DESCRIPTION OF THE DIFFERENT STAGES IN THE LIFE CYCLE OF THE DATE PALM SCALE INSECT, Parlatoria blanchardi TARGIONI TOZZETTI (Homoptera, Diaspididae)

Document Type : Research articles.

Author

Department of Economic Entomology & pesticides Fac. Of Agrec., Cairo Univ., Giza, Egypt.

Abstract

The different stages of P. blanchardi were described. The
egg is oblong, whitish yellow and averages 285 microns long and
110 microns wide. After hatching, the 1st instar, crawler that gets
out from beneath the scale is also oblong yellowish white in color
and measures 250 microns long and 125 microns wide. The female
passes through two nymphal instars, while the male passes through
four. For this reason, the main taxonomic characters of the different
nymphal instars in both sexes were studied in details. In the adult
stage, sex is clearly distinguished. The female becomes
semicircular, elongated, and apterous, while the male is elongated
and winged. P. blancgardi, like most insects of this group, protect
itself with an armoured scale composed of exuviae and other
secreted materials. After the last nymphal moult, the male usually
emerges from beneath the scale, while the female remains
motionless.

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