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Rhyzobius Lophanthae
''Rhyzobius lophanthae'', commonly known as the purple scale predator or the scale-eating ladybird, is a species of ladybird native to Queensland and Southern Australia. It was introduced into the United States in the 1890s and has since spread over the southern half of the country. Taxonomy This insect was first described in California in 1892 by the American entomologist Frank Ellsworth Blaisdell. He named it ''Scymnus lophanthae'', and thought it was a native American species. Unbeknown to him, the beetle was an introduced species, and at about the same time, it was described in its native Australia by the Australian entomologist Thomas Blackburn, who gave it the name ''Rhizobius toowoombae''. However, Blaisdell's name took precedence as it was published first, and ''R. toowoombae'' became a synonym. The specific name ''lophanthae'' means "of lophantha", referring to the plant ''Paraserianthes lophantha'' on which Blaisdell originally saw the ladybird. Description ''Rhyz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Ellsworth Blaisdell
Frank Ellsworth Blaisdell, Sr. (13 March 1862 – 16 July 1946) was an American professor of surgery who also was a keen naturalist and collector who specialized in beetles, and contributed to the systematics of the Tenebrionidae and the Melyridae. Blaisdell was born in Pittsfield, New Hampshire, but his family moved to San Francisco, after the death of his brothers from scarlet fever, when he was eight, and to San Diego three years later. His father, Solon Greenfield, was a saddle and harness maker, and the family managed a ranch in Poway Valley between 1874 and 1886, where young Blaisdell learned to manage an apiary and began to collect insects. In 1886 he became a county entomologist for San Diego but wished to study medicine. He worked as a clerk and studied medicine under P.C. Remondino and C.C. Valle. He joined Cooper Medical College in 1887 and graduated in 1889 to begin practice in San Diego. He moved to Mokelumne Hill, Calaveras County, in 1892 and worked there until 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CSIRO
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ... agency responsible for scientific research. CSIRO works with leading organisations around the world. From its headquarters in Canberra, CSIRO maintains more than 50 sites across Australia and in France, Chile and the United States, employing about 5,500 people. Federally funded scientific research began in Australia years ago. The Advisory Council of Science and Industry was established in 1916 but was hampered by insufficient available finance. In 1926 the research effort was reinvigorated by establishment of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which strengthened national science leadership and increased ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Citrus
''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lime (fruit), limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Melanesia, and Australia (continent), Australia. Various citrus species have been used and domesticated by indigenous cultures in these areas since ancient times. From there its cultivation spread into Micronesia and Polynesia by the Austronesian expansion (c. 3000–1500 BCE); and to the Middle East and the Mediterranean (c. 1200 BCE) via the incense trade route, and onwards to Europe and the Americas. History Citrus plants are native to subtropical and tropical regions of Asia, Island Southeast Asia, Near Oceania, and northeastern Australia. Domestication of citrus species involved much hybridization and introgression, leaving much uncertainty ab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mealybug
Mealybugs are insects in the family (biology), family Pseudococcidae, unarmored scale insects found in moist, warm habitats. Many species are considered pest (animal), pests as they feed on plant juices of greenhouse plants, house plants and subtropical trees and also act as a vector (epidemiology), vector for several plant diseases. Some ants live in symbiotic Ant#Relationships with other organisms, relationships with them, protecting them from predators and feeding off the Honeydew (secretion), honeydew which they excrete. Description Mealybugs are Sexual dimorphism, sexually dimorphic: females appear as nymphs, exhibiting reduced morphology, and lack wings, although unlike many female scale insects, they often retain legs and can move. Males are smaller, gnat-like and have wings. Since mealybugs (as well as all other Hemiptera) are hemimetabolous insects, they do not undergo complete metamorphosis in the true sense of the word. However, male mealybugs do exhibit a radical cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diaspididae
Diaspididae is the largest family of scale insects with over 2650 described species in around 400 genera. As with all scale insects, the female produces a waxy protective scale beneath which it feeds on its host plant. Diaspidid scales are far more substantial than those of most other families, incorporating the exuviae from the first two nymphal instars and sometimes faecal matter and fragments of the host plant. These can be complex and extremely waterproof structures rather resembling a suit of armor. For this reason these insects are commonly referred to as armored scale insects. As it is so robust and firmly attached to the host plant, the scale often persists long after the insect has died. Some African Diaspididae are attended by ants of genus ''Melissotarsus''. The ants appear to consume the armored scales because Diaspididae are completely naked when ant-attended; the ant nest itself remains completely hidden under the bark of the tree. Selected species Well-known spec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coccidae
