Bio-ecology and control of an emerging vanilla pest, the scale Conchaspi angraeci

A few years after it was recorded on Reunion Island, a french island in the southwestern part of the Indian Ocean, the scale Conchaspis angraeci Cockerell, 1893 was of increasing concern for the vanilla producers on this island because of the damage it caused to this crop. By absorbing the sap of its host plants, this amored scale first leads to the formation of chlorotic spots on the leaves, then to a drying out of the leaf, and eventually, in extreme cases, to the death of the vine itself. As this pest has a wide geographical distribution over the recent years, we review its taxonomic position, its biology, ecology, natural enemies, and control.