Vryburgia amaryllidis (Bouche)

Family

Pseudococcidae

Common name

Lily bulb mealybug

Field characters

Body elongate oval, sometimes quite large (up to 4mm); slightly rounded in lateral view; body light to dark purple; ostiole secretion clear or light yellow; legs pale; mealy wax thin, allowing body color through; without longitudinal bare areas on dorsum; ovisac large, covering body of female; with 2 pairs of caudal wax filaments, posterior pair longer and broader than anterior pair, conical about 3 or 4 times longer than anterior pair, posterior pair about 1/8 length of body. Occurring at bases of leaves of Haworthia and aloe and similar hosts; also on the roots and bulbs of other liliaceous host. Oviparous, eggs pink. Surface of lateral filaments rough.

Validation characters

Oral-rim tubular ducts abundant on dorsum and on venter near body margin; cerarii restricted to posterior 2 abdominal segments; dorsal oral-collar tubular ducts abundant on abdomen; ventral oral-collar tubular ducts in clusters on head, and laterad of front and middle legs; circulus absent; translucent pores on hind femur and tibia.

Comparison

Vryburgia amaryllidis is similar to V. brevicruris McKenzie by having 2 pairs of cerarii, dorsal oral-rim tubular ducts, clusters of ventral oral-collar tubular ducts laterad of front and middle coxa, dorsal oral-collar tubular ducts. Vryburgia amaryllidis differs by lacking dorsal multilocular pores which are present on V. brevicruris.

U.S. quarantine notes

This species was intercepted 5 times at U. S. ports-of-entry between 1995 and 2012, with specimens originating from Australia, Israel, and South Africa. It is commonly taken in quarantine on succulents from Europe. We also have examined quarantine specimens from Germany (Crassula, Howarthia); The Netherlands (Amaryllis, Haemmanthus); South Africa (Ornithogalum, Trichocaulon); The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Amaryllis, Cyrtanthus). ScaleNet lists the species from 6 familiesof host plants, and distribution records include Kenya and South Africa in the Afrotropical region, and various countries in the Australasian and the regions. Several other species of Vryburgia other than V. amaryllidis, V. distincta (De Lotto), V. succulentarum Williams and V. viator (De Lotto) have been taken at U. S. ports-of-entry including: V. bechuanae (Brain) (South Africa, on “flower); V. brevicruris McKenzie (The United Kingdom of Great Britain and N. Ireland, on Haworthia; South Africa, on Protea); V. rimariae Tranfaglia (Italy and New Zealand, on Echeveria); V. pretiosa Ferris (Burma, China, Cuba, and The Philippines, on bamboo); and V. trionymoides (De Lotto) (South Africa, on Euphorbia).

Important references

McKenz1967; Cox1987.

Scalenet catalog and citation list

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