Andaspis numerata Brimblecombe, 1959

Matsunaga, Janis N., Howarth, Francis G. & Kumashiro, Bernarr R., 2019, New State Records and Additions to the Alien Terrestrial Arthropod Fauna in the Hawaiian Islands, Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 51 (1), pp. 1-71 : 9

Andaspis numerata Brimblecombe

NEW STATE RECORD

Stems of a reported dying Hibiscus rosa-sinensis plant initially thought to be weakened by disease, was further examined for the possibility of insect boring damage. Microscopic examination revealed the entire surfaces of the woody stems were covered in layers and layers of armored scales, reaching several millimeters thick. The layers were so thick that it appeared as if the armored scale coverings were the bark of the tree. An additional collection of this scale was found nearby several months later, however, it has not yet been reported outside of the Kapahulu, Honolulu, Oahu area. It can easily go undetected, camouflaged with the bark of woody plant stems.

Andaspis numerata Brimblecombe , identified by D.R. Miller on May 23, 2011, represents both a new Hawaii record and a new U.S. record. According to Miller (2011 pers. comm., 23 May), A. numerata has been intercepted from Samoa in Honolulu in 1931 on (?) Agrostrophyllum rheineckianum ( Orchidaceae ). It has also been intercepted in San Francisco in 1952 on Hibiscus sp. ; and from Fiji at DC in 1956 on Erythrina fusca (Fabaceae) cuttings. A. numerata is distributed throughout Australasia ( American Samoa, Australia , Fiji, Papua New Guinea , Tonga, Western Samoa) and India ( García Morales et al. 2016) where it is a serious pest to tea plants ( Das 1976).

Collection records: OAHU, Kapahulu, 23.III.2011, ex. Hibiscus rosa-sinensis , coll. M. Ko, det. D.R. Miller, 23.V.2011; Kapahulu, 18.VIII.2011, ex. Hibiscus sp. coll. M. Ko & C. Lao, det. J.N. Matsunaga, 30.VIII.2011; Kunia, 30.IV.2015, ex. Sesbania tomentosa stems, coll. J.N. Matsunaga, det. J.N. Matsunaga, 23.II.2016. Vouchers at HDOA.