Matsucoccus alabamae Morrison, Alabama pine scale

Matsucoccus alabamae Morrison was first described from a pine species in Alabama, in 1902 (Morrison 1939). To date, there is no published record of its occurrence outside of Alabama. Pine trees play a vital role in Florida’s ecosystems and economy (Proctor and Monroe 2016). In addition to benefitting wildlife and providing attractive landscapes in Florida, pines are also grown commercially, providing products such as paper, industrial chemicals and lumber. Due to the importance of pine production in Florida and the fact that several species of Matsucoccus cause considerable damage to pines worldwide, M. alabamae has the potential to be a pest in Florida (García et al. 2016).

The Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS) uses Lindgren funnel traps (LFT) as a part of an exotic wood borer survey. On June 19, 2017, a LFT sample collected on slash pine, Pinus elliottii Engelm. (Pinaceae), in Brevard County (FDACS-DPI sample# E2017-4204) yielded specimens of M. alabamae. This discovery and possible range extension raised interest in this species. A second find, M. alabamae (E2017-4454), was received June 28, 2017, on Pinus sp. in Volusia County as part of the CAPS exotic wood borer survey.

At the time, the only published record of a Matsucoccus species in Florida was of M. gallicolus Morrison. However, the unpublished dissertation of Dr. Charles Ray reported four additional records of M. alabamae from P. elliottii in Florida: Highlands County, collected April 28, 1975; Miami-Dade County, collected December 25, 1978; Okaloosa County, collected February 17, 1978; and Miami-Dade County, collected July 20, 1980 (Ray 1982).

Based on the 2017 collections and previous information as noted above, a survey was initiated to search for populations of M. alabamae in the panhandle region of Florida near the Alabama state boundary. Dead specimens were found under the outer layers of the bark of Pinus sp. in Franklin County (E2018-343), Lafayette County (E2018-0034) and Liberty County (E2018-0346). An additional survey was conducted in the Gainesville, Florida area on P. elliottii where the authors found several additional dead specimens of M. alabamae on September 6, 2018 (E2018-4724). Three more CAPS LFT trap samples yielded M. alabamae on Pinus sp. in Broward County collected April 26, 2018 (E2018-2743), Duval County collected November 1, 2017 (E2018-0609) and December 7, 2017 (E2018-1002). Upon reexamination of the specimens identified as “Matsucoccus sp.” in the Florida State Collection of Arthropods, one record from 1997 (E1997-0195) on P. palustris from Leon County was confirmed as M. alabamae.

Two species of Matsucoccus are now known to occur in Florida: M. alabamae and M. gallicolus. The specimens of M. gallicolus from Florida are morphologically different from the specimens of M. gallicolus collected outside of Florida. Because of these differences, we are investigating the possibility that it is a unique species. Published records of M. gallicolus include a single collection taken from an herbarium specimen in the US National Herbarium, from Chattahoochee, Gadsden County, Florida, on Pinus glabra, by A.H. Curtiss, November (year not given) (Morrison 1936). However, the unpublished dissertation of Dr. Charles Ray includes one sample of M. gallicolus collected from P. elliottii: Columbia County, October 22, 1958 (Ray 1982).