What question did this study set out to answer?

To report the first detection of Pseudaulacaspis rubra in Florida and provide identification information.

May 6, 2026Insecta mundi1 citations

Pseudaulacaspis rubra (Maskell) (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Diaspididae), reported for the first time in Florida, United States, with an identification key

EPErin C. Powell RCRhys J. L. CampoFlorida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services ZLZachary Lahey

Key Points

To report the first detection of Pseudaulacaspis rubra in Florida and provide identification information.
Identified the species on mature mango trees in Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Provided slide-mounted images and an updated species diagnosis.
Noted the presence of natural enemies like Cybocephalus sp. feeding on the scale.
Pseudaulacaspis rubra was detected for the first time in the Western Hemisphere.
New host data and morphological variations were documented.
A key for identifying four Pseudaulacaspis species in Florida was created.

Abstract

An invasive armored scale, Pseudaulacaspis rubra (Maskell, 1898) (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Di¬aspididae), was detected in the Western Hemisphere for the frst time in January 2025. This species was found in abundance on mature mango trees (Mangifera indica L.) (Anacardiaceae) planted in the landscape in sub¬urban Miami-Dade County, Florida, USA. Habitus and slide-mounted images are provided. A natural enemy, the larva of a Cybocephalus sp. (Coleoptera: Cybocephalidae) beetle, was observed feeding on an adult female under the test. Herein we provide an updated species diagnosis for P. rubra with discussion on morphological variation and a key to slide-mounted adult females of four Pseudaulacaspis MacGillivray species present in Florida and two species of Albastaspis MacGillivray intercepted in Florida, with illustrations of each. We also provide host data for all Florida specimens of Pseudaulacaspis and Albastaspis in the Florida State Collection of Arthropods as well as novel sequence data for two species (P. rubra and Albastaspis coloisuvae (Williams and Watson)) treated in the study.

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