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BLACK SCALE Saissetia oleae (Olivier) -- Homoptera, Coccidae (Contacts) ------
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polyphagous, almost cosmopolitan species, is as pest primarily on olive and
citrus. Its origin remains in doubt,
as previously discussed. Some
consider South Africa as the native home (DeLotto 1976), while D. P. Annecke
(pers. commun.) considered North Africa as the place of origin. Black scale is rarely a pest of citrus in
East Africa, Mexico and central California, but has been very serious in
southern California, Chile, Australia and in the Mediterranean region.
Black scale became a pest in southern California as early as 1880, and
biological control was begun in 1981-92 with the introduction of some
coccinellid beetles from Australia.
Two species, Orcus
chalybeus and Rhizobius
ventralis Erichson were
established (Essig 1931). Several
other species of Orcus, Rhizobius and Leis were obtained in Australia
during 1892-1902, without becoming established (Bartlett 1978). The parasitoid Scutellista cyanea Motschulsky was imported
from South Africa in 1901, followed by about 30 other species of parasitoids
and 10 coccinellids over six decades (Bartlett 1978, Luck 1981). Of nine established parasitoids, Metaphycus
helvolus (Compere), M. lounsbury (Howard), M. bartletti
Annecke & Mynhardt, S. cyanea, and Diversinervus elegans Silvestri were
established. Although some control
was obtained with the introduction of Metaphycus lounsburyi
in 1918 (Smith 1921), substantial control was only obtained after the
establishment of M. helvolus (Bartlett 1978). Kennett et al.
(1999) point out that
various aspects of the long campaign against S. oleae
which are of especial interest include (1) the emphasis placed on
introduction of coccinellid predators following the earlier success with Rodolia cardinalis for biological control of the cottony-cushy
scale; none established. (2) the apparent displacement of Moranila californica (Howard), another chalcidoid egg predator, by S. cyanea (Flanders 1958), (3) failure of the introduced Coccophagus species to attack S. oleae on citrus (Clausen 1956), (4) the erroneous
introduction of the hyperparasitoid Quaylea whittieri
Girault, which adversely affected M.
lounsbury, but which
disappeared in later years (Flanders 1943); (5) the different degrees of
control achieved on univoltine (inland) and bivoltine (coastal) scale
populations; (6) the role of host feeding by M. helvolus
in reducing S. oleae populations (DeBach
1943); (7) the near eradication of the nigra scale, Saissetia nigra
Nietner, by M. helvolus (Smith 1944), and (8)
the elimination of Eucalymnatus
tesselatus (Signoret) by M. helvolus prior to its becoming a major pest (Bartlett
1969). Lampson
& Morse (1992) appraised the status of biological control in
California. Black scale surveys were
made between Sept 1987-1989. From 308
collections of black scale-infested citrus, olive, and oleander twigs from 19
sites in southern California, 1,610 specimens were collected. Nine primary and six secondary parasitoids
were identified. Four primaries wer
abundant in southern California: Metaphycus bartletti Anneck & Mynhardt, M. helvolus
(Compere), Scutellista caerulea (Fonscolombe) (= S. cyanea Motschulsky), and Diversinervus elegans
Silvestri. Common secondaries were Marietta mexicana (Howard), Cheiloneurus
noxius Compere and Tetrastichus
minutus (Howard). In coastal southern California, M. bartletti was the most abundant, followed in order by D. elegans, S. caerulea
and M. helvolus. In the
intermediate and interior regions, M.
helvolus was most
abundant. D. elegans
was second most abundant in the intermediate region, but rare in the
interior. M. bartletti
was second in abundance in the interior and third in the intermediate
(Lampson & Morse 1992).
In Australia most of the early efforts to control S. oleae
involved movement of native natural enemies, especially coccinellids, to
different states (Wilson 1960).
Exotic parasitoids were also introduced, including Moranila californica and Scutellista
cyanea from California,
and Metaphycus lounsbury from South Africa. Excellent control was achieved in Western
Australia through the action of all of these parasitoids (Wilson 1960). Metaphycus
helvolus was introduced from
California in 1942 and became established in South Australia. Wilson (1960) reported that S. oleae assumed only minor importance presently due to the
action of native and exotic natural enemies, which was not the case in California.
Biological control was begun in Chile in 1903 with the introduction of
Rhizobius ventralis, but concentrated
efforts were not made until the 1930's when eight species of parasitoids,
including Metaphycus lounsburyi, were introduced from
California and Peru (Graf Marin & Cortes 1939, Bartlett 1978). Only S.
cyanea became established,
however. Metaphycus helvolus
was released in 1943, but establishment failed. A later attempt in 1951 resulted in this parasitoid's
establishment (Kennett et al. 1999). Metaphycus lounsburyi appeared in Chile around 1944, presumably by
dispersing from Peru where it had been introduced to control S. oleae on olives (Duran 1944). Metaphycus lounsburyi and M. helvolus were both thought to be highly effective in areas
where the scale was bivoltine, but not so effective in univoltine populations
(Gonzalez 1969). Other parasitoids
noted as contributing to overall biological control were Coccophagus caridei (Brethes), Scutellista cyanea and Metaphycus flavus (Howard) (also see
Wille, 1941, 1952, 1958; Caballero 1951, Beingolea 1956, Gonzalez & Rojas
1966).
