New scale insect country records for Kenya (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) from old samples in insect collections

Abstract

Scale insects (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccomorpha) are some of the least understood insects, particularly in agriculture, even though they can cause high crop losses. Due to their small size and cryptic habits they are rarely noticed at the onset of an infestation. In Kenya, efforts have been initiated to understand these pests better. Scale insects from Kenya, found in samples between 13 and 107 years old, were studied in the insect collections of the Natural History Museum, London, U.K. and the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organisation, Nairobi, Kenya. The study identified 51 new country records of scale insects including one new continental record for Africa, Ferrisia dasylirii (Cockerell) (Pseudococcidae). Of the new records, 35 species (68.6%) are native to Africa and 16 (31.4%) have been introduced from elsewhere. Six of the 51 species (11.8%) are pests in Kenya today. Amongst the introduced species, at least one (Aonidiella comperei McKenzie) could cause plant quarantine issues in trade, and four (25.0%) are pests, more than four times the frequency of pests amongst the African species (5.7%). The remaining 45 species have been present in Kenya for at least 13 years and many have not been collected again since the original samples, suggesting that either they have not survived or they are rare because they are under good natural control. Most of the introduced species listed (75.0%) have not caused economic problems in Kenya to date, so it is thought unlikely that they will do so in the future. Key words: Scale insects, introduced species, native species