(Maskell, 1891)
Diagnosis
Scale cover of adult female in life more or less circular, with a slight central peak, 1.5-2.0 mm diameter, mid- to dark reddish brown medially and paler brown to whiteish towards the margin; exuviae central, yellow or tan, centre sometimes with white patch CHRPINL1.jpg . Male scale cover similar to that of the female but elongate oval with subterminal exuviae CHRPINL.jpg .
Body of slide-mounted adult female membranous, pyriform (never reniform); with front of head rounded; prepygidial segments each with fewer than five submarginal ducts on each side CHRPINS.jpg . Pygidium broad, subtended by an angle greater than 90°, with three pairs of rounded lobes; perivulvar pores present; paraphyses present only between third lobes, each paraphysis longer than a median lobeCHRPINP1.jpg ; second poriferous furrow (between segments VI and VII) on each side containing 11 or more macroducts in a double to tripple row CHRPINMG.jpg .
Host range
Chrysomphalus pinnulifer is a polyphagous species; Borchsenius, 1966, records it from hosts belonging to 30 plant families, but its host range is probably wider than this. Hosts include species of: Angraecum, Annona, Aphloia, Artocarpus, Bauhinia, Buxus, Camellia, Ceratonia, Cinchona, Citrus, Cocos, Crataegus, Croton, Cycas, Cymbidium, Dracaena, Duranta, Eucalyptus, Eugenia, Euonymus, Ficus, Fraxinus, Hedera, Jasminum, Laurus, Lilium, Mangifera, Monstera, Musa, Myrtus, Nerium, Opuntia, Orchidaceae, Pandanus, Persea, Pittosporum, Plumeria, Prunus, Psidium, Salix, Seaforthia, Strelitzia and Thunbergia.
Affected plant stages: vegetative growing, flowering and fruiting stages
Affected plant parts: leaves CHRPINL2.jpg
Biology and ecology
The biology of this species has not been studied. 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
The toxicity of the saliva injected while C. pinnulifer feeds causes plant tissues around the stylets to die CHRPINL1.jpg .
Economic impact
There is no record of any damage caused by C. pinnulifer mentioned in the literature.
Detection and inspection methods
Examine the leaves of the host-plants listed above closely, for circular scale covers, each with a slight central peak, mid- to dark reddish brown medially and paler towards the margin, and yellow or tan central exuviae.
Natural enemies
The natural enemies of C. pinnulifer have not been studied.
Distribution
See Chrysomphalus pinnulifer distribution.
Microscopic examination of slide-mounted adult females is required for authoritative identification to species.
Chrysomphalus propsimus Banks could be misidentified as C. pinnulifer, but differs in possessing fringed plates lateral to each third lobe. In contrast, C. pinnulifer has clavate plates in this position CHRPINP1.jpg. Chrysomphalus propsimus is known from the Philippines, Indonesia (Sumatra), Kiribati, Tuvalu and Jamaica on coconut, Pandanus and Calamus species (Williams and Watson, 1988; The Natural History Museum collection, London, UK).
Comments
Chrysomphalus pinnulifer is a tropicopolitan species, probably of Oriental origin, whose range extends into temperate areas; its distribution is probably wider than is indicated below (Williams and Watson, 1988). It was originally described from Fiji in 1891, but has not been recorded from there since. The species has not been recorded from Australia.
Europe
Portugal
Madeira: present, no further details (McKenzie, 1939; Danzig and Pellizzari, 1998)
Spain: present in Córdoba, Grenada, Huelva, Sevilla and Valencia (Amparo Blay Golcoechea, 1993; Danzig and Pellizzari, 1998)
Balearic Is: present (Amparo Blay Golcoechea, 1993)
Canary Is: present, no further details (Amparo Blay Golcoechea, 1993)
Asia
India
Karnataka: The Natural History Museum collection, London, UK
Sikkim: The Natural History Museum collection, London, UK
West Bengal: The Natural History Museum collection, London, UK
Turkey: The Natural History Museum collection, London, UK
Africa
Algeria: The Natural History Museum collection, London, UK
Kenya: The Natural History Museum collection, London, UK
Madagascar: present, no further details (Danzig and Pellizzari, 1998)
Malawi: The Natural History Museum collection, London, UK
Mauritius: present, no further details (Danzig and Pellizzari, 1998)
Réunion: present, no further details (Williams and Williams, 1988)
Seychelles: The Natural History Museum collection, London, UK
Sri Lanka: present, no further details (Danzig and Pellizzari, 1998)
St Helena: The Natural History Museum collection, London, UK
Uganda: The Natural History Museum collection, London, UK
Zambia: The Natural History Museum collection, London, UK
Zimbabwe: The Natural History Museum collection, London, UK
Western Hemisphere
South America: present, no further details (Danzig and Pellizzari, 1998)
Brazil
Bahia: present, no further details (Claps et al., 2001a)
Sao Paulo: present, no further details (Claps et al., 2001a)
Oceania
Papua New Guinea: present (Williams and Watson, 1988)