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The most serious pests are mealybugs that feed on citrus. Other species damage sugarcane, grapes, pineapple (Jahn et al. 2003), coffee trees, cassava, ferns, cacti, gardenias, papaya, mulberry, sunflower and orchids. Mealybugs only tend to be serious pests in the presence of ants because the ants protect them from predators and parasites. [2]
This predator is a hoverfly and is the only known predator to mealybugs, although lady birds (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) are thought to have predate on mealybugs in the past. (Martin, 2019) There are no known pathogens or parasites for the cabbage tree mealybug, this may be due to the limited study on the species.
[1] [5] The male constructs a cottony cocoon for pupation, and the female does not. [1] The citrus mealybug looks very similar to the vine mealybug (Planococcus ficus), and the two species are mainly distinguished by the arrangement of pores and tubular ducts on the tiny body of the female. This similarity can pose a problem in agriculture.
Planococcus ficus, commonly known as the vine mealybug, is a species of mealybug, belonging to the family Pseudococcidae, native to tropical and subtropical regions. [1] The vine mealybug is found in Europe , Northern Africa , Southern Africa , the Americas , and the Middle East .
The species had spread to California, Mexico, Central America and to Florida in 2002. The adult female mealybug produces a blend of two compounds [1] that function as a female sex pheromone, highly attractive to males. [2] The pheromone can be used to trap males or to indicate the presence of a population of pink hibiscus mealybugs in the field.
Paracoccus marginatus, commonly known as the papaya mealybug, is a small sap-sucking insect in the mealybug family, Pseudococcidae. It is found on a number of different hosts, including economically important tropical fruit trees and various ornamental plants .
P. viburni is a pest of vineyards in New Zealand, [1] the Central Coast of California, [2] and the tea gardens of northern Iran. [3] Unlike the grape mealybug, the obscure mealybug is not native to California, having most likely been introduced to the region from either Australia or South America in the latter part of the 19th century. [4]
Puto is a genus of insects described as giant mealybugs, although it is the only extant genus in different family Putoidae; it was originally described by Victor Antoine Signoret in 1875. [ 1 ] Hosts