Kermes sylvestris (COCKERELL AND KING)

Sphaerococcus sylvestris
Kermes andrei
Talia andrei

Hosts: Quercus alba, ilicifolia, stellata [observations on Quercus borealis [rubra], macrocarpa, muehlenbergii, palustris, prinus [montana] listed as "questionable"]

Post-reproductive female. King (1900a) described the post-reproductive female as ... pyriform in shape, very convex, 5 mm. high and 5 mm. in diameter at its base, variable in some individuals which are nearly hemispherical. Surface shiny. Colour, light brown, with three and sometimes four, very dark brown bands, these variable in length and breadth. There are also several suffused dark brown blotchy spots and round dots, more numerous around the posterior cleft. Segmentation obsure; a median posterior keel-like prominence, which is very much wrinkled above near the region of the posterior cleft.

Remarks. This species has been recorded from Massachusetts to Texas and has been verified as being found on 4 species of oaks. It appears to be most common on Quercus alba.

K. sylvestris is a species that completes its development rapidly: post-reproductive females can be collected in late May. It is a rare species.

It is therefore possible that K. sylvestris contains a complex of one or more undescribed species or subspecies. The adults from Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas may belong to an undescribed species.