Marchalina hellenica
Encyclopedia
Marchalina hellenica is an Scale insect
that lives in the eastern Mediterranean region, mainly in Greece
and Turkey
. It lives by sucking the sap of pine
trees, mainly the Turkish Pine
(Pinus brutia) and, to smaller extent, Aleppo Pine
(Pinus halepensis), Scots Pine
(Pinus sylvestris) and Stone Pine
(Pinus pinea). It can be found in the cracks and under the scales of the bark
of these trees, hidden under the white cotton-like wax it secretes. Its main form of reproduction is parthenogenesis
.
The honeydew
it produces is an important source of food for forest honey bee
s, which produce pine honey
. In Greece and Turkey, about 60% of the honey production is derived from it. All over Greece
the large scale artificial infestation of pine trees with Marchalina hellenica by bee keepers has resulted in the loss of the ecological balance between the insect and its natural predators; as a result trees in the surrounding pine forests are overburdened by the insect and dying.
In 2006 Marchalina hellenica was included in the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection alert list.
Scale insect
The scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, generally classified as the superfamily Coccoidea. There are about 8,000 species of scale insects.-Ecology:...
that lives in the eastern Mediterranean region, mainly in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. It lives by sucking the sap of pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
trees, mainly the Turkish Pine
Turkish Pine
Pinus brutia, the Turkish pine, is a pine native to the eastern Mediterranean region. The bulk of its range is in Turkey, but it also extends to the East Aegean Islands of Greece, the Crimea, Iran, Georgia, Azerbaijan, northern Iraq, western Syria, Lebanon, and Cyprus...
(Pinus brutia) and, to smaller extent, Aleppo Pine
Aleppo Pine
Pinus halepensis, commonly known as the Aleppo Pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. Their range extends from Morocco and Spain north to southern France, Italy and Croatia, and east to Greece and northern Tunisia, and Libya, with an outlying population in Syria, Lebanon, southern...
(Pinus halepensis), Scots Pine
Scots Pine
Pinus sylvestris, commonly known as the Scots Pine, is a species of pine native to Europe and Asia, ranging from Scotland, Ireland and Portugal in the west, east to eastern Siberia, south to the Caucasus Mountains, and as far north as well inside the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia...
(Pinus sylvestris) and Stone Pine
Stone Pine
The Stone Pine , is also called Italian Stone Pine, or Umbrella Pine , and Parasol Pine. It is in the pine family Pinaceae and occasionally listed under the invalid name Pinus sativa. The tree is native to the Mediterranean region...
(Pinus pinea). It can be found in the cracks and under the scales of the bark
Bark
Bark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
of these trees, hidden under the white cotton-like wax it secretes. Its main form of reproduction is parthenogenesis
Parthenogenesis
Parthenogenesis is a form of asexual reproduction found in females, where growth and development of embryos occur without fertilization by a male...
.
The honeydew
Honeydew (secretion)
Honeydew is a sugar-rich sticky liquid, secreted by aphids and some scale insects as they feed on plant sap. When their mouthpart penetrates the phloem, the sugary, high-pressure liquid is forced out of the gut's terminal opening. Honeydew is particularly common as a secretion in the Hemipteran...
it produces is an important source of food for forest honey bee
Honey bee
Honey bees are a subset of bees in the genus Apis, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of perennial, colonial nests out of wax. Honey bees are the only extant members of the tribe Apini, all in the genus Apis...
s, which produce pine honey
Pine honey
Pine honey is a type of honeydew honey. It is produced by honey bees that collect honeydew from a scale insect species, Marchalina hellenica, which lives on the sap of certain pine species...
. In Greece and Turkey, about 60% of the honey production is derived from it. All over Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
the large scale artificial infestation of pine trees with Marchalina hellenica by bee keepers has resulted in the loss of the ecological balance between the insect and its natural predators; as a result trees in the surrounding pine forests are overburdened by the insect and dying.
In 2006 Marchalina hellenica was included in the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection alert list.
External links
- Erlinghagen, F. (2001). Portrait of an insect: Marchalina hellenica Genn. (Sternorrhyncha:Coccina: Margarodidae), important producer of honeydew in Greece. Apiacta 36: 131–137.
- Margaritopoulos, J.T., Bacandritsos, N. & Pekas, A. N. (2003). Genetic variation of Marchalina hellenica (Hemiptera: Margarodidae) sampled from different hosts and localities in Greece. Bulletin of Entomological Research 93 (5 October): 447–453.