Nipponaclerda biwakoensis is a scale insect originally described from Japan, and naturally occurring in China; in these countries it is most often associated with reeds in the genus Phragmites.[1] This species has become established (as of 2017) in the United States in the state of Louisiana, where it has rapidly become a serious pest of roseau cane, damaging over 80% of the reeds in some areas such as the Pass a Loutre Wildlife Management Area,[2] where it is referred to by the older common name Phragmites scale insect or the more recently-coined name, roseau cane mealybug.[3] Several species of parasitoid wasps are known to attack this scale,[1] with initial investigations focusing on the species Neastymachus japonicus, known only to attack this one pest.[2]
| Nipponaclerda biwakoensis | |
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| Species: | N. biwakoensis
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| Nipponaclerda biwakoensis Kuwana, 1907
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Aclerda biwakoensis | |
Impact
editWhile Phragmites is often considered a noxious weed,[4] in Louisiana the reed beds, dubbed "roseau cane", are critical to the stability of the shorelines of wetland areas and waterways of the Mississippi River Delta, and the die-off of reed beds is believed to accelerate coastal erosion.[2]
References
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