Hellenic Plant Protection Journal 5:23 -25, 2012

SHORT COMMUNICATION

Coccus hesperidum (: ) on Ocimum basilicum: A new record of host plant in Greece

S.C. Papadopoulou

Summary The brown soft scale, hesperidum (Hemiptera: Coccidae), was found on sweet bas- il, Ocimum basilicum (Lamiaceae), topically named "hagioritikos", for the first time in northern Greece at the regions of Thessaloniki and Kavala. The scale was mainly observed on the stems and also the leaves of 0. basilicum.

Additional keywords: brown soft scale, Lam iaceae, Greece, invasive

The ever-increasing demand of aromatic oides, orchids, , rubber and Santalum plants on behalf of consumers has result- haleakalae (17). In Fiji, it has been recorded ed in their large-scale cultivation in Greece. as a pest of coconuts (18). Gill (9) reported This, in turn, has led to a pressing demand that in California the brown soft scale is an for surveying and recording pests annoying insect that feeds on a wide variety that cause damage on aromatic plants and of hosts i.e. aspen, avocado, , cotton- reduce production. This communication wood, holly, manzanita, palm, poplar, stone reports for the first time sweet basil, Oci- fruit, strawberry tree and willow. Almost a mum basilicum (Lamiaceae), as a host plant decade later, Dreistadt et al. completed the of the brown soft scale, Coccus hesperidum insect's host-plant list (8). Neither this list Linnaeus, 1758 (Hemiptera: Coccidae), in nor the recent one of scale of Slove- Greece. nia, Iran, Bulgaria and China (13, 14, 15) com- Ocimum basilicum,locally knownin prise 0. basilicum as a host plant. In Greece, Greece as "hagioritikos", is an aromatic plant C. hesperidum has been recorded on various known from the ancient times, which is hosts, especially citrus, but not on 0. basili- mostly used for medical and religious pur- cum (2, 12, 16). poses in Greece. Scientific studies in vitro Following several years of insect pest have established that compounds in basil oil surveys on aromatic plants, C. hesperidum have potent antioxidant, antiviral and anti- was observed on isolated plants of an or- microbial properties as well as the potential ganic culture of 0. basilicum, in northern for use in treating cancer (3, 5, 7, 11). Greece, namely Thessaloniki region, in 2003. Coccus hesperidum is one of the most Since then, the infestation was spread in the widespread and polyphagous scale insects. rest of Thessaloniki Prefecture, then to Kava- It occurs on the leaves and twigs of many la Prefecture and other regions of Greece. important plants such as cottonwood, palm, Samples of the were collected, strawberry tree but not on grasses (6, 9). brought to the laboratory and slide mount- Host plants reported in Hawaii include Cit- ed by using Wileky's method (10). Identifica- rus spp., , Moraea bicolor, Moraea iridi- tion was primarily made by the author using the adult's morphological characteristics ac- Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, cording to Kosztarab and Kozar (10), Gill (9) School of Agricultural Technology, Laboratory of Ento- mology, P. O. Box 141, GR-547 00 Thessaloniki and verified by Dr G. Watson in Natural His- e-mail: [email protected] tory Museum of London.

© Benaki Phytopathological Institute 24 Papadopoulou

The overall body shape of female adults phal instars, before the scale reaches adult- of C. hesperidumissymmetrically oval, hood. The second and third nymphal instars dome-like, and 1/8 to 1/6 inch long. They are distinguished by the size of the scale. are pale yellowish brown to greenish and The development time is about two months flecked with irregular brown spots. Over- at cool temperatures (1). all colour darkens as the insect ages (17). Coccus hesperidum, like other soft scales, Adult females are ovoviviparous, produc- feeds from the phloem of the host plant ing nymphs that hatch from eggs with- and on sweet basil it was found mainly on in several hours after these are laid (1). Five the stems (Figure 1) and also the leaves (Fig- to 19 eggs are laid per day over a series of ure 2) in 20% of the infested organic culture. 30-65 days by the adult female and each The population density of C. hesperidum on female lays 80-250 eggs in her life time (4). 0. basilicum peaked in summer, particularly The young nymphs, born within the adult from June to September. female, remain in her brood chamber for a In general, heavy infestations by the few hours before starting to disperse (dis- brown soft scale cause development of persive crawlers). The crawlers search un- sooty mould on host-plant surfaces, some- til they find a suitable spot to feed from the times resulting in defoliation. plant and then settle. There are three nym-

Figure 1. Coccus hesperidum feeding on stem of Ocimum ba- Figure 2. Coccus hesperidum feeding on leaf of Ocimum ba- silicum. silicum.