Only recently were attempts made to control S. oleae
in the Mediterranean region, following an increase in severity of
infestations with the advent of synthetic insecticides (Argyriou & DeBach
1968, Rivnay 1968, Greathead 1976).
Several parasitoids were introduced into France around 1953, followed
by efforts in Italy in 1960-71, Corsica in 1971, Iran in 1960, Greece in
1962-68 and Israel in 1963-78. Original introductions in France were unsuccessful (Kennett et
al. 1999) but later M. helvolus was finally
established in 1969 and M. lounsburyi in 1976 (Kennett et
al. 1999). Early efforts in Israel
also were unsuccessful, but later introductions made primarily from South
Africa during 1972-77 produced established populations of M. lounsburyi, M.
bartletti, M. helvolus, and S.
cyanea (Wysoki 1979). REFERENCES: [ Additional references may be found at: MELVYL
Library ] Annecke, D. P. & M. J. Mynhardt. 1972.
The species of the insidiosus
group of Metaphycus Mercet
in South Africa with notes on some extralimital species (Hymenoptera:
Encyrtidae). Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr.
85: 227-74. Argov, Y. & Y. Rössler. 1988.
Introduction of berneficial insects into Israel for the control of
insect pests. Phytoparasitica 16: 303-15. Argyriou, L. C. 1963. Studies on the
morphology and biology of the black scale [Saissetia oleae
(Bernard)] in Greece. Ann. Inst.
Phytopath. Benaki,
N.S. 5: 353-77. Argyriou, L. C. 1984. Present status of
parasite complex in olive groves in Greece, p. 177-78. In: R. Vavalloro & A. Piavaux (eds.), C.E C.
Programme on Integrated and Biological Control. Final Report 1979/83. Comm. European Comm., Directorat,
Luxembourg. Argyriou, L. C. & P. DeBach. 1968.
The establishment of Metaphycus
helvolus (Compere) (Hym.
Encyrtidae) on Saissetia oleae (Bern) (Hom. Coccidae) in
olive groves in Greece. Entomophaga
13: 223-28. Bartlett, B. R. 1963. The contact
toxicity of some pesticide residues to hymenopterous parasites and
coccinellid predators. J. Econ.
Ent. 56: 694-98. Bartlett, B.
R. 1969. The biological
control campaigns against soft scales and mealybugs on citrus in
California. Proc. 1st Intern. Citrus
Symp., Riverside, Calif. 2: 875-78. Bartlett, B.
R. 1978. Coccidae. In: C. P. Clausen (ed.), Introduced Parasites
and Predators of Arthropod Pests and Weeds.
U. S. Dept. Agric. Agric. Handbk. No. 480, Washington, D.C. 545 p. Bartlett, B. R. & R. A. Medved. 1966.
The biology and effectiveness of Diversinervus
elegans (Encyrtidae:
Hymenoptera), an imported parasites of lecaniine scale insects in
California. Ann. Ent. Soc.
Amer. 59: 974-76. Beingolea,
G. O. 1956. Estatus actual de la plaga de la quereza negra del olivo (Saissetia oleae Bern.) en los valles de Yauca e Ilo. Bol. Trimest. Extp. Agropecuarias (1955)
4: 18-22. Bellows, T. S., Jr. & J. G. Morse. 1988.
Residual toxicity following dilute or low-volume applications of
insecticides used for control of California red scale (Homoptera: Diaspididae)
to four beneficial species in a citrus agroecosystem. J. Econ. Ent. 81: 892-98. Blumberg, D. & E. Swirski. 1982.
Comparative studies of the development of two species of Metaphycus (Hymenoptera:
Encyrtidae), introduced into Israel for the control of the Mediterranean
black scale, Saissetia oleae (Olivier) (Homoptera:
Coccidae). Acta Oecol.
Oecol. Appl.
3: 281-86. Blumberg, D. & E. Swirski. 1988.
Colonization of Metaphycus
spp. (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) for control of the Mediterranean black scale, Saissetia oleae (Olivier) (Homoptera: Coccidae), in Israel, p.
1209-13. In: R. Gore &
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C. F.f 1951. Notas biológicas y económicas sobre la
conchuela negra (Saissetia oleae). Agric. Tec. (Santiago, Chile) 11: 54-63. Clausen, C.
P. 1956. Biological Control
of Insect Pests in the Continental United States. U. S. Dept. Agric. Tech. Bull. No. 1139. 151 p. Compere, H.
1939. The insect enemies of
the black scale, Saissetia oleae (Bern.) in South
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1940. Parasites of the black
scale, Saissetia oleae (Bernard), in
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Vincent. 1988. Releases of beneficial organisms in the
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1943. The importance of host
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E. 1943a. Indirect hyperparasitization
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E. 1943b. The Argentine ant
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Calif. Citrogr. 28: 117, 128,
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E. 1958. Moranila californica as a usurped parasite of Saissetia oleae. J. Econ. Ent. 51: 247-48. Gonzalez, R.
1969. Biological control of
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R. H. & S. P. Rojas. 1966. Estudio analítico del control biológico de
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E. 1980. Occurrence of Metaphycus bartletti Annecke & Mynhardt, a South African parasite
of black scale, Saissetia oleae (Olivier) in central and
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E. 1986. A survey of the
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F. 1981. Parasitic insects
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