice spotting!. You are right, it could be a gall. Just in case check if it is some kind of scale insect. I spent months trying to ID what I thought it was a gall and finally it came out it was an scale insect, Kermes ilicis, quite similar to what you have here. Have a look: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/125...