Hemiberlesia cyanophylli (Signoret, 1869) (Hemiptera: Diaspididae), a new record on urban trees of Ficus microcarpa (Bonsai) and citrus in Morocco

Boukaiss et al 2026
Published: Apr 8, 2026
Keywords:
Polyphagous species Sternorrhyncha
Mariem Boukaiss
Najad Haddad
Sanae Ait-Baddou
Nabila Aujjar
Rachid Benkirane
Moulay Chrif Smaili
a:1:{s:5:"en_US";s:20:"INRA Kenitra Morocco";}
Abstract

A routine survey of several tree species, some of them crops in five provinces in Morocco was conducted between February 2023 and June 2025, to assess the presence of armored scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Diaspididae) and their natural enemies. Hemiberlesia cyanophylli (Signoret, 1869) (Diaspididae) was observed for the first time on the leaves of two trees, i.e. the first time on a Ficus microcarpa, in 2024, and the second on a citrus tree (Citrus aurantium L.), in 2025, in Kenitra city (Kenitra province, North-West Morocco), in very low numbers. Herein, a morphological diagnosis of H. cyanophylli is provided, based on adult females from Morocco, mounted on microscope slides. The scale insect is not causing any economic damage in Morocco, but its presence may present a threat to other commercial crops in the country. The predatory adults of Chilocorus bipustulatus L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) were observed on leaves and stems in the same citrus tree where H. cyanophylli was found.

Article Details
  • Section
  • Articles
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons 4.0 license.

Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (preferably in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.

Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Ben Halima Kamel, M., S. Zouari, Z. Ben Cheick, and Kaydan, B. M. 2025. First report of Hemiberlesia cyanophylli (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) in Tunisia and North Africa. Entomol. Hell. 34(1): 78–82. https://doi. org/10.12681/eh.39724
EPPO, 2005. EPPO Standards: diagnostic PM 7/51. EPPO Bull. 35: 271–273. https://doi. org/10.1111/j.1365-2338.2005.00841. x
García Morales, M., B. D. Denno, D. R. Miller, G. L. Miller, Y. Ben-Dov and N. B. Hardy. 2016. ScaleNet: a literature-based model of scale insect biology and systematics. Database, Accessible at: http://scalenet. info. (accessed on 25 December 2025).
Gerson, U., and Y. Zor. 1973. The armoured scale insects (Homoptera: Diaspididae) of avocado trees in Israel. J. of Natural History 7: 513–533.
Kondo, T. and G. W. Watson. 2022. Chapter 2. A list of scale insect agri- cultural pests. In: Encyclopedia of Scale Insect Pests. In: Kondo, T. and G. W. Watson, G. W. (Eds). CAB International. Wallingford (GB). pp. 8-37.
Watson, G. W. 2002. Arthropods of Economic Importance: Diaspididae of the World. (Series Title: World Biodiversity Database). ETI Information Services (Expert Center for Taxonomic Identification) Amsterdam, Netherlands. Accessible at: https://diaspididae. linnaeus. naturalis. nl/linnaeus_ng/app/views/introduction/topic. php?id=3377&epi=155 (accessed on 29 October 2025)
Williams, D. J. and G. W. Watson. 1988. The Scale Insects of the Tropical South Pacific Region. Pt. 1. The Armoured Scales (Diaspididae). CAB International Wallingford. U. K. 290 pp.