The Coccidae are a family of scale insects belonging to the superfamily Coccoidea. They are commonly known as soft scales, wax scales or tortoise scales. The females are flat with elongated oval bodies and a smooth integument which may be covered with wax. In some genera they possess legs but in others, they do not, and the antennae may be shortened or missing. The males may be winged or wingless. Genera There are >1,100 spp. in 171 genera worldwide. *Subfamily Myzolecaniinae ** '' Akermes'' ** '' Alecanium'' ** '' Alecanopsis'' ** '' Cribolecanium'' ** '' Cryptostigma'' ** '' Cyclolecanium'' ** '' Halococcus'' ** '' Houardia'' ** '' Megasaissetia'' ** '' Myzolecanium'' ** '' Neolecanium'' ** '' Paractenochiton'' ** '' Pseudophilippia'' ** '' Richardiella'' ** '' Torarchus'' ** '' Toumeyella'' ** '' Xenolecanium'' * '' Antecerococcus'' * '' Ceroplastes'' * ''Coccus A coccus (plural cocci) is any bacterium or archaeon that has a spherical, ovoid, or generally round shap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. Comprising the westernmost peninsulas of Eurasia, it shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with both Africa and Asia. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and Asia to the east. Europe is commonly considered to be Boundaries between the continents of Earth#Asia and Europe, separated from Asia by the drainage divide, watershed of the Ural Mountains, the Ural (river), Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Greater Caucasus, the Black Sea and the waterways of the Turkish Straits. "Europe" (pp. 68–69); "Asia" (pp. 90–91): "A commonly accepted division between Asia and E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saissetia Oleae
''Saissetia oleae'' ( syn. ''Coccus oleae'') is a scale insect in the family Coccidae. It is considered one of the three main phytophagous parasites of the olive tree (''Olea europaea''), together with the olive fruit fly (''Bactrocera oleae'') and the olive moth ('' Prays oleae''). Although it is a common parasite which occurs most often in olive trees, it is a polyphagous species, also attacking (but less frequently) citrus trees as well as various ornamental shrubs such as oleanders, pittosporums, sago palm, and euonymus. History One of the first scientists who studied the insect in a scientific and modern way was Italian naturalist Giuseppe Maria Giovene. He wrote a publication entitled ''Descrizione e storia della cocciniglia dell'ulivo'' (1807) in which he answered Giovanni Presta who had denied the existence of the insect in the Apulian provinces of Bari and Otranto. Giovene showed that the insect was common in the above regions as well, even though it occurred less ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elytron
An elytron (; ; , ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometimes alternatively spelled as "hemielytra"), and in most species only the basal half is thickened while the apex is membranous, but when they are entirely thickened the condition is referred to as "coleopteroid". An elytron is sometimes also referred to as a shard. Description The elytra primarily serve as protective wing-cases for the hindwings underneath, which are used for flying. To fly, a beetle typically opens the elytra and then extends the hindwings, flying while still holding the elytra open, though many beetles in the families Scarabaeidae and Buprestidae can fly with the elytra closed (e.g., most Cetoniinae; ). In a number of groups, the elytra are reduced to various degrees, (e.g., the beetle families Staphylinidae and Ripiphoridae), o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coccinellidae
Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles ranging in size from . They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in Great Britain. Some entomologists prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles as they are not true bugs. Many of the species have conspicuous aposematic colours and patterns, such as red with black spots, that warn potential predators that they are distasteful. The majority of the more than 6,000 described species are generally considered beneficial insects, because many prey on herbivorous hemipterans such as aphids or scale insects, which are agricultural pests. Many coccinellids lay their eggs directly in aphid and scale insect colonies, ensuring their larvae have an immediate food source. However, some species such as the herbivorous Mexican bean beetle are agricultural pests. Etymology The name ''coccinellids'', created by Pierre André Latreille, is derived from the Latin word ''coccineus'' meaning "scarlet". The na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prothorax
The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum (ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on each side. The prothorax never bears wings in extant insects (except in some cases of atavism), though some fossil groups possessed wing-like projections. All adult insects possess legs on the prothorax, though in a few groups (e.g., the butterfly family Nymphalidae) the forelegs are greatly reduced. In many groups of insects, the pronotum is reduced in size, but in a few it is hypertrophied, such as in all beetles (Coleoptera). In most treehoppers (family Membracidae, order Hemiptera), the pronotum is expanded into often fantastic shapes that enhance their camouflage or mimicry. Similarly, in the Tetrigidae, the pronotum is extended backward to cover the flight wings, supplanting the function of the tegmina. See also *Glossary of entomolo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paraserianthes Lophantha
''Paraserianthes lophantha'' (syn. ''Albizia lophantha''), the Cape Leeuwin wattle, Bicol wattle, Cape wattle, crested wattle or plume albizia, is a fast-growing tree with creamy-yellow, bottlebrush like flowers. It is a small tree (uppermost height approximately 5 metres) that occurs naturally along the southwest coast of Western Australia, from Fremantle to King George Sound. It was first spread beyond southwest Australia by Baron Ferdinand von Mueller, who gave packets of ''P. lophantha'' seeds to early explorers under the assumption that if they planted the seeds at their campsites, the trees would indicate the routes they travelled. It is considered a weed in the parts of Australia where it is not indigenous, as well as in New Zealand, South Africa, the Canary Islands, the Philippines and Chile. Taxonomy It was first described in 1806 as ''Acacia lophantha'' by Willdenow, but was transferred to the genus ''Paraserianthes'' by Nielsen, Guinet and Baretta-Kuipers in 1983. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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