Coccidological studies at INIFAT (1972-1975)

The former Institute of Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture at the Karl-Marx-University of Leipzig (G.D.R.) maintained close relations to the Instituto Nacional de las Investigaciones Fundamentales en la Agricultura Tropical “Alejandro de Humboldt” (INIFAT) of the Cuban Academy of Sciences in Santiago de Las Vegas. Throughout the 1970s, PhD students from the G.D.R. worked each for two years on several applied research topics of their doctorate theses. From 1972-1975 (under the auspices of Prof. Dr. Heinz Fankhänel) two extensive studies on scale insects were done, as pest species in citrus (Heidel, 1975Heidel, W. (1975). Zur wirtschaftlichen Bedeutung, Lebensweise, Populationsdynamik und Bekämpfung von Schildläusen (Coccina) in Zitrusanlagen der Republik Kuba. Inauguraldissertation (Dr. agr.), Karl-Marx-Universität Leipzig, 185 pp.
) and coffee cultures (Köhler, 1977Köhler, G. (1977). Zur Morphologie, Biologie und Ökologie der Grünen Kaffeeschildlaus, Coccus viridis (GREEN), in Kaffeeanlagen der Republik Kuba, einschließlich einiger Bemerkungen zu ihrer Bekämpfung. Inauguraldissertation (Dr. rer. nat.), Karl-Marx-Universität Leipzig, 214 pp.
).

Scale insects in citrus cultures

Systematic studies on the occurrence of scale insects on citrus crops (primarily Citrus sinensis) were conducted in 1972-1974 over a period of 15 months in plantations with and without the use of pesticides near Güira de Melena (Prov. Artemisa), Bejucal (Prov. Mayabeque) and Rancho Boyeros (Prov. La Habana). All individual insects were counted based on their infestation on the leaves during various stages of the orange development, from flowering to fruit formation and harvest. Infestation on the fruit and trunk was also recorded. During the studies, up to 23,000 individuals of different scale insects had to be counted and evaluated in individual plots. In addition, all major citrus growing areas in Cuba in that time were visited, sometimes repeatedly, and plantations in production were examined for scale insect infestation. The results on the regional significance of scale insects and factors influencing their population dynamics were presented in studies by Heidel (1975Heidel, W. (1975). Zur wirtschaftlichen Bedeutung, Lebensweise, Populationsdynamik und Bekämpfung von Schildläusen (Coccina) in Zitrusanlagen der Republik Kuba. Inauguraldissertation (Dr. agr.), Karl-Marx-Universität Leipzig, 185 pp.
, 1980Heidel, W. (1980). Zum Auftreten, zur Lebensweise und Bekämpfung der Schildläuse im Zitrusanbau Kubas. In: Fankhänel, H. (Hrsg.), Wirtschaftlich wichtige Schädlinge, Krankheiten und Unkräuter sowie ihre Bekämpfung im Zitrusanbau Kubas. Hochschulstudium Tropische und subtropische Landwirtschaft, Leipzig, 56-139.
, see also Table 1).

The species were determined using the literature available in the library at the INIFAT and extended to the newest international publications in that time. Because of the geographical proximity, also Merrill (1953Merrill, G. B. (1953). A Revision of the scale-insects of Florida. Bulletin of the State Plant Board of Florida 1, 143 pp.
, Revision of Florida Coccoidea) and Dekle (1965Dekle, G. W. (1965). Florida armored scale insects. Florida Department of Agriculture, 265 pp.
, Diaspididae of Florida) were used. De Lotto (1969)De Lotto, G. (1969). On a few old and new soft scales and mealybugs. Journal of the entomological Society of southern Africa 32, 413-422.
published about old and new soft scales (and mealybugs), resulting that Cuban material sampled by W. Heidel and hitherto determined as Saissetia oleae (Olivier, 1791), was found to be S. neglecta De Lotto, 1969. According to Ben-Dov (1993)Ben-Dov, Y. (1993). A Systematic Catalogue of the Soft Scale Insects of the World (Homoptera: Coccoidea: Coccidae) with data on geographical distribution, host plants, biology and economic importance (Flora & Fauna Handbook No. 9)Sandhill Crane Press, Inc., 536 pp.
, the holotype of S. neglecta is from Florida, Pine Island, on Grapefruit, but he did not mention Cuba in his world catalogue.

