Abstract:

To reveal the evolution of research hotspots, the characteristics of knowledge structure, and future development trends in this field, a total of 806 Chinese publications and 2757 English publications related to scale insect (Coccoidea) research over the past three decades (1994—2024) were retrieved from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Web of Science (WOS) databases, respectively. VOSviewer and CiteSpace were employed to conduct visual analyses of publication outputs, countries, institutions, author collaboration networks, source journals, as well as keyword co-occurrence, clustering, temporal evolution, and burst detection. The annual publication output exhibited an overall wavelike upward trend with periodic fluctuations. Among contributing nations, the United States, China, India, and Brazil emerged as the most prolific countries in terms of publication volume. Chinese literature mainly focuses on the description of new species of scale insects and their occurrence patterns, while English literature is more oriented towards biological control research, particularly in-depth discussions on natural enemies and host plants. The forefront of domestic research includes host plants and chemical control methods, whereas current international research hotspots involve plant pest, plant health, and pest risk. The visual maps presented intuitively depict the overall status of scale insect research over the past 30 years, indicating that research in this field is gradually deepening and developing well. However, current studies are primarily concentrated on new species descriptions and chemical and biological control, and it is urgent to strengthen the integration of basic research and application, particularly in the design and development of behavior-modulating agents targeting odorant receptors.

Key words: scale insects, VOSviewer, Citespace, bibliometrics, visual analysis