Jan. 15,1925 
Scale Insects of the Subfamily Ortheziinae 
101 
NIPPONORTHEZIA KUWANA 
ardisiae Kuwana. 
hispanica (Silvestri). 
neolropicalis (Silvestri). 
One species, Orthezia cataphracta, is 
known through definite records to be 
Holarctic in its distribution. A second 
species, Nipponorthezia ardisiae, has 
been found both in Japan and in the 
Eastern United States and, as its origin 
is uncertain, although the present evi¬ 
dence favors the assumption that it is 
probably native to the United States 
and was introduced into Japan, its 
occurrence in both localities has been 
indicated. The distribution of each of 
the other species is shown by the use 
of its name a single time only, this, in 
each case, being placed as nearly as 
possible at the location indicated by 
the known collection records, or as 
nearly as possible at the center of its 
known distribution, where the species 
is already widespread. In addition to 
the one Holarctic species and the Jap¬ 
anese species mentioned, 17 species are 
to be credited to the Nearctic region, 
nearly all of which occur in the south¬ 
western portion of the United States or 
in.northern Mexico. One other spe¬ 
cies, tillandsiae, from Florida, should 
possibly be included here, but in its 
general appearance, its morphological 
characters, and its host relations it 
seems to belong more properly in the 
upper, insular, section of the Neotrop¬ 
ical region with balloui and minor. 
Including these 3 species, 14 species are 
to be credited to the whole Neotropical 
region, making a total of 33 species 
known to occur on the continents of 
North and South America and adjacent 
islands. This leaves, aside from the 
Holarctic species already mentioned, 
only 7 species represented in the Palae¬ 
arctic region, one of which is known 
from a single locality in Spain, one from 
a single locality in Morocco, and two 
from Japan, while the other three are 
known from sufficiently separated areas 
to indicate their wide distribution 
through at least the western portion of 
the Palaearctic region. The summary 
of the distribution of the species by 
regions therefore stands as follows: 
Palaearctic, 7 (including 2 also Nearc¬ 
tic); Nearctic, 19 (including 2 also 
Palaearctic); Neotropical, 14; and Insu¬ 
lar, 1 (galapagoensis). 
The actual known distribution of 
a few of the more important species 
is shown with precision in small 
outline maps accompanying their de¬ 
scriptions. 
HOST RELATIONSHIPS 
The records of the infestation of 
various plant hosts by the 40 species 
of this subfamily come from such a 
wide range of families in the plant 
kingdom that about the only generali¬ 
zation possible for the subfamily is that 
some one of its members might, under 
proper conditions, attack almost any of 
the higher growing plants. Even Con- 
iferae, although not included among the 
hosts of any of the described species, 
have been reported as harboring a 
species of Orthezia. A summary of the 
records for the various species indicates, 
however, a predominance of certain 
plant families as hosts for the members 
of the subfamily. Conclusions regard¬ 
ing such predominance are, of course, 
accurate only in so far as our present 
knowledge extends, and can not be 
understood to indicate definitely the 
host limitations of any one of the 
species, or even necessarily its preferred 
host plants, since, in the case of the 
more important and more widely dis¬ 
tributed species, such as insignis, prae- 
longa, and urticae, the range of host 
families is rather extended and appears 
to depend almost as much upon, the 
availability of the host to the insect as 
upon any other factor. 
Of the known species of Ortheziinae, 
8 appear to have members of the Com- 
positae as the only or predominant 
hosts; 4 have species of the Gramineae 
as the hosts; 2 have members of the 
Rubiaceae as the only known hosts; 
2 more have genera in the Chenopo- 
diaceae as their only hosts; and mem¬ 
bers of the Bromeliaceae.Euphorbiaceae, 
Fagaceae, Melanostomaceae, Myrsi- 
naceae, and Polypodiaceae are infested 
by one coccid species to each family. 
In the case of 6 of the described species, 
including the two important pests 
insignis and praelonga, it is not possible 
to cite any one family as including the 
most acceptable hosts, although, as 
recently pointed out by E. E. Green for 
insignis, the tendency in its case ap¬ 
pears to be to prefer as hosts members 
of the families Aeanthaceae, Com- 
positae, Verbenaceae, and possibly, in 
addition, Solanaceae, and, in the case of 
praelonga, members of the Euphorbia- 
ceae. The plant hosts of the remaining 
species are unknown, owing either to 
failure or inability to make a record at 
the time of collection, or to the finding 
of the species in ants’ nests not directly 
associated with any host plant. 
The discussion of the classification 
and of the detailed distribution and 
host relationships of the subfamily and 
its included species follows. 
