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Project Noah Nature School
Icerya purchasi
a species of monophlebid scale insect that is native to Australia but has spread worldwide as a crop pest. I. purchasi feeds on the sap of a wide variety of plants, but most commonly infects Citrus and Pittosporum. They will attach to a plant via a waxy secretion and begin to produce a large white egg sac, which can be 2-3x the body size and contain thousands of eggs. Once the larvae hatch they will disperse and begin feeding on the veins of leaves/twigs. Unlike other scales they retain their legs through adulthood and can move in all of their life stages. This species is hermaphroditic and true males/ pure females are very uncommon. Icerya purchasi is one of the first major success stories of biological control as the ladybird beetle Rodolia cardinalis was very successful in controlling I. purchasi’s population. Its population swiftly declined and eased pressure on Californian citrus industries. Classification Animalia-Arthropoda-Insecta-Hemiptera-Sternorrhyncha-Coccoidea-Monophlebidae-Icerya-I. purchasi
Nativa da Austrália mas se espalhou pelo mundo todo.
Spotted on May 3, 2014
Submitted on May 3, 2014