Scale insects in coffee cultures

From 1973-1975 coccidological studies in coffee cultures focused on the green coffee scale, Coccus viridis (Green, 1889), on Coffea arabica var. caturra, mainly in Plan Cacahual nearby Santiago de Las Vegas (fig. 1). In the field in 1974/75, during regular leaf sampling the population dynamics and infestation rates were studied, comparing four plots (á 30 trees) in the sun with four plots under shadow trees. Furthermore, greenhouse rearing experiments with C. viridis were done on Coffea arabica var. catuai in the INIFAT to study morphological, biological and ecological aspects, including life cycle and parasites. The investigations were accompanied by study trips to traditional Cuban coffee regions in the provinces Guantánamo, Sancti Spiritus and Artemisa/Pinar del Rio, with collecting and preserving scale insect material. In February 1975, in the coffee garden of Topes de Collantes / Escambray on four Coffea species and 12 arabica cultivars the rough infestation with C. viridis was estimated. All the results were presented in studies by Köhler (1976Köhler, G. (1976). Beitrag zur Kenntnis des Männchens der Grünen Kaffeeschildlaus, Coccus viridis (Green) (Hemiptera: Coccinea - Coccidae). Beiträge zur Entomologie 26, 471-477.
, 1977Köhler, G. (1977). Zur Morphologie, Biologie und Ökologie der Grünen Kaffeeschildlaus, Coccus viridis (GREEN), in Kaffeeanlagen der Republik Kuba, einschließlich einiger Bemerkungen zu ihrer Bekämpfung. Inauguraldissertation (Dr. rer. nat.), Karl-Marx-Universität Leipzig, 214 pp.
, 1978Köhler, G. (1978). Zur Biologie und Autökologie der Grünen Kaffeeschildlaus, Coccus viridis (Green) (Hemiptera: Coccinea - Coccidae). Zoologische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Ökologie und Biogeographie der Tiere 105, 561-572.
, 1980aKöhler, G. (1980a). Die Grüne Kaffeeschildlaus (Coccus viridis (Green). In: Köhler, G., Tenckhoff, V. & Motte, G. Krankheiten und Schädlinge an Kaffee in Kuba. Hochschulstudium Tropische Landwirtschaft, Leipzig, 79-139.
, bKöhler, G. (1980b). Los parásitos y epísitos de la guagua verde del cafeto, (Coccus viridis Green), (Hemiptera, Coccidae) en cafetales de Cuba. Centro Agrícola, La Habana, VII (1), 75-105.
). The Coccus viridis group, originating from Eastern Africa, had been revised by De Lotto (1960)De Lotto, G. (1960). The green scales of coffee in Africa south of the Sahara (Homoptera: Coccidae). Bulletin of entomological Research 51, 389-403.
. To be sure in this pest species, material from Cuba was sent to Giovanni De Lotto for determination and confirmation, and he also sent slides for comparison.

Halimococcids on endemic Cuban palm species

In 1966 the German botanist Dr. Johannes Bisse was sent from the Friedrich-Schiller-University of Jena to La Habana as consultant of the Botanical Department, involved in lectures (en la Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas de la Universidad de La Habana), organizing the Flora Cuba Project with the G.D.R. (Berlin and Jena), including several expeditions throughout Cuba to collect living plants as well as herbarium material, and finally involved in the reconstruction of the new Botanical Garden of La Habana. Following that, in the 1980s the Jena Botanical Garden received seeds as well as remarkable plant species from Cuba, including endemic palms, originating from the lowland region of the Southern Pinar del Rio province. Palms of two endemic species were transported in the 1980s to the Botanical Garden of the Jena University. Later two of them were found to be infested by scale insects, two species of the family Halimococcidae, which due to their mass reproduction finally destroyed the palms. The halimococcid species of the genus Colobopyga were determined as adult females, using the key of Deitz (1979)Deitz, L. L. (1979). Two new species of Colobopyga (Homoptera: Halimococcidae) from the Australian region. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 6, 453-457.
. Material from these outbreaks was studied and published in two papers (Köhler, 1987Köhler, G. (1987). Redescription and life-cycle properties of Colobopyga coperniciae Ferris, 1952 (Coccoidea: Halimococcidae) - an endemic palm scale from Cuba. Zoologischer Anzeiger 219, 113-125.
; Köhler & Schrameyer, 2023Köhler, G. & Schrameyer, K. (2023). Coccothrinax crinita in the Botanical Garden Jena (Germany) infested by a pupillarial palm scale. Palms 67, 109-114.
). Considering the endemic host plants and all the other circumstances, the scale insect species were regarded as originating from Cuba and therefore belonging to the Cuban fauna.

