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 live in symbiotic relationships with them, protecting them from predators and feeding off the honeydew which they excrete.
Scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient grouping than the superfamily Coccoidea due to taxonomic uncertainties. 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.
Lepidosaphes ulmi also known as apple mussel scale or oystershell scale is a widely invasive scale insect that is a pest of trees and woody plants. The small insects attach themselves to bark and cause injury by sucking the tree's sap; this metabolic drain on the plant may kill a branch or the entire tree.
The light brown apple moth is a leafroller moth belonging to the lepidopteran family Tortricidae.
Aonidiella aurantii or red scale is an armored scale insect and a major pest of citrus. It is thought to be a native of South China but has been widely dispersed by the agency of man through the movement of infected plant material. In the United States it is known as California red scale. It was first found in California between 1868 and 1875, apparently brought there on planting material imported from Australia.
Pseudococcus viburni is a close relative of the grape mealybug and a pest of the vineyards around the world.
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.
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.
Mango mealybug, is a pest of mango crops in Asia. The nymphs and females suck plant sap from inflorescences, tender leaves, shoots and fruit peduncles. As a result, the infested inflorescences dry up, affects the fruit set, causing fruit drop. These bugs also exude honey dew over the mango tree leaves, on which sooty mold fungus develops reducing the photosynthetic efficiency of the tree. It is a polyphagous pest and is found on over 60 other plant species
Eriosoma lanigerum, the woolly apple aphid, woolly aphid or American blight, is an aphid in the superfamily Aphidoidea in the order Hemiptera. It is a true bug and sucks sap from plants.
Aspidiotus destructor, the coconut scale, is a species of armoured scale insect in the family Diaspididae, found in many tropical and subtropical parts of the world. It is a serious pest of coconut and banana, and attacks a range of other fruiting trees and ornamental plants.
Ceroplastes rubens, known generally as the red wax scale or pink wax scale, is a species of soft scale insect in the family Coccidae. It is native to Australia but has been introduced to other countries, including New Caledonia, Japan, China, Poland and the United States.
Balanococcus cordylinidis, the cabbage tree mealybug, is a species of insect in the family Pseudococcidae.
Amrasca biguttula, commonly known as the cotton jassid, is a subspecies of leafhopper belonging to the subfamily Typhlocybinae of family Cicadellidae. It is a pest of cotton, okra, and other crops in southern Asia and West Africa.
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.
Selenothrips rubrocinctus, commonly known as the redbanded thrips, is a species of thrips in the family Thripidae. It was first described from the West Indies but may have originated in northern South America. It has spread to other parts of the world and now has a near pan-tropical distribution, occurring in North, Central, and South America, Africa, southern Asia, and Australasia.
Aleurotrachelus atratus better known as the palm-infesting whitefly is an invasive species that affects coconut palms. Originally, this species was only prevalent in Brazil and was known to feed on coconuts native to this country. Now, the species has migrated to the tropics and subtropics and is invasive in many other countries. Aleurotrachelus is one of the largest genus, containing 74 species.
Aleurodicus cocois, commonly known as the coconut whitefly, is a species of whitefly in the family Aleyrodidae; it feeds on coconut and other palm trees in South America and the Caribbean region.
Planococcus ficus, commonly known as the vine mealybug, is a species of mealybug, belonging to the family Pseudococcidae, native to tropical and subtropical regions. The vine mealybug is found in Europe, Northern Africa, Southern Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East. The vine mealybug is invasive to weedy plants in many different regions of the world.
Dactylopius opuntiae, also known as the prickly pear cochineal, is a species of scale insect in the family Dactylopiidae.
