Galapagos Species Database

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

Aspidiotus destructor Signoret, 1869

Escama, coconut scale

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Arthropoda

Class
Insecta

Order
Hemiptera

Suborder
Sternorrhyncha

Superfamily
Coccoidea

Family
Diaspididae

Genus
Aspidiotus

Species
destructor

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: Parkinsonia aculeata (jerusalem thorn), Phoenix dactylifera (date palm), Vallesia glabra (pearl berry), Zanthoxylum fagara (cat's claw).

Distribution

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

Distribution: Santa Cruz

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 Charles Darwin Research Station, unpublished, 17 pp.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.

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This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Aspidiotus destructor", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=11099. Accessed 30 October 2026.