Aonidomytilus crookiae
Species of true bug
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aonidomytilus crookiae is a species of scale insect in the family Diaspididae which are often referred to as "armored scale insects."[1] It is commonly known as "St. John's wort scale".[2] Originally named Nelaspis crookiae by Gordon Floyd Ferris in 1954,[3] the taxon was moved to the genus Aonidomytilus in 1984[4] as the result of a 1979 taxonomic revision of the genus.[5] Aonidomytilus multiglandulatus is a junior synonym.[1]
| Aonidomytilus crookiae | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Suborder: | Sternorrhyncha |
| Family: | Diaspididae |
| Genus: | Aonidomytilus |
| Species: | A. crookiae |
| Binomial name | |
| Aonidomytilus crookiae (Ferris, 1954) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The scale of the female is approximately 1/10th of an inch (2.3mm) in length, oyster shell shaped, light brown in color turning yellowish white toward the apex, with orange yellow exuviae attached apically.[1] The body of the female insect under the scale is slender and spindle-shaped, with lobed ventral margins.[1] Their eggs are light purple in color.[1]
Aonidomytilus crookiae parasitizes plants in the genus Cistus in the rockrose family Cistaceae and the genus Hypericum in the family Hypericaceae including Hypericum microsepalum and H. prolificum.[6]
The species' geographic distribution includes the U.S. states Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, and probably adjacent states.[6]
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