Praelongorthezia Kozár

Watson, Gillian W., 2022, Towards identification of the scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) of continental Africa: 2. Checklists and keys to six archaeococcoid families, Zootaxa 5105 (3), pp. 301-356 : 349

Genus Praelongorthezia Kozár

This is a Neotropical genus of 23 species that feed on aerial plant parts ( Kozár 2004; García Morales et al. 2016). A single species, Praelongorthezia praelonga ( Fig. 25 ), has spread to other parts of the world including Africa ( Kondo et al. 2013). It is polyphagous and the sooty mould associated with infestations can be an unsightly problem on ornamental shrubs and trees. Praelongorthezia praelonga is particularly known as a pest of citrus but can attack coffee. It has been recorded from several West African countries ( Kondo et al. 2013) and is extending its geographical range. In life, the entire dorsum is covered by white wax plates, whereas Insignorthezia insignis has dorsal areas of bare dark green cuticle ( Kondo et al. 2013).

Figures

FIGURE 25. Praelongorthezia praelonga (Douglas), adult female, reproduced from Kozár (2004: 421, Fig. 181) with permission from Agrártudományi Kutatóközpont. AS: abdominal spiracles.