Search results for "Mealybug"
showing 7 items of 7 documents
Pseudococcidae and Monophlebidae
2012
The families Pseudococcidae (mealybugs) and Monophlebidae include small scale insects (Coccoidea: Hemiptera) that suck out plant sap. The bodies of young instars and adult females are covered with a wax secretion, whereas adult males carry a pair of small wings. Feeding by these pests can cause premature leaf, flower, and fruit drop, reduce plant vigour and discolour tissues. In addition, they secrete honeydew upon which sooty-mould fungi grow, reducing photosynthesis and the market value of the product. Six species of Pseudococcidae, namely Planococcus citri (Risso), Pseudococcus cryptus Hempel, Ps. longispinus (Targioni Tozzetti), Ps. calceolariae (Maskell), Ps. viburni (Signoret) and Nip…
The Anagyrus (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) parasitoids of the obscure mealybug Pseudococcus viburni (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) in Spain, with descriptio…
2021
The presence of three species of the genus Anagyrus Howard (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) parasitizing the obscure mealybug Pseudococcus viburni (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) in agricultural ecosystems of citrus, persimmon and ornamental plants from Eastern Spain is recorded. Anagyrus aligarhensis Agarwal & Alam is recorded for the first time as parasitoid on this mealybug. Anagyrus fusciventris (Girault) is a new record for Spain. Anagyrus borrianensis sp. nov., reared as a specific primary parasitoid of this mealybug, is described and illustrated. The joint presence of Anagyrus pseudococci (Girault) and Anagyrus vladimiri Triapitsyn on citrus crops is confirmed. A key to species o…
IPM-recommended insecticides harm beneficial insects through contaminated honeydew
2020
The use of some systemic insecticides has been banned in Europe because they are toxic to beneficial insects when these feed on nectar. A recent study shows that systemic insecticides can also kill beneficial insects when they feed on honeydew. Honeydew is the sugar-rich excretion of hemipterans and is the most abundant carbohydrate source for beneficial insects such as pollinators and biological control agents in agroecosystems. Here, we investigated whether the toxicity of contaminated honeydew depends on i) the hemipteran species that excretes the honeydew; ii) the active ingredient, and iii) the beneficial insect that feeds on it. HPLC-MS/MS analyses demonstrated that the systemic insec…
Seasonal Distribution and Movement of the Invasive Pest Delottococcus aberiae (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) Within Citrus Tree: Implications for Its In…
2018
[EN] Delottococcus aberiae (De Lotto) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) is the most recent species of mealybug introduced to Spain that is affecting citrus. The feeding behavior of D. aberiae causes severe direct damage to citrus fruits, distorting their shape and/or causing reduction in size. There is no information available regarding its distribution within the citrus trees. The main objective of this study was to describe the seasonal distribution of D. aberiae within citrus trees and its migration patterns on the plants. Ten citrus orchards from eastern Spain were periodically sampled during 3 yr. In each orchard, the mealybug was sampled in different infested strata (canopy, trunk, and soil…
The link between independent acquisition of intracellular gamma-endosymbionts and concerted evolution in Tremblaya princeps
2015
Many insect species establish mutualistic symbiosis with intracellular bacteria that complement their unbalanced diets. The betaproteobacterium "Candidatus Tremblaya" maintains an ancient symbiosis with mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), which are classified in subfamilies Phenacoccinae and Pseudococcinae. Most Phenacoccinae mealybugs have "Candidatus Tremblaya phenacola" as their unique endosymbiont, while most Pseudococcinae mealybugs show a nested symbiosis (a bacterial symbiont placed inside another one) where every "Candidatus Tremblaya princeps" cell harbors several cells of a gammaproteobacterium. Genomic characterization of the endosymbiotic consortium from Planococcus citri, co…
Molecular evidence for ongoing complementarity and horizontal gene transfer in endosymbiotic systems of mealybugs
2014
[EN] Intracellular bacterial supply of essential amino acids is common among sap-feeding insects, thus complementing the scarcity of nitrogenous compounds in plant phloem. This is also the role of the two mealybug endosymbiotic systems whose genomes have been sequenced. In the nested endosymbiotic system from Planococcus citri (Pseudococcinae), “Candidatus Tremblaya princeps” and “Candidatus Moranella endobia” cooperate to synthesize essential amino acids, while in Phenacoccus avenae (Phenacoccinae) this function is performed by its single endosymbiont “Candidatus Tremblaya phenacola.” However, little is known regarding the evolution of essential amino acid supplementation strategies in oth…
Characterization of the mutualistic endosymbiosis between intracellular bacteria and mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae)
2015
Simbiosis, del griego sym “con” y biosis “vivir”, hace referencia a la asociación estable entre individuos de dos o más especies (simbiontes) que muestran interdependencia a cualquier nivel biológico. La ubicuidad de las asociaciones simbióticas en las ramas principales del árbol de la vida evidencia la relevancia global de éstas en la evolución de la vida. Las asociaciones más estudiadas son aquellas que se establecen entre procariotas y eucariotas que, habitualmente, suponen la ampliación de las capacidades metabólicas de los últimos. En este sentido, la simbiosis con bacterias intracelulares se considera un factor clave en el éxito adaptativo de los insectos. En función de su relevancia …