The unusual cover of the armoured scale Cryptaspidiotus barbusano (Lindinger) (Hemiptera: Diaspididae: Aspidiotinae) with comments on the scale covers of other Diaspididae

Cryptaspidiotus barbusano (Lindinger 1908) is an endemic species of the Canary Islands, only known on Apollonias barbujana (Lauraceae), a plant growing in the “Laurisilva” or laurel forest, in several Macaronesian islands. Recently C. barbusano was collected on Heberdenia excelsa (Myrsinaceae), a new host plant and family, in the Jardín Botánico Canario Viera y Clavijo, Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. The recent collection of C. barbusano gives us the opportunity to redescribe its unusual adult female scale cover. The truncate cone-shaped scale cover and its peculiar reflexed exit tunnel for crawlers, with microscopic details of this rare species, are described and illustrated. The shape of the exit tunnel is discussed and the scale cover is compared with scale covers of several other diaspidid species. Finally, this study shows that C. barbusano is not a pupillarial species as formerly described