| Geococcus coffeae | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Suborder: | Sternorrhyncha |
| Family: | Pseudococcidae |
| Genus: | Geococcus |
| Species: | G. coffeae |
| Binomial name | |
| Geococcus coffeae Green, 1933 | |
Geococcus coffeae is a species in the mealybug family, Pseudococcidae, commonly known as the coffee root mealybug, [1] or brown scale. [2] It lives underground where it inserts its mouthparts into roots and sucks the sap.
The adult female mealybug is an elongated oval shape, and grows to a length of 2 to 2.5 mm (0.08 to 0.10 in). It is pure white except for the reddish-brown anal lobes, which are tipped by prominent blunt hooks. A smaller pair of chitinized hooks is located centrally on the last abdominal segment. [1]
Geococcus coffeae was first described by the British mycologist and entomologist Edward Ernest Green, growing on the roots of the coffee plant, Coffea liberica , in Suriname. It is also known from Cuba, Costa Rica, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Panama, Guatemala, Colombia and Brazil, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda and Zanzibar, India, the Philippines and Hawaii. It was first detected in Florida in 1958, growing on ornamental pot plants, Dieffenbachia and Philodendron bipinnatifidum , and efforts were made to restrict its spread. [1]
Geococcus coffeae infests the roots of a number of different plant species including grasses, coffee, mango, palms, citrus, Cyperus , pineapple and Syngonium . Living underground, these mealybugs often go undetected. Examination of the root systems of plants in pots may reveal quantities of the wax that the insects secrete. [3] On coffee, this mealybug prefers the smaller absorbent roots of the plant while other species such as Dysmicoccus brevipes and Rhizoecus nemoralis colonise the larger roots. The eggs are laid in groups and covered with waxy material. On hatching, the nymphs move a short way before piercing the roots with their mouthparts and starting to feed. The colony of mealybugs exude wax and secrete honeydew, forming a darkish, cork-like crust, and where there are several colonies, give a knobbly appearance to the root. [4]
This mealybug often lives in symbiosis with the ant Acropyga exsanguis , [5] being carried into the ant nest and tended by the ants. The mealybugs secrete the excess fluid they ingest as "honeydew" on which the ants feed. [6]
Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A typical life cycle involves flightless females giving living birth to female nymphs—who may also be already pregnant, an adaptation scientists call telescopic development—without the involvement of males. Maturing rapidly, females breed profusely so that the number of these insects multiplies quickly. Winged females may develop later in the season, allowing the insects to colonize new plants. In temperate regions, a phase of sexual reproduction occurs in the autumn, with the insects often overwintering as eggs.
Whiteflies are Hemipterans that typically feed on the undersides of plant leaves. They comprise the family Aleyrodidae, the only family in the superfamily Aleyrodoidea. More than 1550 species have been described.
Mealybugs are insects in the family Pseudococcidae, unarmored scale insects found in moist, warm habitats. Many species are considered pests as they feed on plant juices of greenhouse plants, house plants and subtropical trees and also act as a vector for several plant diseases. Some ants, however live in symbiotic relationships with them.
Scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the superfamily Coccoidea. Adult females typically have soft bodies and no limbs, and are concealed underneath domed scales, extruding quantities of wax for protection. Some species are hermaphroditic, with a combined ovotestis instead of separate ovaries and testes. Males, in the species where they occur, have legs and sometimes wings, and resemble small flies. Scale insects are herbivores, piercing plant tissues with their mouthparts and remaining in one place, feeding on sap. The excess fluid they imbibe is secreted as honeydew on which sooty mold tends to grow. The insects often have a mutualistic relationship with ants, which feed on the honeydew and protect them from predators. There are about 8,000 described species.
Woolly aphids are sucking insects that live on plant sap and produce a filamentous waxy white covering which resembles cotton or wool. The adults are winged and move to new locations where they lay egg masses. The nymphs often form large cottony masses on twigs, for protection from predators.
Insects have a range of mouthparts, adapted to particular modes of feeding. The earliest insects had chewing mouthparts. Specialization has mostly been for piercing and sucking, although a range of specializations exist, as these modes of feeding have evolved a number of times (for example, mosquitoes and aphids both pierce and suck, however female mosquitoes feed on animal blood whereas aphids feed on plant fluids. In this page, the individual mouthparts are introduced for chewing insects. Specializations are generally described thereafter.
