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Mealybug females feed on plant sap, normally in roots or other crevices, and in a few cases the bottoms of stored fruit. They attach themselves to the plant and secrete a powdery wax layer (hence the name "mealy" bug) used for protection while they suck the plant juices. The males are short-lived, as they do not feed at all as adults and only ...
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.
Because mealybugs have such few predators and their white wax is good at being a deterrent, populations of mealybugs can quickly rise. The predators can't always get to where the mealybug is, so the colonies can get so big that the juvenile cabbage trees can't handle them. (Martin, 2019)
The papaya mealybug inserts its stylet into the epidermis of the leaf or the skin of fruit or stem and feeds on the plant sap. At the same time it injects a toxic substance into the plant which results in chlorosis , distortion, stunting, early leaf and fruit fall, the production of honeydew , sooty mould and possibly the death of the plant.
[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.
Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, common name mealybug ladybird [2] or mealybug destroyer, is a species of ladybird beetle native to eastern Australia. The beetle feeds on mealybugs and other scale insects, and is used to control those pests on citrus orchards worldwide.
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