Valid Names Results

Chionaspis furfura (Fitch, 1857) (Diaspididae: Chionaspis)

Nomenclatural History

• Aspidiotus furfurus Fitch 1857: 352-353. Type data: UNITED STATES: New York, Rochester, in garden of L.B. Langworthy, on pear tree. Syntypes, female, Type depository: Albany: New York State Museum Insect Collection, New York, USA; accepted valid name
• Coccus Harrisii Walsh 1866: 31. Type data: UNITED STATES: on Malus sp.. Syntypes, female, junior synonym (discovered by Ferris1937, SI-18). Notes: Walsh (1866) states that this species was described but not named by Harris. We have been unable to locate Harris' publication. Illustr.
• Aspidiotus harrisii (Walsh, 1866); Walsh 1868a: 53-55. change of combination Illustr.
• Diaspis Harrisii (Walsh, 1866); Signoret 1877: 604. change of combination
• Chionaspis furfurus (Fitch, 1857); Comstock 1881: 315. change of combination
• Chionaspis furfura (Fitch, 1857); Cooley 1899: 23. change of combination
• Chionaspis furfurus fulvus King 1899: 334-336. Type data: UNITED STATES: Massachusetts, Lawrence, on Rhamnus catharticus, 15/10/1898. Syntypes, female, Type depository: Washington: United States National Entomological Collection, U.S. National Museum of Natural History, District of Columbia, USA; junior synonym (discovered by Borchs1966, 97).

Common Names

• cochenille écailleuse MawFoHa2000
• Harris's bark-louse Walsh1866
• scurfy bark louse Fitch1857
• scurfy scale Hollin1923

Ecological Associates

Hosts:

Families: 9 | Genera: 21

Foes:

Families: 3 | Genera: 10

Geographic Distribution

Keys

• MillerDa2005: pp.29-31 ( Adult (F) ) [Field Key to Economic Armored Scales]
• MillerDa2005: pp.20-21 ( Adult (F) ) [Armored Scales]
• Gill1997: pp.76 ( Adult (F) ) [Key to California species of Chionaspis]
• Koszta1996: pp.440 ( Adult (F) ) [Key to species of Chionaspis]
• BullinKoJi1989: pp.135 ( Adult (M) ) [Key to 17 adult male morphs of 12 species of North American Chionaspis]
• LiuKoRh1989: pp.17 ( Adult (F) ) [Key to the species of Chionaspis in North America]
• McDani1971: pp.282 ( Adult (F) ) [Key to the Texas species of the genus Chionaspis Signoret]
• Koszta1963: pp.62 ( Adult (F) ) [Key to species of Chionaspis]
• McKenz1956: pp.30 ( Adult (F) ) [Key to species of Chionaspis]
• Ferris1942: pp.50 ( ) [Key to species of Chionaspis]
• Britto1923: pp.362 ( Adult (F) ) [Key to species of Chionaspis]
• Hollin1923: pp.19 ( Adult (F) ) [Species of Chionaspis known to occur in Missouri]
• MacGil1921: pp.331 ( Adult (F) ) [Key to species of Chionaspis]
• Lawson1917: pp.260 ( Adult (F) ) [Key to species of Chionaspis in Kansas]
• Comsto1916: pp.559 ( Adult (F) ) [Key to species of Chionaspis]
• DietzMo1916a: pp.264 ( Adult (F) ) [Key to Chionaspis species of Indiana]
• Sander1904a: pp.43 ( Adult (F) ) [Key to Chionaspis species of Ohio]
• Cooley1899: pp.10 ( Adult (F) ) [Key to species of Chionaspis]
• Comsto1881a: pp.98 ( ) [Key to species of Chionaspis] Key as: Chionaspis furfurus

Remarks

• Systematics: Chionaspis furfura can be separated from all other Chionaspis species by the median lobes being low, rounded and not notched laterally. The median zygosis of this species is elongate and slender (McDaniel, 1971).
• Structure: Eggs are purplish in color, adult scale is white. The female scale is much larger and more oval than the male scale (Jarvis, 1906).
• Biology: Chionaspis furfura overwinters in the egg stage and the eggs begin hatching in late April. It is assumed that there are two generations per year in Ohio. An average of 64 eggs per female was found (Kosztarab, 1963). This species has 1 generation a year in northern areas (e.g., CT, northern IL, MT, OH) and 2 in southern areas (e.g., DC, NC, NY, southern IL, and VA). Crawlers have been reported from April to early May and again in mid-July in VA (Hill 1952) and NC (Turnipseed and Smith 1953), in late April in DE (Bray 1974), in late May or early June in OH (Houser 1918), CT (Britton 1903), MT (Cooley 1900), and IL (English 1970), and from May to early June and again in mid-July in NY (Hammer 1938). Eggs are the overwintering stage. Hill (1952) has correlated crawler hatch from overwintering eggs with the bloom period of apples; hatch is complete by petal fall. In NC Turnipseed and Smith (1953) report the following life history: Crawlers that hatch in early April molt to second instars by May 10, and molt to adult females by June 7. Eggs are laid by June 28 which hatch about mid-July. Second instars are present in mid-August and adult females are collected in early September. Egg laying begins in late September. Adult males are present from late May to mid-June and again in mid-August to early September. Preferred feeding sites seem to be on old wood, but heavy infestations that have two generations each year may infest new growth, fruit, and even leaves. There seems to be a preference for the woody undersides of lower branches. Winged morphs of males are prevalent, but Bullington et al. (1989) indicate that apterous morphs also exist based on their examination of a pupa. (Miller & Davidson, 2005).
• Economic Importance: This species occasionally becomes a pest in untreated orchards of Ohio. It causes reddish spots and small pits on the bark of twigs (Kosztarab, 1963). Miller & Davidson (1990) list this insect as a pest. Scurfy scale is usually not a serious pest. Damaging populations have been reported, especially from apple and pear orchards, where spray schedules were not maintained. High populations have been reported to kill young trees and cause loss of vigor and die back on old trees. This species prefers lower branches of the host but in high populations it spreads to the new growth and fruit. On apples the scales cause small, red depressions which reduce the value of the fruit. It has been reported as a pest in Canada (Swaine and Hutchings 1926), Connecticut (Schread 1970), Illinois (Flint and Farrar 1940), Maryland (Langford and Cory 1939), New York (Blackman 1916, Hammer 1938), Ohio (Houser 1908), and Pennsylvania (Trimble 1929). Miller and Davidson (1990) treat this species as a serious pest in a small area of the world. (Miller & Davidson, 2005).
• General Remarks: Descriptions and illustrations by Fitch (1857), Kosztarab (1963) and Liu et al. (1989). Detailed treatment of male morphs by Bullington et al. (1989). California was reported as a locarion of Chionaspis fufura in Comsto1881a and MillerDa2005. However, Gill (1997:78) stated that it "apparently does not occur in California at this time."

Illustrations

Citations