Asterolecaniidae

Within the Hemiptera, the Sternorrhyncha form the largest and most complex group. A large superfamily within the Sternorrhyncha are the Coccoidea, the scale insects and mealy bugs. The adult females in this group are strongly reduced (no wings, eyes, antennae or legs) and are fixed by their proboscis on a definite spot in the plant; they are ± scale-like and/or covered by a wax-secretion. The eggs are sometimes deposited below the shield of the female, sometimes in a wax-covered ovisac behind the female. The males are mobile, tiny, and inconspicuous.

The females of the Asterolecaniidae lie in a more or less clearly rimmed depression.

references

Richards & Davies (1977a), Scale Net.

05/12/2014