Occurrence of Pinnaspis strachani (Cooley, 1899) (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) on Murraya paniculata (L.) Jack (Rutaceae) in the Midwest of Brazil, with a taxonomic key to common Pinnaspis species.

Abstract

Pinnaspis strachani (Cooley, 1899) (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) is a polyphagous scale insect that has a wide range of hosts worldwide, with records of occurrence in more than 79 families and 265 plant genera. In Brazil, P. strachani has been recorded in nine states, distributed in the Southeast (4 spp.), Northeast (2 spp.), North (2 spp.), and South (1 sp.). Until now, there was no record of this armored scale insect in Central Brazil. This work reports the occurrence of P. strachani for the first time in the Midwest Region, with infestations on Murraya paniculata (L.) Jack (Rutaceae) plants. The collections were carried out in Alto Paraíso de Goiás, State of Goiás, Brazil. Morphological and ecological aspects, and geographic distribution of the occurrence of this diaspidid in Brazil are presented in this work, in addition to an identification key to most common Pinnaspis species recorded in the country.