Paratachardina pseudolobata
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Paratachardina pseudolobata, the lobate lac scale, is a polyphagous and pestiferous lac scale insect, which damages trees and woody shrubs in Cuba, Florida, the Bahamas and the Australian territory of Christmas Island. It was mistakenly identified as Paratachardina lobata (Chamberlin), an insect native to India and Sri Lanka, but was in 2007 recognized and named as a distinct species based on material from Florida; its native distribution is as yet unknown. The new lac insect was described based on all stages of the female (adult, second-instar nymph and first-instar nymph), during the revision of the genus Paratachardina, wherein all its known species were redescribed.
The lobate lac insect is known to feed on more than 300 plant species. It reproduces parthenogenetically, in contrast with the morphologically similar P. lobata, which reproduces sexually. Balachowsky, A.S. (1950) Sur deux Tachardina Ckll. (Coccoidea-Lacciferinae) nouveaux du Sahara Central. [Contribution à l'étude des Coccoidea du Nord Africain, 28e note.] (In French). EOS 26, 7–17.
Ben-Dov, Y. (2006) A systematic catalogue of eight scale insect families (Hemiptera: Coccoidea... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Lobate Lac Scale sighting in Miami on a given day, based on 38 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 251st most-seen of the 826 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lobate Lac Scale in Miami on a given day, against under 5% in February to December, the lowest months. That is one of Miami's driest months, with about 45 mm of rain against 190 mm in June.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lobate Lac Scale sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Miami, in our data
Miami is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Lobate Lac Scale sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same order: Hemiptera
The closest relatives of the Lobate Lac Scale that you can see in Miami (order Hemiptera, True Bugs, Hoppers, Aphids, and allies) are Milkweed Assassin Bug (about 10%), Brazilian Leafhopper (about 10%) and Giant Sweet Potato Bug (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Lobate Lac Scale is recorded against all the insects logged in Miami (38 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
