First records of two mealybug species in Brazil and new potential pests of papaya and coffee

Abstract

Five mealybug (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) plant pest species: Dysmicoccus grassii (Leonardi), Ferrisia malvastra (McDaniel), Ferrisia virgata (Cockerell), Phenacoccus tucumanus Granara de Willink, and Pseudococcus elisae Borchsenius are recorded for the first time in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil. These are the first records of D. grassii in Brazil, from papaya (Carica papaya, Caricaceae), and from coffee (Coffea canephora, Rubiaceae). Ferrisia malvastra is also newly recorded in Brazil, where it was found on Bidens pilosa (Asteraceae). Ferrisia virgata was collected from an unidentified weed and Phenacoccus tucumanus from Citrus sp. (Rutaceae). Plotococcus capixaba Kondo was found on pitanga (Eugenia cf. pitanga, Myrtaceae) and Pseudococcus elisae on Coffea canephora, which are new host records for these mealybugs.

New records of mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) from Spain

“…This mealybug is supposed to be native to Central and South America and has been reported in Israel (Ben-Dov 2005b). Despite it being a highly polyphagous species, it is not usually considered a major pest, although it has been commonly confused with Ferrisia virgata (Ben-Dov 2005a, b;Culik et al 2006). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first record of the species in Europe.…”

New Records of Mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) Infesting Rosettes of Conilon Coffee Plants in the State of Rondônia, South-Western Amazon, Brazil

“…These insects infest mainly the inflorescence and rosette, and are grouped into the category known as "mealybugs of the rosette complex." Members of this group reported to be associated with Conilon coffee in Brazil include Planococcus minor (Maskell), Planococcus citri (Maskell), Pseudococcus elisae Borchsenius, and Dysmicoccus grassii (Leonardi) (all Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), and have been reported to occur in the state of Espírito Santo (Culik et al 2006;Fornazier et al 2015). In the state of Rondônia, the first report of a mealybug found on rosettes of Conilon coffee was Planococcus sp.…”

A taxonomic revision of the mealybug genus Ferrisia Fullaway (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), with descriptions of eight new species and a new genus

“…Williams & Granara de Willink (1992) predicted that F. malvastra may be found more widely in Central and South America. In addition to the Neotropical countries listed by Williams & Granara de Willink (1992), F. malvastra has been recorded from Brazil on the roots of a weedy asteraceous plant, Bidens pilosa (Culik et al 2006). It is sometimes called the malvastrum mealybug (e.g., Ben-Dov 2005).…”