Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae)
hibiscus mealybug, pink mealybug, grape mealybug
other mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae)
United States: Florida, Hawaii, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Texas.
Worldwide: Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, the Middle East, the Pacific Islands, Papua New Guinea, and South America.
Native to Asia.
All Citrus species and their hybrids.
Very wide host range. In addition to forest and ornamental species, agricultural crops are widely used as host plants. A partial list includes:
Eggs are deposited in egg sacs in bark crevices, leaf scars, soil, or other protected areas. Eggs may overwinter before hatching in the spring. Eggs hatch into mobile first instar nymphs, known as crawlers. Immatures and adults pierce soft tissues of the plant to feed on the phloem. The saliva that the mealybug injects into the plant is toxic and causes leaf distortion. Populations of mealybugs are often ant-tended.
Females deposit up to 600 eggs and die shortly thereafter. The pink hibiscus mealybug has been reported to reproduce asexually (parthenogenesis) in Egypt.
All phloem-feeding, honeydew-producing insect pests have the potential to be tended by ants. The ants feed on the honeydew excreted by the pest and protect the pest from natural enemies. This protection can disrupt biological control programs.
Parasitoid wasps are very effective at controlling populations of pink hibiscus mealybug.
(APHIS/PPQ) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service/Plant Protection and Quarantine. 2012. Pink hibiscus mealybug. (http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/phmb/index.shtml).
(EPPO) European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization. 2005. Data sheets on quarantine pests: Maconellicoccus hirsutus. OEPP/EPPO Bulletin 35: 413–415. (http://www.eppo.org/QUARANTINE/insects/Maconellicoccus_hirsutus/DS_Maconellicoccus_hirsutus.pdf).
Hoy, M.A., A. Hamon, and R. Nguyen. 2006. Featured creatures: pink hibiscus mealybug, Maconnellicoccus hirsutus (Green) (Insecta: Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae). Publication EENY-29. University of Florida. (http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/mealybug/mealybug.htm).
Weeks, J.A., A.C.Hodges, N.C. Leppla