''Tectococcus ovatus'' (

Hemiptera Hemiptera (; ) is an order (biology), order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, Reduviidae, assassin bugs, Cimex, bed bugs, and shield bugs. ...

: Eriococcidae), also called the Brazilian Scale, is a

scale insect Scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient grouping than the ...

in the family

Eriococcidae Eriococcidae is a family of scale insects in the order Hemiptera. They are commonly known as felt scales or eriococcids. Each species is usually specific to a different plant host, or closely related group of hosts. Recent research using ribosom ...

. It is most widely known for being a potential

biological control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also invo ...

agent for ''

Psidium cattleyanum ''Psidium cattleyanum (World Plants : Psidium cattleianum)'', commonly known as Cattley guava, strawberry guava or cherry guava, is a small tree (2–6 m tall) in the Myrtaceae (myrtle) family. The species is named in honour of English hor ...

'' (strawberry guava) in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

,Wessels, Frank J., James P. Cuda, M. Tracy Johnson and José Henrique Pedrosa-Macedo. 2007
Host specificity of Tectococcus ovatus (Hemiptera: Eriococcidae), a potential biological control agent of the invasive strawberry guava, Psidium cattleyanum (Myrtales: Myrtaceae), in Florida.
BioControl. Volume 52, Number 4 / August, 2007. and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. Extensive testing has shown that this species is very host-specific.

References

Eriococcidae Endemic fauna of Hawaii {{Coccoidea-stub