| Planococcus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Lab sample of planococcus citri | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Suborder: | Sternorrhyncha |
| Family: | Pseudococcidae |
| Genus: | Planococcus Ferris, 1950 |
Planococcus is a genus of true bugs belonging to the family Pseudococcidae. [1] The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution. [1] [2] A number of species are invasive agricultural pests. [3]
Identification of mealybug species in the Planococcus genus has been difficult due to an unusually high amount of intraspecies morphological variation. In the 1980s, entomologist Jennifer Cox at the British Museum discovered that the offspring of a single female raised on the same host will develop differently based on environmental conditions. She showed that higher temperatures induced smaller specimens overall with fewer pores, shorter appendages, and shorter setae. [4] From Cox's experiments, the greatest number of tubular ducts in adult females was present at intermediate temperatures, whereas the smallest number were present when temperatures were higher or lower. Cox's work showed that the proposed species Planococcus citricus was in fact a warm temperature variant of Planococcus citri. [5] This created issues in the discrimination of species as these characteristics were among those used by Ezzat & McConnell in their treatment of Planococcus species in 1956. [6] In 1989 Cox revised the genus and listed 35 species. [7] She also created a point-based system to distinguish between Planococcus minor and Planococcuscitri based on a matrix of six characters, known as the 'Cox score'. However other morphologically similar species, such as Planococcus ficus and Planococcus halli, a single diagnostic characteristic was not identified. With the improvements in genotyping, efforts to develop different systems to distinguish between cryptic species of Planococcus are ongoing. [6]
Mealybugs are insects in the family Pseudococcidae, unarmored scale insects found in moist, warm habitats. Of the more than 2000 described species, many 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.
The superfamily Membracoidea of sap-sucking true-bugs includes two of the largest families within what used to be called the "Homoptera": the leafhoppers (Cicadellidae) and the treehoppers (Membracidae). The other families in this group are quite small, and have, at various points, generally been included as members within other families, though they are all presently considered to be valid, monophyletic groups. The relict family Myerslopiidae is restricted to New Zealand and South America while the Melizoderidae consist of two genera restricted to South America. The great diversity of Neotropical taxa suggests that the group originated in that region.
Chrysoperla carnea, one of the species of common green lacewing, is an insect in the Chrysopidae family. Although the adults feed on nectar, pollen and aphid honeydew, the larvae are active predators and feed on aphids and other small insects. It has been used in the biological control of insect pests on crops.
Phenacoccus manihoti is a mealybug insect species.
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.
John Stuart Noyes is a Welsh entomologist.
Stobaera caldwelli is a species of delphacid planthopper in the family Delphacidae. It is found in Central America and North America.
Miroidea is a superfamily of true bugs in the order Hemiptera. There are about 7 families and more than 15,000 described species in Miroidea.
Stobaera is a genus of delphacid planthoppers in the family Delphacidae. There are about 14 described species in Stobaera.
Tumidagena is a genus of delphacid planthoppers in the family Delphacidae. There are at least three described species in Tumidagena.
Cybocephalus nigritulus is a species of sap, bark and fungus beetles in the family Cybocephalidae. It is found in North America. It can grow to be 1.0 mm to 1.55 mm in size.
Pentagramma is a genus of delphacid planthoppers in the family Delphacidae. There are about nine described species in Pentagramma.
Trabutina mannipara, or mana scale, is a species of mealybug found in the Middle East and southern Europe. It is the most well-known of the five species in the genus Trabutina, of which it is the type species, due to its association with the biblical story of manna. T. mannipara feeds parasitically on tamarisk trees, and excretes a sweet substance which is sometimes collected for human consumption. Obsolete terms for it include Coccus manniparus and Trabutina palestina. This species can be found in the Sinai and Iraq.
Trabutina is a genus of "blue-green" mealybugs, containing five species: T. crassispinosa, T. elastica, T. mannipara, T. serpentina, and T. tenax. This genus of scale insects feeds solely on plants of the genus Tamarix. Its type species is T. mannipara.
"Blue-green" mealybugs are a group of related mealybug genera whose insides, during adulthood, are usually of the color which gives them their collective name. Alternately, this group may be referred to as blue-black mealybugs. It includes the genera Amonostherium, Australicoccus, Melanococus, and Nipaecoccus.
Pseudococcus comstocki, common name Comstock mealybug, is a species of mealybug. The species was first discovered in 1902 in Japan. It is an invasive pest species that feeds on fruit and plants.
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.
Ferrisia is a genus of mealybugs.
Mary Foley Benson was an American scientific illustrator and fine artist. She specialized in detailed, realistic watercolor paintings of plants and insects.