Diagnosis and monitoring of Parlatoria scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Diaspididae) on commercial citrus in Morocco for appropriate control of a current scale resurgence

On commercial citrus in Morocco, the main armoured scale insect pest (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Diaspididae) is the California red scale, Aonidiella aurantii (Maskell). Other important armoured scale pests are the chaff scale, Parlatoria pergandii Comstock, which growers often confuse with A. aurantii , and the black parlatoria scale, Parlatoria ziziphi (Lucas). In recent years, a resurgence of Parlatoria scales, mainly P. ziziphi , has been seen in several commercial groves. Between October 2023 and February 2026, 142 groves (including a few urban amenity trees) in nine provinces were surveyed for scale insects and their associated natural enemies. Low to moderate infestations of P. pergandii and low to high infestations of P. ziziphi were found, mainly on fruits and leaves. To facilitate accurate identification of each of these scales, this article records the field appearance and provides a morphological diagnosis of the slide‐mounted adult female. Natural enemies observed in association with P. pergandii were: one ectoparasitoid wasp, Aphytis hispanicus (Mercet) (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae), and nine arthropod predators: Chilocorus bipustulatus (Linnaeus), Exochomus ericae (Crotch), E. quadripustulatus (L.), Nephus peyerimhoffi (Sicard); Pharoscymnus setulosus (Chevrolat) and Rhyzobius lophanthae (Blaisdell) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae); the green lacewing, Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae); Lestodiplosis sp. (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) and Typhlodromus phialatus (Athias‐Henriot) (Acari: Mesostigmata: Phytoseiidae). Natural enemies associated with P. ziziphi include one endoparasitoid wasp, Comperiella sp. (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) and nine arthropod predators: Chilocorus bipustulatus (Linnaeus), Exochomus quadripustulatus (Linnaeus), Nephus (Nephus) peyerimhoffi (Sicard), Nephus (Nephus) ulbrichi (Fürsch), Platynaspis luteorubra (Goeze) and Rhyzobius lophanthae (Blaisdell) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae); Cybocephalus sp. (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea: Cybocephalidae); the green lacewing, Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) and a predatory mite (Acari: Mesostigmata). Our study indicates that accurate identification and appropriate monitoring of the scale insect populations are crucial to achieve optimal pest control of these pests in citrus orchards.