Trophobiosis is a symbiotic association between organisms where food is obtained or provided. The provider of food in the association is referred to as a trophobiont. The name is derived from the Greek τροφή trophē, meaning "nourishment" and -βίωσις -biosis which is short for the English symbiosis.
Abantiades latipennis, known as the Pindi moth, is a species of moth in the family Hepialidae. It may also be referred to as a swift moth or a ghost moth, as this is a common name associated with Hepialidae. Endemic to Australia and identified in 1932, it is most populous in temperate rainforest where eucalypti are prevalent, as the larvae feed primarily on the roots of these trees. Females lay eggs during flight in a scattering fashion. The larvae live for over eighteen months underground, while adult moths survive for approximately one week, as they have no mouthparts with which to feed. The moths are preyed upon by a number of predators, including bats and owls. Brown in colour overall, males are paler and the identifying silver bars of the male's wings are more prominent than those of the female's, with dark margins. Male adults are generally smaller.
Phalaenopsis bellina is a species of orchid endemic to Borneo. It is one of about 60 species the genus Phalaenopsis. Today it is one of the most commonly cultivated species in the genus.
The sweetpotato bug is a species of Hemiptera in the family Coreidae. Native to Southeast Asia, the species has immigrated to the Pacific Islands. Frequently laying its eggs on the same Leguminosae and Convolvulaceae plants on which it feeds, the female of P. grossipes is very protective of her young, notably guarding both eggs and nymphs from predators.
Doleromyrma darwiniana is a species of ant in the genus Doleromyrma. Described by Forel in 1907, the species is endemic to Australia and introduced to New Zealand, and it nests in soil or under stones and logs. The organism grows to a length between 2.0 and 3.0 millimeters. This species of ant maintains small colony sizes and it "prefers protein food." The species is also known by some sources as the "brown house ant" and "Darwin's ant". The species is considered a "minor urban pest" in New South Wales.
Planococcus citri, commonly known as the citrus mealybug, is a species of mealybugs native to Asia. It has been introduced to the rest of the world, including Europe, the Americas, and Oceania, as an agricultural pest. It is associated with citrus, but it attacks a wide range of crop plants, ornamental plants, and wild flora.
Coccus hesperidum is a soft scale insect in the family Coccidae with a wide host range. It is commonly known as brown soft scale. It has a cosmopolitan distribution and feeds on many different host plants. It is an agricultural pest, particularly of citrus and commercial greenhouse crops.
Ormia depleta, sometimes called the Brazilian red-eyed fly, is a species of fly in the family Tachinidae. It is a parasitoid of mole crickets in the genus Scapteriscus. It is native to South America but has been imported into the United States and elsewhere as a biological pest control agent.
Saissetia coffeae, known generally as hemispherical scale, is a species of soft scale insect in the family Coccidae. Other common names include the helmet scale and coffee brown scale.
Cacopsylla pyricola, commonly known as the pear sucker, is a true bug in the family Psyllidae and is a pest of pear trees (Pyrus). It originated in Europe, was introduced to the United States in the early nineteenth century and spread across the country in the next century.
Scutigerella immaculata, commonly known as the garden symphylan or glasshouse symphylid, is a species of myriapod in the family Scutigerellidae. It may have originated in Europe but now has a cosmopolitan distribution and can be a pest of crops.
Phenacoccus solenopsis, the cotton mealybug or solenopsis mealybug, is a species of mealybug in the family Pseudococcidae. Having originated in North America, it has spread to other parts of the world and become a major pest of cotton crops.
Acropyga exsanguis is a species of ant in the subfamily Formicinae. It lives in underground nests in Mexico, Central and South America.
An ant garden is a mutualistic interaction between certain species of arboreal ants and various epiphytic plants. It is a structure made in the tree canopy by the ants that is filled with debris and other organic matter in which epiphytes grow. The ants benefit from this arrangement by having a stable framework on which to build their nest while the plants benefit by obtaining nutrients from the soil and from the moisture retained there.