Aclerdidae
Guides
Aclerda
flat grass scales
Aclerda is a genus of scale insects (family Aclerdidae) commonly known as flat grass scales. Species in this genus are legless as adults, with strongly reduced 1-segmented antennae and a unique anal apparatus. They inhabit leaf sheaths of grasses in hot, dry regions. The genus includes both sexually and parthenogenetically reproducing species, with unusual cytogenetic systems including heterochromatinization of one haploid chromosome set in males of some species.
Nipponaclerda
roseau cane scale, Phragmites scale insect
Nipponaclerda is a genus of flat grass scales in the family Aclerdidae, containing species that are specialist sap-feeders on grasses in the genus Phragmites. The genus is native to East Asia and has become invasive in North America. The best-known species, N. biwakoensis, has caused extensive dieback of Phragmites australis in Louisiana's Mississippi River Delta since 2016, threatening critical wetland ecosystem services.