| Puto | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Suborder: | Sternorrhyncha |
| Superfamily: | Coccoidea |
| Family: | Putoidae |
| Genus: | Puto Signoret, 1875 |
| Synonyms | |
Macrocerococcus Leonardi, 1907 | |
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]
Giant mealybugs occur on a wide range of hosts, each species having its own specific host. Host plants commonly include conifers, grasses and various woody shrubs. All parts of the plant can be infested. [2]
The adult female is oval and up to five millimetres long and concealed by tufts of powdery white wax. If the wax is removed, two longitudinal black stripes can be seen on the upper surface of the body and the wax glands are large and conspicuous. The legs and antennae are well developed and a dark colour. [2]
There are generally four instars in the female and five in the male. In many species there is a single generation each year and the first instar is the overwintering stage. [2] Puto sandini however takes four years to complete its life cycle. [3]
The current scientific consensus appears to be based on the two sugenus proposal by Gavrilov-Zimin & Danzig; [4] the following species, recorded from the Americas, mainland Europe and SE Asia, are included in BioLib.cz (as separate genera):
Authority: Šulc, 1897 [5]
Authority: Signoret, 1875 [6] - list incomplete:
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.
Putoidae is a family of scale insects commonly known as giant mealybugs or putoids The genus name Macrocerococcus has also been used but it is now considered to be a synonym of Puto. The genus Puto was formerly classified as a member of the Pseudococcidae; however, it so significantly differed from the rest of the Pseudococcidae that it was accorded its own family Putoidae.
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.
Data related to Puto at Wikispecies