Scale insects in citrus cultures

Besides the biology, ecology, distribution and infestation of scale insect species, in more detail Selenaspidus articulatus (Morgan, 1889), the studies resulted in a list of all significant scale insects in citrus crops in that time, assessing their frequency and severity of the infestation. Of the 26 scale insect species in Cuban citrus orchards known to date, 16 species were found in the plantations examined, while the remaining 10 species were not. Table 1 gives an overview of their occurrence in Cuban citrus crops and their frequencies in investigated plots in that time. Furthermore, an illustrated determination key (with ink drawings) was developed for practitioners, based on visual characteristics (measures, colours) of adult females and partly males. During these studies, two systematic aspects in the genera Saissetia and Toumeyella became important (Heidel, 1975Heidel, W. (1975). Zur wirtschaftlichen Bedeutung, Lebensweise, Populationsdynamik und Bekämpfung von Schildläusen (Coccina) in Zitrusanlagen der Republik Kuba. Inauguraldissertation (Dr. agr.), Karl-Marx-Universität Leipzig, 185 pp.
, 1980Heidel, W. (1980). Zum Auftreten, zur Lebensweise und Bekämpfung der Schildläuse im Zitrusanbau Kubas. In: Fankhänel, H. (Hrsg.), Wirtschaftlich wichtige Schädlinge, Krankheiten und Unkräuter sowie ihre Bekämpfung im Zitrusanbau Kubas. Hochschulstudium Tropische und subtropische Landwirtschaft, Leipzig, 56-139.
).

For the first time, the species Saissetia neglecta De Lotto, 1969 was repeatedly found. Our Cuban material, hitherto determined as Saissetia oleae (Olivier, 1791), was found to be S. neglecta, confirmed by De Lotto in 1975. Following that, S. oleae should be only a minor plague in Cuban citrus crops (Heidel, 1975Heidel, W. (1975). Zur wirtschaftlichen Bedeutung, Lebensweise, Populationsdynamik und Bekämpfung von Schildläusen (Coccina) in Zitrusanlagen der Republik Kuba. Inauguraldissertation (Dr. agr.), Karl-Marx-Universität Leipzig, 185 pp.
, 1980Heidel, W. (1980). Zum Auftreten, zur Lebensweise und Bekämpfung der Schildläuse im Zitrusanbau Kubas. In: Fankhänel, H. (Hrsg.), Wirtschaftlich wichtige Schädlinge, Krankheiten und Unkräuter sowie ihre Bekämpfung im Zitrusanbau Kubas. Hochschulstudium Tropische und subtropische Landwirtschaft, Leipzig, 56-139.
). Mestre Novoa et al. (2001)Mestre Novoa, N., Hamon, A. B., Oviedo, I. B. & Hernández, M. R. (2001). Nuevos registros de Coccoidea (Homoptera: Sternorrhyncha) para Cuba. Insecta Mundi 15, 59-61.
recognized S. neglecta as new for Cuba and were also confirming records of this species for other host plants in the provinces Sancti Spiritus, Cienfuegos and Mayabeque.

