Taxonomy of scale insects in Egypt (Coccoidea: Sternorrhyncha: Hemiptera)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Plant Protection Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, Dokki, Giza, Egypt

Abstract

The results can be summarized as follows:
1-     The Egyptian scale insects fauna includes thirteen families: Aclerdidae, Asterolecaniidae, (Coccidae), Dactylopiidae, Diaspididae, Eriococcidae, Halimococcidae, LecanoDiaspididae, Margarodidae, Monophlebidae, Ortheziidae, Phoenicococcidae, and Pseudococcidae.
2-The number of species of superfamily Coccoidea presented in Egypt only is 22; in 9 families.
3-The collection of the Plant Protection Research Institute is the largest in Egypt and it includes more than 4800 slides. The collection started in 1921 until 1993. This enormous work is attributed to Hall, Ezzat, Prisener and Hosny.
4-The authentic material in the Collection of Plant Protection Department, Ministry of Agriculture, Egypt amount to 47 Species.
5-Type depository ( Holotype female, Syntypes female , Syntypes, female, male and first instar, Lectotype,  Lectotype fossil) of  67 Egyptian  species are present in 7 museums:   The Natural History Museum, England; United States National Entomological Collection, National Museum of Natural History, USA; Bet Dagan: Department of Entomology, The Volcani Center, Israel; Museum National d'Histoire naturelle, France; Zoological Museum, Academy of Science, Russia; The Bohart Museum of Entomology, University of California, USA; Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Austria.
6-The Natural History Museum, England, UK. includes 49 species which represent about  ¼ of the total number of species in Egypt.
7-     The generation of scientists in Scale Insects started with Hall in 1921 who established taxonomy in Egypt. The number of researchers in this field reached 16 until present. It is important to note that Prof. Yehia Ezzat has a great number of publications in this field and contributed extensively to continuing these studies in Egypt. In addition, there are three foreign scientists who published two papers on species present in Egypt in 2010.
8-     The importance of Taxonomy of Scale Insects is due to the fact that scale insects can usually only be identified, in order to be controlled, when stained and mounted on glass slides. Also, taxonomy of Scale Insects helps in agriculture quarantine.

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