Literature cited para o estudo do Coccus hesperidum L. II. Subsi- dios para o estudo da sua biologia e ecologia. 1. Annecke, D.P. 1959. The Effect of Parathion and Broteri, 50: 53-93; 51: 38-51; 51: 161-173; 52: 19- Ants on Coccus hesperidum L. (Coccidae: Homop- 35. tera) and its Natural Enemies. Journal of the En- 5. Chiang, L.C., Ng, LT., Cheng, P.W., Chiang, W. tomological Society of South Africa, 22: 245-274. and Lin, C.C. 2005. Antiviral activities of extracts 2.Argyriou, L.C. 1983. Faunal analysis of some and selected pure constituents of Ocimum ba- scale insects in Greece. Proceedings of the 10th silicum. Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology International Symposium of Central European En- and Physiology, 32: 811-816. tomofaunistics, Budapest, 15-20 August 1983 6. Copland, M.J.W. and Ibrahim, A.G. 1985. Biolo- 364-367. gy of Glasshouse Scale Insects and Their Para- 3.Bozin, B., Mimica-Dukic, N., Sim in, N. and Anack- sitoids. pp 87-90. In: Biological Pest Control The ov, G. 2006. Characterization of the volatile Glasshouse Experience. Eds. N. W. Hussey and N. composition of essential oils of some lamiace- Scopes. Cornell University Press; Ithaca, New ae spices and the antimicrobial and antioxidant York. activities of the entire oils. Journal of Agricultur- 7. de Almeida, I., Alviano, D.S. and Vieira, D.P. 2007. al and Food Chemistry, 54: 1822-1828. Antigiardial activity of Ocimum basilicum essen- 4. Cancela da Fonseca, J. 1954-1956. Contribuicao tial oil. Parasitology Research, 101:443 -452.

Benaki Phytopathological Institute Coccus hesperidum on sweet basil in Greece 25

8. Dreistadt, S.H., Morse, J.G., Phillips, P.A. and 15. Trencheva, K., Trenchev, G., Tomov, R. and Wu, Rice, R.E. 2007. Some Common Soft Scales (Coc- 5.-A. 2010. Non-indigenous scale insects on or- cidae). Their Impact in California and the Princi- namental plants in Bulgaria and China:A survey. pal Hosts. Publications, University of California Entomologia Hellenica, 19: 114-123. Statewide IPM Program. 16. Tzanakakis, M.E. and Katsoyannos, B. 2003. In- 9. Gill, R.J. 1988-1997. The Scale Insects of California sects of fruit crops and vine. Agrotypos Press, Parts 1-3. Sacramento: California Department Athens, Greece p 360 (in Greek language). of Food and Agriculture. 17. Zimmerman, E.C. 1948. Coccus hesperidum Lin- 10. Kosztarab, M. and Kozar, F. 1988. Scale insects naeus pp. 301, 304-306. In: Insects of Hawaii. A of Central Europe. Akademiai Kiado, Budapest, Manual of the Insects of the Hawaiian Islands, Hungary, 456 pp. including Enumeration of the Species and 11. Manosroi, J., Dhumtanom, P. and Manosroi, A. Notes on Their Origin, Distribution, Hosts, Par- 2006. "Anti-proliferative activity of essential oil asites, etc. Volume 5. Homoptera: Sternorhyn- extracted from Thai medicinal plants on KB and cha p 464. P388 cell lines". Cancer Letters, 235: 114-120. 18. William, D.J. and Watson, G.W. 1990. The Scale Insects of the Tropical South Pacific Region Part 12. Milonas, RG., Kozar, F. andKontodimas, D.C. 2008. New data on the scale insects 3. The Soft Scales (Coccidae) and Other Families. (Homoptera:Coccoidea) of the greek entomo- C.A.B. International Institute of Entomology, fauna. Hellenic Plant Protection Journal, 1: 32-34. 267 pp. 13. Seljak, G. 2010. A checklist of scale insects of Slovenia. Entomologia Hellenica, 19:99 -113. 14. Torabi, M. Vahedi, H.A. and Hodgson, C.J. 2010. Preliminary survey of the scale insects fauna in Kermanshah, western Iran. Entomologia Helleni- ca, 19: 153-162. Received: 7 October 2011; Accepted: 15 December 2011

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Hellenic Plant Protection Journal 5:23 -25, 2012

Benaki Phytopathological Institute