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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 Sternorrhyncha suborder of the Hemiptera contains the aphids, whiteflies, and scale insects, groups which were traditionally included in the now-obsolete order "Homoptera". "Sternorrhyncha" refers to the rearward position of the mouthparts relative to the head.
Buffalo Mountain Natural Area Preserve is a 1,140-acre (4.6 km2) Natural Area Preserve in Floyd County, Virginia.
Beesoniidae is a family of scale insects commonly known as beesoniids. They typically cause galls on their plant hosts. Members of this family mostly come from southern Asia. The family name comes from the type genus Beesonia which is named after the entomologist C.F.C. Beeson who obtained the specimens from which they were described and named.
Phenacoleachiidae is a family of scale insects commonly known as the phenacoleachiids. They are found only in the South Island of New Zealand, and on certain offshore islands. There are two species in a single genus.
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.
Phenacoccus manihoti is a mealybug insect species.
Apiomorpha is a genus of scale insect that induces galls on species of Eucalyptus. Galls are initiated by first-instar nymphs (crawlers) on new plant growth and, when mature, the galls exhibit marked sexual dimorphism. Those induced by females are among the largest and most spectacular of arthropod-induced galls whereas those of males are small and most are tubular. Apiomorpha is known only from Australia and New Guinea although its host, Eucalyptus, has a wider distribution into Indonesia as well.
Callococcus is a genus of Australian scale insect that feeds on species of Leptospermum, Hypocalymma, Kunzea and some other members of the tribes Chamelaucieae and Leptospermeae in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. Callococcus leptospermi induces stem-swelling galls on some species of Leptospermum, and it is considered to be a potential biological control agent of Leptospermum laevigatum in South Africa. The other described species of Callococcus do not induce galls.
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.
Dactylopius is a genus of insect in the superfamily Coccoidea, the scale insects. It is the only genus in the family Dactylopiidae. These insects are known commonly as cochineals, a name that also specifically refers to the best-known species, the cochineal. The cochineal is an insect of economic and historical importance as a main source of the red dye carmine. It has reportedly been used for this purpose in the Americas since the 10th century. Genus Dactylopius is also important because several species have been used as agents of biological pest control, and because several are known as invasive species.
John Stuart Noyes is a Welsh entomologist.
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.
Planococcus is a genus of true bugs belonging to the family Pseudococcidae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution. A number of species are invasive agricultural pests.
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.
References
- ↑ Beardsley, John W. (1969). "A new fossil scale insect (Homoptera: Coccoidea) from Canadian amber". Psyche . 76 (3): 270–279. doi: 10.1155/1969/82354 .
- 1 2 3 4 "Family: Putoidae". USDA Agricultural Research Service. Archived from the original on October 11, 2010. Retrieved February 22, 2011.
- ↑ "Puto: Names". Encyclopedia of Life. April 2013. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ↑ Ben-Dov, Yair (1994), A systematic catalogue of the mealybugs of the world (Insecta: Homoptera: Coccoidea: Pseudococcidae and Putoidae) with data on geographical distribution, host plants, biology and economic importance, Andover, Hampshire, UK: Intercept Limited, ISBN 978-1-898298-07-6
- ↑ Williams, D. J.; et al. (2011). "A study of the scale insect genera Puto Signoret (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccoidea: Putoidae) and Ceroputo Šulc (Pseudococcidae) with a comparison to Phenacoccus Cockerell (Pseudococcidae)" (PDF). Zootaxa. 2802: 22. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2802.1.1. hdl: 1885/63136 . Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 February 2013.
- ↑ R. I. Washburn (1965). "Description and bionomics of a new species of Puto from Utah (Homoptera: Coccoidea: Pseudococcidae)". Annals of the Entomological Society of America . 58 (3): 293–297. doi:10.1093/aesa/58.3.293.
- ↑ Signoret, V. (1875) "Essai sur les cochenilles ou gallinsectes (Homoptères - Coccides), 15e partie" Annales de la Société Entomologique de France (serie 5)
- ↑ Reyne, A. (1954). "A redescription of Puto antennatus Sign. (Homoptera: Coccidea); with notes on Ceroputo pilosellae Sulc and Macrocerococcus superbus Leon". Zoologische Mededelingen . 32 (24): 291–324. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013.
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