Another prominent taxon in citrus cultures was mentioned since Ballou (1926)Ballou, C. H. (1926). Los cóccidos de Cuba y sus plantas hospederas. Boletín de la Estación Experimental Agrónoma, Santiago de las Vegas 51, 47 pp.
until Pruña & Alayo (1973Pruña, P. M. & Alayo, R. (1973). Muestreo de Coccoídeos y Aleyródidos de los Cítricos de Isla de Pinos. Poyeana 197, 1-12.
, Isla de La Juventud) as Toumeyella sp., described later by Heidel & Köhler (1979)Heidel, W. & Köhler, G. (1979). Toumeyella cubensis sp. n. (Hemiptera: Coccinea - Coccidae) - eine Schildlaus in kubanischen Zitruskulturen. Zoologischer Anzeiger 202, 132-144.
as a new species T. cubensis because of their distribution in several regions of Cuba, with information about phenology, dynamics and infestation rate. The species had been found regularly in Güira de Melena (Artemisa Province) and Bejucal (Mayabeque Province) in spring (April and May) and autumn (September to November), but mainly in low population densities, and was largely unknown to farmers and plant protection practitioners (Heidel, 1975Heidel, W. (1975). Zur wirtschaftlichen Bedeutung, Lebensweise, Populationsdynamik und Bekämpfung von Schildläusen (Coccina) in Zitrusanlagen der Republik Kuba. Inauguraldissertation (Dr. agr.), Karl-Marx-Universität Leipzig, 185 pp.
). Unfortunately, their description had to be done without any possibility to compare it with other Toumeyella species from Central and Northern America. Decades later, Williams & Kondo (2008)Williams, M. L. & Kondo, T. (2008). Status and current composition of the soft scale insect genus Toumeyella (Hemiptera: Coccidae). In: Branco, M., Franco, J. C. & C. Hodgson (eds.), Proceedings of the XI International Symposium on Scale Insect Studies. September 24-27, 2007; Oeiras, Portugal, 29-32.
summarized the current composition of the New World genus Toumeyella with 16 species from Northern America to Brazil (now 21 species) including the above-mentioned species from Cuba. So far known, Citrus species are the only hosts of T. cubensis in Cuba, which in the genus Toumeyella was never reported from Citrus and other Rutaceae from other countries (Kondo & González, 2014Kondo, T. & González, H. (2014). A new species of Toumeyella Cockerell (Hemiptera: Coccidae) on Myrtillocactus geometrizans (Cactaceae) from Mexico with a checklist of knwon species of Toumeyella in the world. Insecta Mundi 0396, 1-10.
), resulting in an endemic status of this species for Cuba, already described by Heidel (1975)Heidel, W. (1975). Zur wirtschaftlichen Bedeutung, Lebensweise, Populationsdynamik und Bekämpfung von Schildläusen (Coccina) in Zitrusanlagen der Republik Kuba. Inauguraldissertation (Dr. agr.), Karl-Marx-Universität Leipzig, 185 pp.
. Following that, Mestre Novoa et al. (2015)Mestre Novoa, N. A., Hamon, G., Hodges, G. & Kondo, T. (2015). Lista de los insectos escama (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccoidea) de Cuba. Poeyana 500, 33-54.
included this species in the list of Cuban scale insects. Otherwise, due to the different host genera than Citrus, it must be assumed still another species under Toumeyella sp. in Cuba (Appendix 1). More detailed studies are needed to solve this problem.

