Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

Ferrisia virgata (Cockerell, 1893)

Escama, striped mealybug

Herbivore. Found in the arid zone.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Arthropoda

Class
Insecta

Order
Hemiptera

Suborder
Sternorrhyncha

Superfamily
Coccoidea

Family
Pseudococcidae

Genus
Ferrisia

Species
virgata

Taxon category: Accepted

Origin: Introduced - established

Introduction

Year of first record: 1964

Mode of introduction: Accidental

Introduction Pathway: Contaminant

Subpathway: Contaminant on plants (inc. seeds and plant associated material)

Introduced status: Naturalized

Invasive status: No data

Ecology

Substrate or host preferences: The Galapagos host plants: Tribulus cistoides (punture weed), Waltheria ovata, Bursera graveolens (incense tree), Tiquilia fusca, Hippomane mancinella (poison apple), Laguncularia racemosa (white mangrove), Hibiscus tiliaceus (Cuban bast), Ipomoea pes-caprae (beach morning glory).

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

Distribution: Baltra, Isabela, Santa Cruz, Santiago

References

  • Lincango, M.P. Hodgson, C. & Causton, C. (2008) Lista anotada de los insectos escama (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) de las islas Galápagos, Ecuador. Charles Darwin Research Station, unpublished, 17 pp.
  • Lincango, P. Hodgson, C., Causton, C. & Miller, D. (2010) An updated checklist of scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) of the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Galapagos Research, 67: 3-7.
  • Peck, S.B. Heraty, J., Landry, B. & Sinclair, B.J. (1998) Introduced insect fauna of an oceanic archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Am. Entomol. 44: 218-237.
  • Peck, S.B. (2001) Smaller Orders of Insects of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador: Evolution, Ecology, and Diversity. NRC Research Press, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 278 pp.
  • Williams, M.L. (1977) Scale insects of the Galapagos islands In D.R Miller, J.A Davidson, M. Kosztarab (Eds.), Morphology and Systematics of scales insects (Ed.127, Vol. 9, pp. 85-98). Research Division Bulletin, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, and State University.

You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.

This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Ferrisia virgata", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=11081. Accessed 30 October 2026.