Allokermes

Strictly associated with oak trees (Quercus spp.) in urban landscapes, nurseries, and street tree settings. Females occupy branches, tree wounds, bases of buds, and bases of leaf petioles; males occur in bark crevices along tree stems.

United States. A. kingii occurs in the eastern and southeastern United States, including Florida. A. galliformis was originally known from the eastern United States (pin oak) and has been documented in Colorado along the eastern urban corridor adjacent to the Rocky Mountains.

Phloem-feeding; extracts sap from oak trees.

• Quercus spp. - primary hostGenus-level association for all Allokermes
• Quercus geminata - hostA. kingii; sand live oak
• Quercus virginiana - hostA. kingii; live oak
• Quercus rubra - hostA. galliformis; northern red oak
• Quercus shumardii - hostA. galliformis; Shumard oak
• Quercus palustris - hostA. galliformis; pin oak

Generation time varies by species and region. A. kingii has one generation per year throughout most of the United States, but two generations per year in Florida. Salmon-colored crawlers emerge late May through early August. Second instar females migrate to feeding sites, become sessile, and secrete a hard waxy covering. Females molt to adults late August through mid-December; eggs are laid in brood chambers early September through mid-December. Some second-generation crawlers emerge mid-September and molt to second instars by mid- October. First and second instar nymphs overwinter on trees. A. galliformis life cycle details have not been documented in the available sources.

Females become permanently sessile after selecting feeding sites and secrete a hard waxy covering. Males and females exhibit divergent settlement patterns: females migrate to larger branches, wounds, or new growth near leaf petioles, while males move to bark crevices on tree stems. Ants (Pheidole dentata has been observed) tend colonies and forage on honeydew secretions.

Pest of oak trees causing branch dieback, flagging, reduced growth rates, and occasional tree death. Honeydew production supports sooty mold growth and ant mutualists. Serves as host for limited natural enemies including ladybird beetles, green lacewings, predatory caterpillars, and parasitoid Metaphycus sp. A. galliformis facilitates the bacterial pathogen Lonsdalea quercina subsp. quercina, contributing to "drippy blight" disease with significant branch dieback, twig death, and gummosis.

Significant pest of urban and landscape oak trees. A. kingii causes direct damage through feeding and indirect damage via sooty mold. A. galliformis contributes to emergent drippy blight disease in Colorado, causing severe tree decline and mortality. Chemical control with acephate, bifenthrin, imidacloprid, and horticultural oil has shown limited effectiveness (less than 42% nymphal mortality).

• KermesAlso in family Kermesidae; distinguished by taxonomic revision and host associations, though specific morphological differences require specialist examination
• other CoccoideaGall-like appearance and sessile females resemble other scale insects; Allokermes distinguished by large female size (4–5 mm), oak-specific host association, and waxy covering structure

• oak pest
• urban forestry
• scale insect
• phloem feeder
• drippy blight
• honeydew producer
• ant tended

• BugGuide
• GBIF taxonomy match
• iNaturalist taxon
• NCBI Taxonomy
• Catalogue of Life
• Life History of Allokermes galliformis (Hemiptera: Kermesidae) in Colorado
• Biology and Management ofAllokermes kingii(Hemiptera: Kermesidae) on Oak Trees (QuercusSPP.)
• Drippy Blight, a Disease of Red Oaks in Colorado, U.S., Produced from the Combined Effect of the Scale Insect Allokermes galliformis and the Bacterium Lonsdalea quercina subsp. Quercina