New records of three armored scale insect species from Sri Lanka (Hemiptera: Diaspididae)

Abstract

Armored scale insects have become a severe threat as a plant pest in many parts of the world, and their mysterious features empowered them to high impact on yield loss and exportation of planting materials. However, they have not acquired significant attention so far in research studies of Sri Lanka. Thus it is crucial to be aware of available native species, potential threat species and their host range to predict potential risks in Sri Lanka. At present, 181 armored scale species have been reported in Sri Lanka. In 2020, a field survey was carried out to update information by visual inspection of the vegetation in randomly selected 190 home gardens in Galle district, a southern province of Sri Lanka. Three armored scale insects (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) were recorded from Sri Lanka for the first time. These species were slide mounted, microscopically identified using taxonomic keys and described as Aspidiella hartii infesting Ginger tubers (Zingiber officinale), Lepidosaphes esakii from Pleomele plant (Pleomele thaliodes) and Pseudaulacaspis leveri from Cycas plant species. Among them, Aspidiella hartii have been recorded as a common pest of yams, ginger, turmeric and other root crops in other countries, and that might be a potential epidemic in Sri Lanka. Information related to the diagnosis, distribution and hosts of these newly recorded species is updated.