Coelostomidia zealandica (common name: great giant scale[1]) is a scale insect endemic to New Zealand. The female is notably larger and very different in appearance from the small winged male.
| Coelostomidia zealandica | |
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| Coelostomidia zealandica female, illustrated by Des Helmore | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Suborder: | Sternorrhyncha |
| Family: | Coelostomidiidae |
| Genus: | Coelostomidia |
| Species: | C. zealandica
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| Binomial name | |
| Coelostomidia zealandica (Maskell, 1880)
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| Synonyms | |
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Range
editCoelostomidia zealandia is found on both the North and South Island of New Zealand.[1]
Description
editThis is a large scale insect, with the females reaching a length up to 15mm. There are at least three instar stages.[1]
Taxonomy
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This species was described in 1880 by William Maskell as Coelostoma zealandica from specimens collected in Otago on the bark of trees, and Canterbury "buried in the ground and in the chinks of rocks, by the Sumner Road, Lyttelton, interspersed with another curious Coccid, feeding on Muehlenbeckia, a creeping plant growing thereabouts".[2] The new genus name Coelostoma was later found to be already in use, and Cockerell in 1900 proposed the new genus Coelostomidia to replace it.[3] C. zealandica was redescribed by Morrison & Morrison in 1922, who also provided a full diagnosis of Coelostomidia.[4] The type specimens are now housed in the New Zealand Arthropod Collection, Landcare Research, Auckland.
Ecology
editExcretion of honeydew
editC. zealandica feeds on sap and then excretes honeydew that is rich in sugar and provides a food source for birds, insects and lizards such as gecko.[5] For example, the Duvaucel’s gecko feeds on honeydew from ngaio trees (Myoporum laetum) that host a high density of scale insects.[6] Trees infested with a large number of scale insects can become coated with a sooty mould - a black fungus complex.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c Morales, C.F. (1991). "Margarodidae (Insecta: Hemiptera)" (PDF). Fauna of New Zealand. 21. Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research.
- ^ Maskell, W. M. (1880-01-01). "Further Notes on New Zealand Coccidae". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 12: 291–301.
- ^ Cockerell, Theodore Dru Alison (1900-02-01). "The Coccidæ of New Zealand". Nature. 61 (1581): 367–368. doi:10.1038/061367D0.
- ^ Morrison, Harold; Morrison, Emily Sweetland Reed (1922-01-01). "A redescription of the type species of the genera of Coccidae based on species originally described by Maskell". Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 60 (2407): 1–120. doi:10.5479/SI.00963801.60-2407.1.
- ^ Evans, Annette E.; Towns, David R.; Beggs, Jacqueline R. (2015). "Relative Importance of Sugar Resources to Endemic Gecko Populations in an Isolated Island Ecosystem". New Zealand Journal of Ecology. 39 (2): 262–272. ISSN 0110-6465. JSTOR 26198719. Wikidata Q125777610.
- ^ Evans, Annette E.; Towns, David R.; Beggs, Jacqueline R. (2015). "Relative Importance of Sugar Resources to Endemic Gecko Populations in an Isolated Island Ecosystem". New Zealand Journal of Ecology. 39 (2): 262–272. ISSN 0110-6465. JSTOR 26198719. Wikidata Q125777610.
- ^ Robin Gardner-Gee; Jacqueline R. Beggs (2009). "Distribution and abundance of endemic coelostomidiid scale insects (Hemiptera: Coelostomidiidae) in Auckland forests, New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Ecology. 33 (2): 138–146. ISSN 0110-6465. JSTOR 24060616. Wikidata Q106359479.
External links
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Media related to Coelostomidia zealandica at Wikimedia Commons- Coelostomidia_zealandica discussed on RNZ Critter of the Week, 3 May 2024
