Armored Scale Insect Pests of Trees and Shrubs (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) - Hardcover

Miller, Douglass R.; Davidson, John A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0801442796 ISBN 13: 9780801442797

Publisher: Cornell University Press, 2006

Synopsis

Armored scale insects are among the most damaging and least understood of the pests that prey on forest trees, fruit and nut crops, landscape ornamentals, and greenhouse plants. The passage of U.S. plant quarantine laws was prompted by devastation caused by an armored scale in the nineteenth century, and the appearance of new invasive species remains a vital concern at ports of entry and for arborists, farmers, nursery workers, foresters, and gardeners everywhere. This book provides the most comprehensive available information on the identification, field appearance, life history, and economic importance of the 110 economically important armored scale insects that are found in the United States. The authors have devised the first field key to economic armored scales, which will be invaluable to those trying to identify the pests and prevent the introduction of new exotics. (Most of the species covered are not native to the United States but broadly distributed across the globe.) The extensive color plates and highly detailed line drawings surpass anything available in other volumes on armored scale insects, and have not previously been published. Especially noteworthy are the data on distribution, host plants, and the kinds of damage caused by armored scales. The species descriptions include scientific names, synonyms, common names, field characteristics, microscopic characters, affinities, host plants, distribution by state, life history, economic damage, and selected references.

About this title

About the Author

Douglass R. Miller is a Research Entomologist at the Systematic Entomology Laboratory, USDA. He is coauthor of A Systematic Catalogue of the Eriococcidae (Felt Scales) (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) of the World. John A. Davidson is Professor Emeritus of Entomology at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is coauthor of Landscape IPM.

Review

"A comprehensive compilation of information on 110 insect species, with discussions of identification, field appearance, life history, and economic importance. A field key has been devised to facilitate identification. The book contains extensive color plates and detailed line drawings of these armored scale insect pests."

(John Heraty, Quarterly Review of Biology, September 2006)

"This field guide to highly specialized plant parasites that threaten global agriculture draws on the authors' many years of studying and teaching. Entomologist Miller (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD) and Davidson (emeritus, U. of Maryland, College Park) introduce the biology, ecology, and management of these serious pests, which were what prompted the passage of U.S. plant quarantine laws. Descriptions of 110 species include common symptoms, field and slide-mounted characteristics, affinities, hosts, distribution, biology, economic impact, references, and a detailed line drawing. Color plates illustrate the damage armored scale insects can inflict on forest trees, fruit and nut crops, and landscape shrubs. The volume is an example of excellent quality book production."

(SciTech Book News, June 2006)

Edition details

• Publisher: Cornell University Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0801442796
• ISBN 13: 9780801442797
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 456