Performance of the Striped Mealybug Ferrisia virgata Cockerell (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) under Variable Conditions of Temperature and Mating

Abstract

Mealybugs have strong associations with their host plants due to their limitations for dispersal. Thus, environmental conditions and host quality may impact the biological traits of mealybugs. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to report on the biology of a Brazilian population of the striped mealybug Ferrisia virgata Cockerell (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), which has recently been reported to infest cotton in Brazil. We evaluated the development and reproductive performance of F. virgata reared under different temperatures (25, 27, and 28°C) and mating status. The type of reproduction was also studied with insects reared on a factitious host and on cotton plants. Shorter development was obtained at 28°C as follows: nymphs generating males and females exhibited three and four instars with a mean duration of 19.1 and 20.5 days, respectively. The nymphal viability ranged from 77 to 96%, and was highest at 25°C. Females reared at 28°C initiated reproduction earlier (16.4 days), but the reproductive period was similar in all temperatures (∼16.2 days). Females produced more nymphs at 27 and 28°C (440 and 292 neonates) than at 25°C (277 neonates), although they lived longer at 25°C (63 days). Ferrisia virgata females exhibited only sexual reproduction. Thus, only mated females produced offspring, whereas unmated females died without reproducing. Therefore, the studied population of F. virgata exhibited only sexual reproduction with high survival and offspring production when fed cotton. Furthermore, pumpkin is a feasible host for mass rearing this mealybug species in the laboratory, an opening avenue for future studies.

Population growth and within-plant distribution of the striped mealybug Ferrisia virgata (Cockerell) (Hemiptera, Pseudococcidae) on cotton

“…In addition, when infestation occurred on the upper or lower strata, the distribution of F. virgata was possibly determined by the plant growth because of the following: 1) when the infestation occurred in the upper stratum, due to the plant growth during 50 days, the upper stratum became the middle or the lower stratum. Approximately 32 days after infestation, mealybugs started to reproduce and crawlers dispersed throughout the plant, inducing the presence of F. virgata on those strata (Oliveira et al 2014); 2) when the infestation occurred in the lower stratum, even with the plant growth during the period of 50 days, the infestation stratum remained the same. This occurred because new nodes are produced in the apical part of the plant, and, after plant growth, these nodes previously grouped in the middle stratum, were grouped in the lower stratum.…”

Planococcus citri (RISSO) (HEMIPTERA: PSEUDOCOCCIDAE): Relações macho-fêmea e influências na biologia reprodutiva

“…Existem controvérsias a respeito da existência da partenogênese facultativa em P. citri, tendo sido constatada por alguns autores (MALLESHAIAH; RAJAGOPAL; GOWDA, 2000;MYERS, 1932;PADI, 1997) (CALATAYUD et al, 1998). Diferentemente, Ferrisia virgata (Cockerell), Dysmicoccus brevipes (Cockerell), Planococcoides njalensis (Laing), Planococcus vovae (Nasonov) e Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley têm sido relatadas como capazes de se reproduzir tanto sexuada como assexuadamente (OLIVEIRA et al, 2014;VENNILA et al, 2010). Adicionalmente, existem espécies de cochonilhas, tais como P. citri, P. maritimus, P. viburni e P. calceolariae, em que algumas fêmeas não acasaladas confeccionaram ovissacos, sem, contudo, haver produção de ovos ou, se presentes, eram estéreis (CORREA et al, 2011; SILVA et al, 2014; SILVA; MENDEL; FRANCO, 2010; WATERWORTH; WRIGHT; MILLAR, 2011).…”

Reproductive performance of striped mealybug Ferrisia virgata Cockerell (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) on water-stressed cotton plants subjected to nitrogen fertilization

“…For these females, we recorded the age of initial offspring production and the number of offspring produced during 16 consecutive days of evaluation. According to Oliveira et al (2013), the striped mealybug under the studied conditions molted to adult within approximately 25 days after infestation and exhibited reproductive period of about 16 days. Furthermore, a period longer than 16 days could also affect the results due to cotton leaf senescence.…”