Parlatoria ziziphi (Lucas, 1853)

Mifsud, David, Mazzeo, Gaetana, Russo, Agatino & Watson, Gillian W., 2014, The scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) of the Maltese Archipelago, Zootaxa 3866 (4), pp. 499-525 : 512

Parlatoria ziziphi (Lucas, 1853)

Recorded by Borg (1898; 1919; 1922b) as Parlatoria lucasi Targ-Tozz. The latter two works stated that the species was spreading all over both islands and that there was no orange tree which was not infested. Borg (1922a: 80) wrote that “this scale insect appeared for the first time in Malta in 1892, in certain orange groves at “Casal Lia ”, having been imported from Palermo along with a collection of ornamental varieties of citrus trees. Its dissemination was overlooked for the first three years, but soon after the infection began to spread rapidly, and orange merchants refused to purchase the unsightly fruit”. It was also recorded by Borg (1932), Saliba (1963) and Farrugia (1998).

Material examined: MALTA, Mosta, 12.iii.1994, 2 ♀♀ on Citrus sinensis, SC ; Mosta, 13.iii.1994, 4 ♀♀ on Citrus sp. , GW; Bugibba, 14.ii.2012, 10 ♀♀ on C. sinensis, CM ; Mdina, 15.ii.2012, 4 ♀♀ on C. sinensis, CM .