Quadraspidiotus perniciosus Comstock

Gupta, Ruchie & Pathania, P. C., 2017, Report on Hemipteran pest diversity on apple plantations (Malus domestica Borkh.) in Jammu and Kashmir State of India, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 117 (4), pp. 356-356 : 356-

Quadraspidiotus perniciosus Comstock (Plate-1, Figure. l)

Taxonomicstatus: Hemiptera :Sternorrhyncaidae: Diaspididae

Distribution: Sanjose scale is most destructive pest of deciduous orchards, occurring in almost all temperate fruit growing countries of the world. It is thought to be indigenous to North China ( Marlatt, 1906), Soviet East and North Korea (Rosen & De Bach, 1978), USA world ( Alam, 1962; Konstantinova & Mordkavich, 1982), Kullu valley, Srinagar and Jammu ( India) ( Pruthi & Rao, 1951; Bhardwaj & Bhardwaj, 2005; Gupta, 2013).

Present Locality: The pest has been reported from stations viz. Bhaderwah, Batote, Kishtwar, Kud, Mandi and Budhal areas

Host Plants: Polyphagous pest infesting a wide range of fruits, ornamental plants and shrubs ( Vasseur and Schvester, 1957). More susceptible species are of Prunus, Pyrus , Malus, Cydonia , cotoneaster, Crateagus, Populus, Salix, Sorbus, Ligusturn, Syringa, Tilia, Ulmus, Morus, Juglans and Quercus (Gupta, 2013) .

Diagnostic features: Adult female yellow, encapsulated by a dark gray scale, 1-2 mm in diameter, flattened, nearly circular with a raised central nipple, completely covered by circular yellow scales.; female has black abdominal apex which is 4 lobed; male scale oval, light amber with brownish markings having a pair of wings, 10 segmented functional antennae, 3 pairs of legs and an anal style.

Damage: It attacks all above ground parts. It forms dense colonies, mostly overlapping encrustations on