SCALE INSECT DIVERSITY IN CENTRAL AMERICA, WITH EMPHASIS ON THE SOFT SCALES (HEMIPTERA: COCCIDAE)

Abstract

SCALE INSECT DIVERSITY IN CENTRAL AMERICA, WITH EMPHASIS ON THE SOFT SCALES (HEMIPTERA: COCCIDAE).

Central America, which includes Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama, has provided a continuous land bridge for the mixing of the floras and faunas of North and South America for millions of years. Due to their complex geological and climatic histories, these countries have experienced repeated invasions and establishment of flora and fauna from both North and South America and have served as centres of speciation and biotic diversification. Today, this area boasts one of the highest diversities of insect species and yet little is known about the scale insects of this region. This paper represents a summary of the current understanding of soft scale insect diversity and distribution for these seven countries of Central America, from which only 20 genera and 56 species of Coccidae are recorded.

Key words: biodiversity, Neotropical region.