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Hiding in plain sight: Cryptic enemies are found on cochineal (Hemiptera: Dactylopiidae), a scale insect of economic and cultural significance

Cochineal is the common name for cactus‐feeding scale insects in the Dactylopiidae. These ruby‐red insects include the domesticated dye insect Dactylopius coccus. Dactylopius coccus and congeners have been introduced around the world, some accidentally, to become pests of prickly pear cactus species...

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Autores principales: Kelly, Suzanne E., Moore, Wendy, Hall, W. Eugene, Hunter, Martha S.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9339752/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35923934
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9151
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author Kelly, Suzanne E.
Moore, Wendy
Hall, W. Eugene
Hunter, Martha S.
author_facet Kelly, Suzanne E.
Moore, Wendy
Hall, W. Eugene
Hunter, Martha S.
author_sort Kelly, Suzanne E.
collection PubMed
description Cochineal is the common name for cactus‐feeding scale insects in the Dactylopiidae. These ruby‐red insects include the domesticated dye insect Dactylopius coccus. Dactylopius coccus and congeners have been introduced around the world, some accidentally, to become pests of prickly pear cactus species (Opuntia), and some intentionally, for dye production or biological control of pest Opuntia. In the northern Sonoran Desert (Tucson, AZ, USA), we studied the enemy complex of D. opuntiae and D. confusus on Opuntia and characterized two cryptic enemies, a coccinellid beetle predator and a parasitoid wasp. (1) Hyperaspis sp. The coccinellid predator Hyperaspis trifurcata shares a niche with a similar, typically all‐black beetle. Morphological data, crossing tests, and phylogenetic results showed the black beetle to be a distinct, undescribed species in the genus Hyperaspis, with a rare spotted phenotype that is similar in appearance to H. trifurcata. Crossing tests among black and spotted forms showed the spotted morph is inherited as a single‐locus dominant allele. (2) Formicencyrtus thoreauini. Rearing of this ant‐like parasitoid wasp (Encyrtidae) in pure culture of D. opuntiae showed it to be a semi‐gregarious primary parasitoid of cochineal. To our knowledge, this is the first confirmed instance of a cochineal parasitoid. Observations of development show early instar larvae keep their posterior end within the egg chorion, attached to an aeroscopic plate with a connection to the cochineal body wall. Late instar larvae are eventually surrounded by a membrane, likely of larval origin. Wasps then pupate in a dry air‐filled chamber within the desiccated scale remains before chewing out as an adult. Both Hyperaspis sp. and F. thoreauini may have restricted distributions. Hyperaspis sp. does not appear to be a member of the cochineal community in Mexico or Texas, and scant records suggest F. thoreauini may also be restricted to the Southwestern USA.
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spelling pubmed-93397522022-08-02 Hiding in plain sight: Cryptic enemies are found on cochineal (Hemiptera: Dactylopiidae), a scale insect of economic and cultural significance Kelly, Suzanne E. Moore, Wendy Hall, W. Eugene Hunter, Martha S. Ecol Evol Nature Notes Cochineal is the common name for cactus‐feeding scale insects in the Dactylopiidae. These ruby‐red insects include the domesticated dye insect Dactylopius coccus. Dactylopius coccus and congeners have been introduced around the world, some accidentally, to become pests of prickly pear cactus species (Opuntia), and some intentionally, for dye production or biological control of pest Opuntia. In the northern Sonoran Desert (Tucson, AZ, USA), we studied the enemy complex of D. opuntiae and D. confusus on Opuntia and characterized two cryptic enemies, a coccinellid beetle predator and a parasitoid wasp. (1) Hyperaspis sp. The coccinellid predator Hyperaspis trifurcata shares a niche with a similar, typically all‐black beetle. Morphological data, crossing tests, and phylogenetic results showed the black beetle to be a distinct, undescribed species in the genus Hyperaspis, with a rare spotted phenotype that is similar in appearance to H. trifurcata. Crossing tests among black and spotted forms showed the spotted morph is inherited as a single‐locus dominant allele. (2) Formicencyrtus thoreauini. Rearing of this ant‐like parasitoid wasp (Encyrtidae) in pure culture of D. opuntiae showed it to be a semi‐gregarious primary parasitoid of cochineal. To our knowledge, this is the first confirmed instance of a cochineal parasitoid. Observations of development show early instar larvae keep their posterior end within the egg chorion, attached to an aeroscopic plate with a connection to the cochineal body wall. Late instar larvae are eventually surrounded by a membrane, likely of larval origin. Wasps then pupate in a dry air‐filled chamber within the desiccated scale remains before chewing out as an adult. Both Hyperaspis sp. and F. thoreauini may have restricted distributions. Hyperaspis sp. does not appear to be a member of the cochineal community in Mexico or Texas, and scant records suggest F. thoreauini may also be restricted to the Southwestern USA. John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2022-07-31 /pmc/articles/PMC9339752/ /pubmed/35923934 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9151 Text en © 2022 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article under the terms of the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Nature Notes
Kelly, Suzanne E.
Moore, Wendy
Hall, W. Eugene
Hunter, Martha S.
Hiding in plain sight: Cryptic enemies are found on cochineal (Hemiptera: Dactylopiidae), a scale insect of economic and cultural significance
title Hiding in plain sight: Cryptic enemies are found on cochineal (Hemiptera: Dactylopiidae), a scale insect of economic and cultural significance
title_full Hiding in plain sight: Cryptic enemies are found on cochineal (Hemiptera: Dactylopiidae), a scale insect of economic and cultural significance
title_fullStr Hiding in plain sight: Cryptic enemies are found on cochineal (Hemiptera: Dactylopiidae), a scale insect of economic and cultural significance
title_full_unstemmed Hiding in plain sight: Cryptic enemies are found on cochineal (Hemiptera: Dactylopiidae), a scale insect of economic and cultural significance
title_short Hiding in plain sight: Cryptic enemies are found on cochineal (Hemiptera: Dactylopiidae), a scale insect of economic and cultural significance
title_sort hiding in plain sight: cryptic enemies are found on cochineal (hemiptera: dactylopiidae), a scale insect of economic and cultural significance
topic Nature Notes
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9339752/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35923934
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9151
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