Scale insects in coffee cultures

The studies focussed on the main pest species, the polyphagous green scale of coffee Coccus viridis (Green, 1889) (Köhler, 1977Köhler, G. (1977). Zur Morphologie, Biologie und Ökologie der Grünen Kaffeeschildlaus, Coccus viridis (GREEN), in Kaffeeanlagen der Republik Kuba, einschließlich einiger Bemerkungen zu ihrer Bekämpfung. Inauguraldissertation (Dr. rer. nat.), Karl-Marx-Universität Leipzig, 214 pp.
, 1978Köhler, G. (1978). Zur Biologie und Autökologie der Grünen Kaffeeschildlaus, Coccus viridis (Green) (Hemiptera: Coccinea - Coccidae). Zoologische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Ökologie und Biogeographie der Tiere 105, 561-572.
, 1980aKöhler, G. (1980a). Die Grüne Kaffeeschildlaus (Coccus viridis (Green). In: Köhler, G., Tenckhoff, V. & Motte, G. Krankheiten und Schädlinge an Kaffee in Kuba. Hochschulstudium Tropische Landwirtschaft, Leipzig, 79-139.
). The species was not only detected in nearly all coffee plantations visited throughout Cuba, but also on citrus crops and other hostplants. In contrast to citrus crops, on coffee (by only superficial observations) three other scale insect species were detected (Table 2). Otherwise, in polyculture of coffee with guava and avocado, a total of eight scale insect species was found on Coffea, but with C. viridis as the most common one (Mestre Novoa, 1999Mestre Novoa, N. (1999). Composición taxonómica y estructura de una comunidad de Coccoidea (Homoptera: Sternorrhyncha) en un policultivo de cafeto, guayabo y aguacatero. - Tesis de Master en Ciencias de Ecología y Systemática Aplicada, Instituto de Ecología y Sistemática, La Habana, 93 pp.
; Mestre Novoa et al., 2006Mestre, N, Hamon, A. B., Fontenla, J. L., Fernandez, M., Reyes, M. & Sanchez, R. (2006). Composición y estructura de una comunidad de Cocoidea [sic] (Homoptera: Coccoidea) en un policultivo de cafeto, guayabo y aguacatero. Resumos do 1 Congreso Brasileiro de Agroecologia 1, 53-57.
). Following this, C. viridis belongs to those five coccid species, which are essential in maintaining ecological network interactions (Mestre Novoa et al., 2021bMestre, N., Fontenla, J. L., Fontenla, Y., Baró, I. & Alameda, D. (2021b). Relaciones bipartitas entre Coccidae (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) y sus familias de plantas hospedantes en Cuba. Poyeana 512, 1-16.
).

During 1973-75 in greenhouse rearing of C. viridis, males were found for the first time after their discovery by P. E. Keuchenius at the beginning of the 20th century in Java (Köhler, 1976Köhler, G. (1976). Beitrag zur Kenntnis des Männchens der Grünen Kaffeeschildlaus, Coccus viridis (Green) (Hemiptera: Coccinea - Coccidae). Beiträge zur Entomologie 26, 471-477.
). By studying some aspects of the parasite complex, the fungus Verticillium lecanii was most important, together with eight taxa of Chalcidoidea with lower parasitic rates in coffee plantations (Köhler, 1980bKöhler, G. (1980b). Los parásitos y epísitos de la guagua verde del cafeto, (Coccus viridis Green), (Hemiptera, Coccidae) en cafetales de Cuba. Centro Agrícola, La Habana, VII (1), 75-105.
).

Halimococcids on endemic Cuban palm species

Two palm individuals of two endemic fan palm species of the subfamily Coryphoideae (Moya López & Leiva Sánchez, 2000Moya López, C. E. & Leiva Sánchez, A. T. (2000). Checklist of the palms of Cuba, with notes on their ecology, distribution and conservation. Palms 44, 69-84.
), originating from Western Cuba, were imported in the 1980s to the Botanical Garden of the University of Jena / Germany. Here in the tropical glasshouses mass infestations developed by two scale insect species of the genus Colobopyga (family Halimococcidae), which only could be brought to Germany with those palms, where they normally live in the depth of folded leave sheets (fig. 2). As typically for the genus Colobopyga, the two larval stages as well as the adult female (of 0.7 mm length) live in sclerotized bottles, which can be individually rather variable (fig. 3 and 4).

Colobopyga coperniciae Ferris, 1952

Material examined: Germany, Jena Botanical Garden

Host plant: Colpothrinax wrightii Schaedler, 1875, introduced from Cuba (Las Ovas, Pinar del Rio province)

Examples: all developmental stages (females, males, 2nd and 1st instar larvae, slides, REM-photographs, drawings, Fig. 3)

Collection: G. Köhler, 1983/84

It was the second record of this halimococcid species after its description by Ferris, 1952Ferris, G. F. (1952). Some miscellaneous Coccoidea (Insecta: Homoptera) (Contribution Number 75). Microentomology 17, 2-5.
, orginally described on material collected in 1951 from the palm Copernicia hospita from Santa Clara / Cuba, resulting in an endemic status of this scale insect species. Because of the brief description based on few morphological properties and on the original slides the species was re-described in their developmental stages, with informations about morphometry and life-cycle (Köhler, 1987Köhler, G. (1987). Redescription and life-cycle properties of Colobopyga coperniciae Ferris, 1952 (Coccoidea: Halimococcidae) - an endemic palm scale from Cuba. Zoologischer Anzeiger 219, 113-125.
).

