Cycad Aulacaspis Scale

Identification, habitat, and life cycle

The cycad aulacaspis scale develops beneath a white protective cover on cycads. Females have broader, variably shaped covers; males have narrow, elongate ones. It can infest roots as well as aboveground tissues, making a leaf-only inspection incomplete. Eggs hatch into mobile crawlers before later stages settle. Transport of infested plants is an important long-distance dispersal route. Published development times depend on temperature and should not be read as a Kauaʻi-specific schedule.

Kauaʻi occurrence and evidence

Atlas occurrence category: Present. Matsunaga, Howarth & Kumashiro (2019) Table 1 includes Kauaʻi island code 'Ka'; first-detection year shown as 1998; reported island distribution: Ha, Ka, Oa.

Account coverage

Published species details have been added. A complete Kauaʻi-specific account of identification, habitat, feeding, reproduction, and population trend is not yet established by the sources linked here.

Names and classification

Scientific name

Aulacaspis yasumatsui

Common names

Cycad Aulacaspis Scale

Family

Diaspididae

Order

Hemiptera

Record type

species

Kauaʻi occurrence and status

Kauaʻi occurrence

Present

Origin

Introduced

Conservation status

Not assessed

Process and seasonal context

Seasonal description

Cycad Aulacaspis Scale (Aulacaspis yasumatsui) belongs to Diaspididae in the order Hemiptera. Its recorded origin status is introduced.

Sources and further reading

• Peer-reviewed alien-fauna update
• Identification, habitat, and life cycle — species source