| Pyrilla perpusilla | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Infraorder: | Fulgoromorpha |
| Family: | Lophopidae |
| Genus: | Pyrilla |
| Species: | P. perpusilla |
| Binomial name | |
| Pyrilla perpusilla | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Pyrilla perpusilla, commonly known as the sugarcane planthopper, [1] is a planthopper in the family Lophopidae. It is native to Asia where it feeds on grasses and other plants and is a major pest of sugarcane and sorghum. [2]
The adult P. perpusilla has an elongated snout with piercing and sucking mouthparts, and a soft body, and is a yellowish-brown colour. Males have a wing-span of about 20 mm (0.8 in) and females are slightly smaller, averaging 17 mm (0.7 in). The eggs are ovoid, white to yellowish-green and about 2 mm (0.08 in) long. The nymphs are creamy-white and each instar stage has long filaments projecting near the anus. [3]
P. perpusilla is native to southern Asia and occurs in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. [1]
Besides sugarcane, this planthopper has been found feeding on other host plants, and breeding on some of them. These include maize, sorghum, pearl millet, barley, bitter melon, okra, Vietnamese luffa, watermelon, squash, rice, wild oat, pea and Indian thorny bamboo. [4]
Adult female P. perpusilla lay small batches of eggs on sugarcane leaves, mostly on the underside but sometimes on the upper surface, and during the winter, inside the leaf sheath. The eggs are laid in four or five rows and are protected with filaments of whitish wax protruded by the female. They hatch after six to thirty days depending on the time of year. [3] The nymphs pass through five developmental stages, before moulting for a last time and becoming adult. Breeding commences eight or more days later. In Sri Lanka, fecundity in the female is about 133; females live longer than males but there is no overlap of generations because the longevity of the adults is less than the time taken for the nymphs to develop. In India, fecundity ranges up to 880, and the lifespan ranges from 14 to 200 days depending on climatological conditions. [3]
The planthopper feeds on its host by inserting its stylet into a leaf and sucking out the phloem sap. Excess fluid is excreted as honeydew and sooty mould grows on it. The plant's vigour is reduced through the loss of sap and the reduction in photosynthesis resulting from the sooty mould. [3] Brown patches appear on the leaves, which may also become discoloured. The leaves may wilt, later becoming desiccated and brown. [1] In India, P. perpusilla has at least 16 species of natural invertebrate enemies; some of these are parasitoids attacking the eggs and young nymphs, while others are predators and parasitoids of older nymphs and adults. The most successful parasitoid seems to be the moth Epiricania melanoleuca , and it is being used in biological pest control of P. perpusilla. [3] [5]
A planthopper is any insect in the infraorder Fulgoromorpha, in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, and exceeding 12,500 described species worldwide. The name comes from their remarkable resemblance to leaves and other plants of their environment and that they often "hop" for quick transportation in a similar way to that of grasshoppers. However, planthoppers generally walk very slowly. Distributed worldwide, all members of this group are plant-feeders, though surprisingly few are considered pests. The infraorder contains only a single superfamily, Fulgoroidea. Fulgoroids are most reliably distinguished from the other Auchenorrhyncha by two features; the bifurcate ("Y"-shaped) anal vein in the forewing, and the thickened, three-segmented antennae, with a generally round or egg-shaped second segment (pedicel) that bears a fine filamentous arista.
Eurybrachidae is a small family of planthoppers with species occurring in parts of Asia, Australia and Africa. They are remarkable for the sophistication of their automimicry.
Psylla pyri, commonly known as the pear psylla or pear psyllid, is a true bug in the family Psyllidae. Originating in Europe and Asia, it has spread to North America. It is a pest of pear trees, sucking the sap, damaging the foliage, flowers and fruit and diminishing the crop.
Cinara cupressi, the cypress aphid, is a brownish soft-bodied aphid. It sucks sap from twigs of conifers, and can cause damage to the tree, ranging from discoloring of the affected twig to the death of the tree. This insect appears to have originated in the Middle East and has been increasing its range and is considered to be an invasive species in Africa and Europe. It has been included in the List of the world's 100 worst invasive species.
Aphis gossypii is a tiny insect, an aphid ("greenfly") in the superfamily Aphidoidea in the order Hemiptera. It is a true bug and sucks sap from plants. It is a widely distributed pest of a variety of agricultural crops in the families Cucurbitaceae, Rutaceae and Malvaceae. Common names include cotton aphid, melon aphid and melon and cotton aphid.
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.
Peregrinus maidis, commonly known as the corn planthopper, is a species of insect in the order Hemiptera and the family Delphacidae. It is widespread throughout most tropical and subtropical regions on earth, including southern North America, South America, Africa, Australia, Southeast Asia and China. P. maidis are a commercially important pest of maize and its relatives. In addition to physical plant damage, P. maidis is the vector for several species-specific maize viruses, including maize stripe virus, maize mosaic virus and the non-pathogenic Peregrinus maidis reovirus.
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.
Chilo infuscatellus, the yellow top borer or sugarcane shoot borer, is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by the Dutch entomologist Samuel Constantinus Snellen van Vollenhoven in 1890. It is found in India, Myanmar, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines and on Java and Timor.
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.
Aphis pomi, commonly known as the apple aphid, or the green apple aphid, is a true bug in the family Aphididae. It is found on young growth of apple trees and on other members of the rose family where it feeds by sucking sap. Reproduction is mainly by parthenogenesis, in which unmated females give birth to live young.
The greenbug, or wheat aphid, is an aphid in the superfamily Aphidoidea in the order Hemiptera. It is a true bug and feeds on the leaves of Gramineae (grass) family members.
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.
Epiricania melanoleuca is a moth in the family Epipyropidae. It was described by Thomas Bainbrigge Fletcher in 1939. It is found in India, where its larvae are external parasitoids of the sugarcane planthopper. It has been used in biological pest control against this pest.
Pulvinaria regalis is a species of scale insect in the family Coccidae. Although it is commonly known as the horse chestnut scale, it affects other trees besides horse chestnuts as well as many species of woody shrubs. Adults are normally all female and produce eggs by parthenogenesis. The insects are thought to have originated in Asia but arrived in Europe in the second half of the twentieth century.
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.
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.
Protopulvinaria pyriformis, commonly known as the pyriform scale, is a species of soft scale insect in the family Coccidae. It is a pest of avocado and is found in many countries around the world where avocados grow.
Paratachardina lobata, the lobate lac scale, is a polyphagous lac scale insect, which damages trees and woody shrubs. It is native to India and Sri Lanka, but has been introduced to Florida where it is regarded as an invasive species.