Colobopyga washingtoniae Ferris, 1942

Material examined: Germany, Jena Botanical Garden

Host plant: Coccothrinax crinita (R. D. Hoyt) Becc. [valid author names according Moya López (2020)Moya López, C. E. (2020). An Annotated Checklist of Cuban Palms. 2. Coccothrinax, Pt. 1: 1816-1939. Nomenclature, Typification, and Distribution. PalmArbor 2020-4. 1-63.
]

Examples: adult females (slides, photos, Fig. 4 and 5)

Collection: K. Schrameyer, Heilbronn, Germany, 2016

It differs from other Colobopyga species by a ring of wax pores in front of the vulva and a pygidium with one pair of flattened setae. The species was described by Ferris (1942)Ferris, G. F. (1942). Atlas of the Scale Insects of North America. Series 4 (Nos. 439-442). Stanford University Press, Palo Alto, California.
as Palmaricoccus washingtoniae from Mexico (Baja California Norte, Cataviña) on Washingtonia robusta, and Ferris (1952)Ferris, G. F. (1952). Some miscellaneous Coccoidea (Insecta: Homoptera) (Contribution Number 75). Microentomology 17, 2-5.
later erected a new genus Colobopyga. Until now this was the only known locality and hostplant (García Morales et al., 2016Garcia Morales, M.; Denno, B. D.; Miller, D. R.; Miller, G. L.; Ben-Dov, Y. & Hardy, N. B. (2016). ScaleNet. A literature-based model of scale insect biology and systematics. Database https://doi.org/10.1093/database/bav118 , http://scalenet.info
). The present occurrence of C. washingtoniae is the first evidence for Cuba and for Coccothrinax crinita as a new host palm taxon (Köhler & Schrameyer, 2023Köhler, G. & Schrameyer, K. (2023). Coccothrinax crinita in the Botanical Garden Jena (Germany) infested by a pupillarial palm scale. Palms 67, 109-114.
). Both Colobopyga species were hitherto not recognized in Cuba, where at most endemic palm species should be studied coccidologically in more detail.

Species, host plants and localities

Summarizing the data from our scale insect studies 1972-75 at the INIFAT, a total of at most 26 species from 6 families was recognized, observed and sampled in about 35 localities of 11 provinces throughout Cuba (Fig. 1). They included scale insects as pests of four Citrus species (Heidel, 1975Heidel, W. (1975). Zur wirtschaftlichen Bedeutung, Lebensweise, Populationsdynamik und Bekämpfung von Schildläusen (Coccina) in Zitrusanlagen der Republik Kuba. Inauguraldissertation (Dr. agr.), Karl-Marx-Universität Leipzig, 185 pp.
, 1980Heidel, W. (1980). Zum Auftreten, zur Lebensweise und Bekämpfung der Schildläuse im Zitrusanbau Kubas. In: Fankhänel, H. (Hrsg.), Wirtschaftlich wichtige Schädlinge, Krankheiten und Unkräuter sowie ihre Bekämpfung im Zitrusanbau Kubas. Hochschulstudium Tropische und subtropische Landwirtschaft, Leipzig, 56-139.
), four Coffea species and 13 arabica cultivars (Köhler 1977Köhler, G. (1977). Zur Morphologie, Biologie und Ökologie der Grünen Kaffeeschildlaus, Coccus viridis (GREEN), in Kaffeeanlagen der Republik Kuba, einschließlich einiger Bemerkungen zu ihrer Bekämpfung. Inauguraldissertation (Dr. rer. nat.), Karl-Marx-Universität Leipzig, 214 pp.
, 1980aKöhler, G. (1980a). Die Grüne Kaffeeschildlaus (Coccus viridis (Green). In: Köhler, G., Tenckhoff, V. & Motte, G. Krankheiten und Schädlinge an Kaffee in Kuba. Hochschulstudium Tropische Landwirtschaft, Leipzig, 79-139.
). Furthermore, three species of Halimococcidae from endemic Cuban palm species are mentioned (Table 2). For the Cuban fauna most of these species were well-known since the beginning of the 20^th century, and already mentioned by Cook & Horne (1908)Cook, M. T. & Horne, W. T. (1908). Insectos y enfermedades del naranjo. Boletin de la Estación Experimental Agrónoma, Santiago de las Vegas 9.
, Houser (1918)Houser, J. S. (1918). The Coccidae of Cuba. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 11, 157-172.
, Ballou (1926)Ballou, C. H. (1926). Los cóccidos de Cuba y sus plantas hospederas. Boletín de la Estación Experimental Agrónoma, Santiago de las Vegas 51, 47 pp.
and Bruner et al. (1945)Bruner, S. C., Scaramuzza, L. C. & Otero, A. R. (1945). Catálogo de los Insectos que atacan a las Plantas Económicas de Cuba. Boletín de la Estación Experimental Agrónoma, Santiago de las Vegas 63, 1-246.
. But in 1972-1975 several new localities also of widespread species were registered and partly material had been collected (Table 2).

