Family MATSUCOCCIDAE Morrison

Common names: Pine bast scales or matsucoccids.

Background: Matsucoccidae is a small, ancient family represented as fossils in amber; today there are two genera containing 43 species. They are most abundant in the northern hemisphere, including North Africa, but several species occur in Australia (Foldi 2005b; García Morales et al. 2016). No matsucoccids have been found south of the Sahara.

Appearance in life: Matsucoccids live on or under conifer bark or on the needles, but adult females are usually found wandering on the host when seeking a mate. Adult female body elongate oval, 3–7 mm long, red / green / brown; a white filamentous ovisac is usually produced from the posterior end of the abdomen. Immature cysts are found under bark, inside needle fascicles or on needle surfaces (Miller et al. 2014).

Identification: The best specimens for identification are young adult females just after the final moult, before the body has become distended with developing eggs. Adult female body (Fig. 8) elongate, slightly broader posteriorly; anal opening indistinct. Antennae well developed, set quite close together on head to form a V shape. Antenna 9 segmented, often with reticulate cuticle; basal segment large, with base wider than apex; most other segments each with base narrower than apex. Derm membranous; mouthparts often reduced, occasionally absent; anal lobes not developed. Legs well developed, with coxa appearing divided longitudinally; tarsi each 2 segmented (with the proximal segment short); claw with 2 capitate digitules but no denticle. Thoracic and abdominal spiracles without pores in atria. Cicatrices present. Multilocular disc pores sometimes present, each with 2 central loculi; sometimes forming a ventral apical cluster around vulva. Immature cyst stage with 8 pairs of abdominal spiracles, mouthparts, and 1-segmented antennae but no legs (Miller et al. 2014).

Economic importance: Many matsucoccid species can be pests in coniferous forests (McClure 1977; Gill 1993; Ahmed et al. 2020).

Biology: Matsucoccids feed on coniferous trees, mostly Pinus species (Pinaceae) but in Australia they are found on Agathis and Araucaria (Araucariaceae) (Gill 1993; Miller et al. 2014). Reproduction is usually sexual but some species use parthenogenesis. Most species have one generation a year, but a few species have a two-year cycle (Branco et al. 2002) whereas some can have as many as 6 generations annually. The female has three developmental stages; the crawler and adult have legs, whereas the second-instar cyst does not. The adult female produces a white filamentous ovisac from the posterior end of the abdomen, into which she lays eggs. Crawlers leave the ovisac and settle under the bark before moulting to the cyst stage, which eventually moults to the adult. The male has five instars, of which the second is a legless cyst stage; the third stage is a mobile pre-pupa, which may relocate before forming a wax cocoon in which the pupa and adult complete development (Miller et al. 2014).

Checklist and distributions of Matsucoccidae in continental Africa (1 genus, 2 species)

Matsucoccus feytaudi Ducasse: Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia

Matsucoccus pini (Green): Morocco