Brewer, R.H. 1971 The influence of the parasite Comperiella bifasciata How. on the populations of two species of armoured scale insects, Aonidiella aurantii (Mask.) and A. citrina (Coq.), in South Australia.. Australian Journal of Zoology. Melbourne 19: 53-63.
Notes: The red-scale race of this parasite stabilizes the population of A. citrina, but has little influence upon populations of A. aurantii. It is suggested that these different outcomes are due not to the population biology of the parasite, but rather to the different biological characteristics of its two hosts. Experiments show that, in the case of mature A. aurantii, the effects of parasitization are offset to some extent by the killing, through encapsulation, of a minimum of nearly 60% of the immature stages of C. bifasciata; 50% of these parasitized scale survive and reproduce. On the other hand, nearly 100% of the eggs of C. bifasciata laid in A. citrina develop normally, lead to successful eclosion, and thus kill their host. Parasites that feed externally on their hosts are not subject to the hosts' immune responses in the same way as C. bifasciata in A. aurantii, and for this reason may have a greater influence on populations of their hosts than internal parasites under the same conditions.