Lecanodiaspididae is a family of scale insects commonly known as false pit scales or lecanodiaspidids. Members of this family come from all parts of the world but are most numerous in the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

Description

Adults false pit scales are yellow to reddish-brown and have a waxy, papery

test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

with about eight transverse ridges giving it a corrugated appearance. There is a longitudinal ridge in the center of the test and an anal opening with rolled up edges at the posterior end.

Life cycle

Members of this family of scales mostly live on the trunks and branches of shrubs and

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

trees. Host plants include species from 67 plant families but false pit scales predominantly occur on Fabaceae. They are also found, but less often, on Fagaceae,

Moraceae The Moraceae — often called the mulberry family or fig family — are a family of flowering plants comprising about 38 genera and over 1100 species. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however ...

, Myrtaceae and

Rutaceae The Rutaceae is a family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in BoDD – Botanical Der ...

. The females develop through three instar stages and the males through five. There is usually a single generation per year and the scales overwinter as

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

under the mother's test. Males exist in most of the species. Many of the species are guarded by

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...

s which are attracted by their honeydew.

Genera

*'' Anomalococcus'' *'' Brookesiella'' *'' Celaticoccus'' *'' Cosmococcus'' *'' Cresococcus'' *'' Gallinococcus'' *'' Lecanodiaspis'' *'' Prosopophora'' *'' Psoraleococcus'' *'' Pterococcus'' *'' Stictacanthus'' *'' Virgulicoccus''

References

Scale insects Hemiptera families {{Coccoidea-stub