According to actual knowledge, there are three endemic scale insect species in Cuba: Toumeyella cubensis (Heidel & Köhler 1979), Colobopyga coperniciae Ferris, 1952 (Köhler, 1987Köhler, G. (1987). Redescription and life-cycle properties of Colobopyga coperniciae Ferris, 1952 (Coccoidea: Halimococcidae) - an endemic palm scale from Cuba. Zoologischer Anzeiger 219, 113-125.
) and Hamonicoccus alayoi Mestre & Kondo, 2018.

The scale insect collection of Dr. Fernando de Zayas († 1983)

During his stay in Cuba, the first author had the opportunity to visit the well-known Cuban zoologist Dr. Fernando de Zayas in 1974 in his house in Havanna-Vedado. Two of his 504 insect boxes contained 60 samples of Coccoidea (dry material from Cuba), each sample (on a leaf or a twig) between cotton wool below and above in a glass tube, which was closed by a red substance (probably signature paint). The glass tubes were additionally fixed by small pieces of wood. Dr. Zayas allowed to notice the scale insect species. In total, 20 species and 4 genus sp. in 7 families were registered, which are listed below here in the actual and the original spelling (syn. in parentheses). Obviously, this is the first record about his scale insect collection, which hitherto had not been published.

Asterolecaniidae: Russellaspis pustulans pustulans (Cockerell) (syn. Asterolecanium pustulans)

Coccidae: Ceroplastes floridensis Comstock, Ceroplastes stellifer (Westwood) (syn. Vinsonia stellifera Westw.), Coccus longulus (Douglas) (syn. Coccus elongatus Sign.), Milviscutulus mangiferae (Green) (syn. Coccus mangiferae), Protopulvinaria pyriformis (Cockerell), Saissetia oleae (Oliver), Saissetia sp., Toumeyella sp.

Diaspididae: Aonidiella sp., Aspidiotus destructor Cockerell, Diaspidiotus perniciosus (Comstock) (syn. Aspidiotus perniciosus Comst.), Diaspis echinocactus opuntiae (Bouché), Chionaspis pinifoliae Fitch, Pinnaspis strachani (Cooley) (syn. Hemichionaspis minor (Mask.)), Howardia biclavis Comstock, Ischnaspis longirostris (Signoret), Lepidosaphes beckii (Newman), Selenaspidus articulatus (Morgan), Xanthophthalma concimum Cockerell

Eriococcidae: Capulinia sallei Signoret (syn. Lecanium sallei)

Margarodidae: Margarodes sp.

Monophlebidae: Icerya purchasi Maskell, Palaeococcus sp. (the genus is present in Cuba with Crypticerya rosae (Riley y Howard), deposited in the dry collection of C. H. Ballou, cited by Mestre Novoa et al., 2015Mestre Novoa, N. A., Hamon, G., Hodges, G. & Kondo, T. (2015). Lista de los insectos escama (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccoidea) de Cuba. Poeyana 500, 33-54.
).

Ortheziidae: Insignorthezia insignis (Browne) (syn. Orthezia insignis Sign.)