Chris Malumphy

Toumeyella parvicornis (Hemiptera: Coccidae), Causing Severe Decline of Pinus caribaea var. Bahamensis in the Turks and Caicos Islands

ABSTRACT Since it was first formally recorded there in 2005, the Nearctic pine tortoise scale Toumeyella parvicornis (Cockerell) (Hemiptera: Coccidae) has caused severe decline of the Caribbean pine, Pinus caribaea var. bahamensis (Grisebach) W. H. Barrett & Golfari, in the pine forests on the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI). The scale infestations reduce host vigor, cause dieback and high levels of mortality. Honeydew excreted by the insects enables the growth of associated sooty molds to smother the under-storey plants inhibiting their growth. Surveys carried out on the islands suggest that the entire Caribbean pine population in the TCI is under immediate threat from this invasive pest, with potentially devastating effects on the pineyard ecosystem. The biology, distribution, impact and economic importance of the pine tortoise scale are reviewed.

The Scope for Using the Volatile Profiles of Pinus caribaea var. bahamensis as Indicators of Susceptibility to Pine Tortoise Scale and as Predictors of Environmental Stresses

Climate change, unseasonal fire and urbanization are contributing to the decline of Pinus caribaea var. bahamensis populations in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI). Infestation of pines with the invasive pine tortoise scale (PTS, Toumeyella parvicornis) is accelerating this decline. Pine trees in the Bahamas are larger and healthier and are not infested with PTS although they are subject to some of the same environmental pressures as the trees in TCI. Volatile compounds were collected from wild and nursery‐reared P. caribaea var. bahamensis from TCI and the Bahamas and characterized using GC/MS analysis, to look for differences between the compounds detected in insect‐infested pines of TCI and the healthy pines of the Bahamas. Ten compounds contributing at least 1% of the total detected peak areas in any one of the samples were selected for further study. Eight of these compounds were identified using authentic standards and mass spectral libraries. The main constituents in the samples were α‐ and β‐pinene as well as β‐phellandrene, and, together with β‐myrcene, their contents varied the most between samples collected at different locations. Principal‐component analysis showed that the two structural isomers of pinene, together with β‐myrcene and β‐phellandrene, contributed 98.4% of the variance between samples. There was a positive relationship between the concentrations of the two structural isomers of pinene and between levels of β‐myrcene and β‐phellandrene. The results are discussed in relation to the biology and adaptations of invasive scale insects, the importance of monoterpenes in pine as a defense against insect predation, whether these compounds can be used as indicators of tree health, and future directions for research into conserving the Caicos pine.

New data on the scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, including revised checklists for each country

The results of an investigation of scale insects (Hemiptera, Coccoidea) in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are presented. The majority of samples were collected during 10 days in August 2012; further data is included based on samples collected from Estonia in November 2006, and Lithuania in January 2011 and July 2012. The following are new country records: 18 species for Estonia, species collected outdoors, Asterodiaspis variolosa (Ratzeburg), Aulacaspis rosae (Bouche), Chionaspis salicis (L.), Diaspidiotus bavaricus (Lindinger), Eulecanium tiliae (L.), Newsteadia floccosa (De Geer), Orthezia urticae (L.), Parthenolecanium corni (Bouche), P. pomeranicum (Kawecki), Peliococcus calluneti (Lindinger), Phenacoccus aceris (Signoret) and Physokermes hemicryphus (Dalman), and on indoor plantings, Aspidiotus nerii (Bouche), Coccus hesperidum L., Planococcus citri (Risso), Pseudococcus longispinus Targioni Tozzetti, Rhizoecus dianthi Green and Spilococcus mamillariae (Bouche); five species for Latvia, species collec...

New data on whiteflies (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, including the first records of rhododendron whitefly Massilieurodes chittendeni (Laing)

The results of the investigation of whiteflies (Hemiptera, Aleyrodidae) in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania during August 2012, and Estonia during November 2006, are presented. The rhododendron whitefly Massilieurodes chittendeni (Laing), an Asian pest of Rhododendron, was recorded from the Baltic States for the first time; large populations being found on single rhododendron bushes in Parnu, Estonia and Cesvaine, Latvia. The glasshouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood), was recorded breeding outdoors for the first time in the Baltic States. It was observed on Lycopersicon esculenta in Turi, Estonia, and on Malva sylvaticus in Biržai and Siauliai, Lithuania. Four species were recorded for the first time from Estonia: Aleurochiton aceris (Modeer), Aleyrodes lonicerae Walker, Aleyrodes proletella (L.) and M. chittendeni. Two species, A. proletella and M. chittendeni, were recorded for the first time from Latvia, and the presence of two other species, A. aceris and A. lonicerae, was verified. Balta...