Sign lice

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The male sign lice are usually winged. The is always converted to in addition they possess no mouth tools and take up according to also no food.

The females live usually in large colonies on different plant parts. Their body is shieldlike and frequently into a cap enclosed, with many kinds is perfectly stuck the females. The long is in-stung into the plant. Frequently the sign louse females are covered also by a wax secretion. Parthenogenese occurs with sign lice, the first larva is mobile and settles very fast. The females placing under their sign enormous quantities of eggs.

The Junglarven slip approximately starting from July and move then on sheets and recent impulses. By the suction activity it comes during the summer to strong honey rope formation.

From sign lice the coloring material carmine can be won.

Systematics of the sign lice

Sign lice are represented also in Central Europe by a set of Taxa with family rank.

• Sign lice
  • Cover sign lice - Diaspididae
  • Smallpox lice - Asterolecaniidae
  • Tube lice - Ortheziidae
  • Cave sign lice - Margarodidae
  • Cup sign lice - Coccidae
  • Oak cup lice - Kermesidae
  • Lubricating and - Pseudococcidae

Spreading

Particularly in the winter and spring on different house plants, usually at the blade lower surfaces, the veins and the branches. Frequently on: Palms, Oleander, Ficus, Orchideen, Aralien. They strike gladly ferns and hartlaubige plants such as Zitrus or laurel.

Since an adult sign louse usually maintains her location, it is dependent on a good camouflage. Usually it lives therefore on blade lower surfaces or on branches and is coloured their environment adapted. One recognizes the presence of sign lice often only by their sticky eliminations as drop on sheets and at the soil or by emerging ants.

Nutrition

Sign lice nourish themselves mainly of proteins existing in the Pflanzensaft. Since Pflanzensaft contains however mainly pure sugar, some kinds of cup sign louse separate these as sticky-clear honey rope drops. So that the louse does not stick thereby together, it shoots these drops proper.

The sign louse as a parasit

Beside sheet lice and white ones flies belong sign lice to the most frequent parasits at house plants. They extract the food from the plant. Photosynthesis is impaired by the separated honey rope of some kinds of cup sign louse and the following formation of soot rope mushroom. Cover sign lice deliver poisonous materials into the plants. All this restrains the growth of the plant and contributes in extreme cases to dying the landlord.

Honey rope can be disturbing for humans: In dwellings it sticks soils, furniture and windows together, in free autodisks. In the viticulture it can impair the taste of the Weines.

A cause of an infestation:

The cause of a sign louse infestation mostly is with the unfavorable basic conditions of the plant. The sign lice represent thus usually only the symptom. Sign lice stricken gladly weakened and with nitrogen over-fertilized plants. In the winter many house plants get too little light and stand very warmly. Thereby the composition of the Pflanzensaftes changes and offers favorable conditions for a fast Vermehrung of the animals.

Vorbeugung and fight:

As improving measure primarily the local conditions of the plant and thus the health of the plant are to be improved: Brighter, cooler location. The soil is to be loosened, gemulcht and loosened up with compost.

Suitable smell herbs: Bean herb to beans, Lavendel to roses, Kapuzinerkresse in tree disks.

With weak infestation at single plants wiping the animals off of the plants with a moistened rag or a brush is possibly sufficient, with soapy water. That is particularly careful and efficiently Abdu with a strong water jet. Crush the master mothers in the spring. Are suitable besides from bulb or potato bowls, garlic, Brennnessel, Rainfarn, Wermut or also alga preparations.

With stronger infestation and in surface cultures pesticides can be used. In surface cultures the crop rotation and Mischkultur are to be absolutely considered.

Against sign lice there is besides different , which is specialized in in each case a kind of louse. Like that for example the employment of Australian ladybirds is possible against Woll and lubrication lice in the greenhouse and winter garden. Further natural enemies of the sign louse are: Florfliegen, floating flies, slip wasps, assassin bugs, ear worms and The exact kind regulation of the sign lice by a specialized person is therefore recommended.

The sign louse as

Often it is misjudged that sign lice are not only parasits, but also They partly go to symbioses with other animals or even also with humans.

Sign lice as coloring material

The production of the intensive-red coloring material carmine from sign lice was already the Aztecs well-known. In Europe for the Eisenzeit (Dactylopius coccus) for the production were bred by carmine, which is used today particularly for textiles, food and in the Kosmetik. Another kind (Porphyrophora polonica) served in the Middle Ages in Eastern Europe than more favorable replacement for carmine. In central and South America the coloring material from the Cochenille Schildlaus (Coccus cacti L.) is won. As food coloring material E 120 carmine/Koschenille is today for example contained in Campari. (Relationship: Pflanze->Schildlaus->Mensch)

Use as lacquer

The lacquer sign louse resident in south and Southeast Asia (Kerria laccifera) supplies the shellac. Probably most famous application are the shellac records in the first half 20. Century. Today it is used in the furniture care and in the furniture making, in the music instrument making particularly for to play the violin and in the life central industry as coat means E904 e.g. of chocolate dragees. (Relationship: Pflanze->Schildlaus->Mensch)

Use of wax

Pelawachs, which possesses a higher melting point among other things contrary to the Bienenwachs (82"°C, produces the male larvae of the Chinese wax sign louse (Ceroplastes ceriferus, Coccus sinensis)), is nearly odorless and e.g. for the production of candles is suitable. (Relationship: Pflanze->Schildlaus->Mensch)

Use of the honey rope

• Ants: Them that serves honey rope as food. They literally milk the lice, protect these and contribute to the local propagation of the young lice.

(Relationship: Pflanze->Schildlaus<->Ameise)

• Wasps: They use the carbohydrate-rich honey rope as food. They contribute to dusting the plant host.

(Relationship: Pflanze->Schildlaus->Wespe->Pflanze)

• Bees: They use honey rope for the production of bee honey and contribute to dusting the plant.

(Relationship: Pflanze->Schildlaus->Biene->Mensch/Pflanze)

• Humans: The Beduinen converted already in Biblical times the honey rope of the Sinai Schildlaus living on Tamarisken to Manna and sold it as sugars.

(Relationship: Pflanze->Schildlaus->Mensch)

• Plants: Some plant hosts profit from the mold fungus growing on the honey rope to that extent, by being able to protect them against the vegetation by parasite plants, like for example Lianen.

(Relationship: Pflanze->Schildlaus->Pilz->Pflanze)

Sign lice as food

• Birds and insects: Different bird and kinds of insect have sign lice on their food plan. They play thus with the fight against sign lice a role, see above. Some kinds of sign louse however found against it a protection: because of their bitter body fluid they are avoided by their enemies. (Relationship: