Distribution and Habitat in Mexico of Dactylopius Costa (Hemiptera: Dactylopiidae) and their Cacti Hosts (Cactaceae: Opuntioideae)

Abstract

The distribution pattern of species of the genus Dactylopius Costa in Mexico was analyzed in relation to the distribution of their host plants (subfamily Opuntioideae) to evaluate the speci icity of the insect-host association. The distribution of Dactylopius currently recognized is narrower than that of its hosts and probably is not representative. Therefore, a broader distribution of the Dactylopius species in correspondence with those of their hosts was hypothesized. Insects and their hosts were collected and georeferenced in 14 states of Mexico from 2005 to 2007. The distribution areas, maps, and habitat characteristics of Dactylopius, Opuntia sensu stricto, Nopalea and Cylindropuntia were determined on the basis of ield collections and examination of museum collections. This information was complemented with information from the exhaustive examination of microscope slides from a local insect collection, plants from local herbaria, and literature reviews. The current distribution of the genus Dactylopius and its hosts included 22 and 25 states of Mexico, respectively, and Dactylopius had a continuous distribution according to its hosts, broader than recognized hitherto. The new georeferenced records of the ive Mexican Dactylopius species are reported. Insects with morphological characteristics of D. confusus combined with those of D. salmianus were identi ied, as well as insects with characteristics of D. opuntiae combined with those of D. salmianus. These records suggest that the number of local Dactylopius species could be higher than previously thought or that possible new processes of hybridization between native and introduced species may be occurring.

Insects: The Disregarded Domestication Histories

“…Cochineal is an important source of red for dyes, lake pigments, cosmetics, and food/pharmaceutical colorants [151,153]. Indeed, the red dye is mainly composed of carmine, which is a pigment obtained from the scale insects belonging to Dactylopius genus (Hemiptera, Dactyloidae) or some Porphyrophora species (Hemiptera, Margarodidae) [151,[153][154][155]. Nowadays, most of the carmine production is based on the farming of D. coccus inhabiting (sub)tropical South and Central America [151,153].…”

“…The species is used as a source of carmine in Mesoamerica and South America since the pre-Columbian times [156]. The earliest known cochineal-dyed textiles dates back to the twelfth century, but first evidence of cochineal farming is estimated to the tenth century [155][156][157].…”

“…Consequently, the cochineal trade almost totally disappeared in the twentieth century. Since the 1970s, cochineal production was restarted due to the discovery of carcinogenic and hazardous properties of synthesized dyes [155].…”

“…Dactylopius coccus females are wingless sessile parasites of cacti in the genus Opuntia [151,153,155]. After mating with winged males, females give birth to nymph that are airborne transported by the wind to new host plants.…”

A new species of Dactylopius Costa (Dactylopius gracilipilus sp. nov.) (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Dactylopiidae) from the Chihuahuan Desert, Texas, U.S.A.

“…are of significant economic and biological importance for three reasons: 1, carminic acid is extracted from dried pulverized bodies of D. coccus Costa and then used as a red dye globally, primarily as food coloring (Perez Guerra & Kosztarab 1992;FAO 2003;Rodriguez & Pascual 2004;Portillo & Zimmermann 2008;Chávez-Moreno et al 2009); 2, five of the nine Dactylopius species have been used successfully as biological control agents of invasive cacti (Hosking et al 1994;Githure et al 1999;Singh 2004;Zimmermann et al 2004;Mathenge et al 2009); and 3, Dactylopius spp. can be invasive, threatening native cacti and cochineal production in areas where they are non-native (Portillo & Zimmermann 2008;Lopes et al 2009;Chávez-Moreno et al 2011;Santos et al 2011).…”