Current status of the cactus scale Diaspis echinocacti Bouché (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) on Opuntia ficus indica and its first morphological and microscopic description in Morocco

Abstract

A total of 460 sites in 28 provinces located in the northern part of Morocco, whe the prickly pear cactus Opuntia ficus-indica is a natural crop, were surveyed from autumn 2020 to winter 2022.

In 2020 and the first half of 2021 the cochineal scale Dactylopius opuntiae (Cockerell, 1896) (Hemiptera: Dactylopiidae) was the only scale recorded on pads of O. ficus-indicata. However, high infestation of pads and fruits of O. ficus-indica with Diaspis echinocacti Bouché (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) was subsequently recorded in three sites. D. echinocacti is described based on
the morphology of the male and female adults, and microscopic examination of 60 slide-mounted adult females. The presence of D. echinocacti on prickly pear cactus in these three sites in Morocco represents a serious potential threat for cactus in the country. Two predators, Rhyzobius lophanthae Blaisdell (1892) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and Cybocephalus sp. (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), and two hymenopteran parasitoids, the ectoparasitoid Aphytis sp. (Hymenoptera:
Encyrtidae) and an endoparasitoid Encyrtidae, were recorded to be associated with cactus scale. Further work is needed to identify all these predators/parasitoids to species level and to evaluate their potential for biological control.
Keywords
current status, description, Diaspis echinocacti, Morocco, Opuntia ficus-indica