(Zehntner, 1898)
Diagnosis
Scale cover of adult female in life subcircular to oval, slightly convex, white with yellow-brown submarginal or marginal exuviae AULMADL1.jpg . Scale cover of male smaller than that of female, elongate, parallel-sided, white and tricarinate with yellow terminal exuviae.
Body of slide-mounted adult female with angular or quadrate, swollen prosoma; lateral tubercles moderate to slight AUMADS.jpg . Pygidium with median lobes zygotic, without any setae or gland spines between their bases; gland spines and macroducts absent from thorax and head; with three or four submedian macroducts on each side of pygidial segment VI; with more than four rows of submedian macroducts present AUMADP.jpg . On sugarcane and other grasses.
Host range
Aulacaspis madiunensis has been recorded from large members of the plant family Gramineae (Borchsenius, 1966). Hosts include species of: Arundo, Ischaemum, Oplismenus, Pandanus, Saccharum officinarum and other tall grasses.
Affected plant stages: vegetative growing stage
Affected plant parts: on the stalks and under leaf sheaths, near the nodes AULMADL1.jpg
Biology and ecology
Aulacaspis madiunensis is not as dependant on sugarcane for its survival as is A. tegalensis; the two species often co-exist on sugarcane (Williams and Greathead, 1990). Rao and Rao, 1984, mentioned that A. madiunensis prefers to feed on the upper internodes of the stems, under the leaf sheaths.
Crawlers are the primary dispersal stage and move to new areas of the plant or are dispersed by wind or animal contact. Mortality due to abiotic factors is high in this stage. Dispersal of sessile adults and eggs occurs through human transport of infested plant material.
Symptoms
In Australia (Queensland), a persistent heavy infestation can lead to decay and death of sugar canes (Williams and Greathead, 1990).
Economic impact
Aulacaspis madiunensis has only been reported causing losses to sugarcane in Australia (Queensland), although the species occurs in numerous countries. In Queensland it is a problem mainly on stand-over cane (left in the field to grow for a second season) in drought years (Williams and Greathead, 1990). Infestation may affect cane quality (Wright, 1971), causing low dry matter and sucrose contents. Low sucrose content makes sucrose extraction more difficult and therefore more costly. There is no decrease in the quantity of juice produced unless rotting sets in; a persistent heavy infestation can lead to decay and death of canes (Williams and Greathead, 1990).
Detection and inspection methods
Pull back the leaf sheaths of sugarcane and other giant grasses, especially from the upper internodes, and examine the stem for circular to oval white scale covers.
Phytosanitary risk
There is a risk of introduction of A. madiunensis to tropical countries if infested planting material of sugarcane is imported.
Natural enemies
Parasitoids:
- Adelencyrtus miyarai, in Sabah, Java, Singapore
- Aphytis mytilaspidis, in Java, Singapore
- Aphytis sp., in Queensland
- Coccobius ?flavidus, in Sabah, Java, Singapore
- Coccobius ?nigriclavus, in Australia (Queensland)
- Coccobius ?seminotus, in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania
- Coccobius subflavus, in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania
Predators:
Williams and Greathead, 1990, list a large number of coccinellid predators, but do not specify whether they were feeding on A. madiunensis as well as A. tegalensis. Some of these predators are listed in the species card for A. tegalensis.
Distribution
See Aulacaspis madiunensis distribution.
Microscopic examination of slide-mounted adult females is required for authoritative identification to species. Williams and Watson, 1993, provided a key to species of Aulacaspis species that feed on sugarcane.
Aulacaspis neoguineensis Williams and Watson, 1993 is similar to A. madiunensis, but differs in having dorsal submedian macroducts on abdominal segments II and III; these ducts are absent in A. madiunensis. Aulacaspis neoguineensis is known from Papua New Guinea on Saccharum officinarum.
Aulacaspis wakayamaensis Kuwana is similar to A. madiunensis, but differs in possessing single gland spines between the second and third pygidial lobes on each side; in A. madiunensis and A. neoguineensis, the gland spines in these positions are paired. Aulacaspis wakayamaensis is known from Taiwan and Japan on Saccharum officinarum (Kawai, 1980; Williams and Watson, 1993).
Comments
Aulacaspis madiunensis is a tropical species that may have originated in Asia. It has not been recorded from Europe, or from the Western Hemisphere.
Asia
China
Guangdong: present, no further details (Tao, 1999)
Yunnan: present, no further details (CIE, 1985; Tao, 1999)
India
Andhra Pradesh: present, no further details (Rao and Rao, 1984; CIE, 1985)
Tamil Nadu: present, no further details (CIE, 1985)
Indonesia
Java: present, no further details (Beardsley, 1966; Williams and Greathead, 1990)
Sabah: present, no further details (Williams and Greathead, 1990)
Sumatra: present, no further details (CIE, 1985)
Timor: present, no further details (CIE, 1985)
Japan: present, no further details (Tao, 1999)
Malaysia
West Malaysia: present, no further details (CIE, 1985; Williams and Greathead, 1990)
Sabah: present, no further details (CIE, 1985)
Singapore: present, no further details (CIE, 1985; Williams and Greathead, 1990)
Sri Lanka: present, no further details (CIE, 1985)
Taiwan: present, no further details (CIE, 1985; Tao, 1999)
Thailand: present, no further details (Williams and Greathead, 1990)
Africa
Kenya: present, no further details (CIE, 1985; Williams and Greathead, 1990)
Malawi: present, no further details (CIE, 1985; Williams and Greathead, 1990)
South Africa: present, no further details (Danzig and Pellizzari, 1998; Williams and Greathead, 1990)
Sudan: present, no further details (CIE, 1985)
Tanzania: present, no further details (CIE, 1985; Williams and Greathead, 1990)
Uganda: present, no further details (Beardsley, 1966; Williams and Greathead, 1990)
Oceania
Australia: present, no further details (CSIRO, 2001)
Queensland: present, no further details (CIE, 1985; Williams and Greathead, 1990)
Palau Is: present (Beardsley, 1966)
Tuvalu: present (Williams and Watson, 1988)
Yap Is: present (Beardsley, 1966)