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CITROPHILUS MEALYBUG, Pseudococcus fragilis Brain -- Pseudococcidae

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This mealybug is thought to have originated in Australia, and it first showed up as a pest of citrus in California in 1913. Since then it was found in Chile, New Zealand, South Africa, the Soviet Union, Italy, Sardinia and the Canary Islands. In California this mealybug became a major pest in coastal citrus, infestations surpassing those of the citrus mealybug (Clausen 1978a). Periodic colonization of Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant, which was used for control of the citrus mealybug, was attempted against P. calceolaria for a time, and although partially successful in control, the requirement for additional natural enemies became obvious when the mealybug extended its range and increased in severity (Bartlett 1978). This species had spread to more than 30,000 hectares of citrus by 1929 (Compere & Smith 1932).

Smith & Compere (1929) believed that P. calceolaria had originated in Australia. Explorations conducted there in 1927-28 uncovered two parasitoids, Hungariella pretiosa (Timberlake), Coccophagus gurneyi Compere and some predators. The parasitoids were colonized in 1928-29, which resulted in complete control of citrophilus mealybug within two years (Compere & Smith 1932). Bartlett & Lloyd (1958) found that P. calceolaria was heavily parasitized by Arhopoideus peregrinus (Compere), which was introduced in 1934 for control of the long-tailed mealybug. Biological control in California was so successful that even upsets by insecticides failed to return it to pest status (DeBach 1974, Bartlett 1978, Clausen 1978a). These authors considered this successful biological control even superior to that by Rodolia cardinalis against Cryptochaetum iceryae. Prokopenko & Mokrousova (1963) in the Soviet Union and Gonzalez (1969) in Chile also report successful biological control of P. calceolaria on citrus (also see Smith 1923, Smith & Armitage 1920, Woglum 1922, Compere 1928, Armitage 1929, Compere & Smith 1931, Clancy 1934, Flanders 1936, 1937, 1964; Cedaña 1937, Quayle 1938, Bess 1939, Chochiya 1941, Joubert 1943, Ferris 1950 and Clausen 1956, Kennett et al. 1999).

REFERENCES: [Additional references may be found at: MELVYL Library ]

Armitage, H. M. 1929. Timing field liberations of Cryptolaemus in the control of the Citrophilus mealybug in the infested citrus orchards of southern California. J. Econ. Ent. 22: 910-15.

Bartlett, B. R. 1978. Coccidae. In: C. P. Clausen (ed.), Introduced Parasites and Predators of Arthropod Pests and Weeds. U. S. Dept. Agric. Agric. Handbk. No. 480, Washington, D.C. 545 p.

Bartlett, B. R. & D. C. Lloyd. 1958. Mealybugs attacking citrus in California--a survey of their natural enemies and the release of new parasites and predators. J. Econ. Ent. 51: 90-93.

Bess, H. A. 1939. Investigations on the resistance of mealybugs (Homoptera) to parasitization by internal parasites, with special reference to phagocytosis. Ann. Ent. Soc. Amer. 32: 189-26.

Cedaña, S. 1937. Studies on the biology of Coccophagus (Hymenoptera), a genus parasitic on non-diaspidine Coccidae. Calif. Univ. Publ. Ent. 6: 337-400.

Chochiya, A. S. 1941. Propagation of Sympherobius in Abkhazia. Sprav. Vop. Karant. Rast (Moscow). 3: 7-9. [in Russian].

Clancy, D. W. 1934. The biology of Tetracnemus pretiosus Timberlake. Calif. Univ. Publ. Ent. 6: 231-48.

Clausen, C. P. 1956. Biological control of insect pests in the continental United States. U. S. Dept. Agric. Tech. Bull. 1139. 151 p.

Clausen, C. P. 1978. Biological control of citrus insects. Chapter 6, Vol. IV. In: The Citrus Industry. Univ. Calif. Div. Agric. Sci., Berkeley. 362 p.

Compere, H. 1928. Successful importation of five new natural enemies of citrophilus mealybug from Australia. Calif. Citrog. 13: 318, 346-49.

Compere, H. 1931. New encyrtid (hymenopterous) parasites of a Pseudococcus species from Eritrea. Calif. Univ. Publ. Ent. 5: 265-74.

Compere, H. & H. S. Smith. 1932. The control of the citrophilus mealybug, Pseudococcus gahani, by Australian parasites. Hilgardia 6: 585-618.

DeBach, P. 1974. Biological Control by Natural Enemies. Cambridge Univ. Press, London, New York. 323 p.

Ferris, G. F. 1950. Atlas of the Scale Insects of North America. V. The Pseudococcidae (Part I). Stanford Univ. Press, Stanford, CA & Geoffrey Cumberlege, Oxford Univ. Press, London. 278 p.

Flanders, S. E. 1936. A biological phenomenon affecting the establishment of Aphelinidae as parasites. Ann. Ent. Soc. Amer. 29: 251-55.

Flanders, S. E. 1937. Oviposition instincts and developmental sex differences in the genus Coccophagus. Univ. Calif. Pub. Ent. 6: 401-22.

Flanders, S. E. 1964. Dual ontogeny of the male Coccophagus gurneyi Comp. (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae): a phenotypic phenomenon. Nature 204(4926): 944-46.

Joubert, C. J. 1943. The introduction into the Union of South Africa of some natural enemies of mealy bugs. J. Ent. Soc. South Africa 6: 131-36.

Kennett, C. E., J. A. McMurtry & J. W. Beardsley. 1999. Biological control in subtropical and tropical crops. In: Bellows, T. S. & T. W. Fisher (eds.), Handbook of Biological Control: Principles and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, New York. 1046 p

Gonzalez, R. 1969. Biological control of citrus pests in Chile. Proc. 1st Intern. Citrus Symp., Riverside, Calif. 2: 839-47.

Prokopenko, A. I. & L. A. Mokrousova. 1963. Naturalization of a new parasite. Zasch. Rast. 11: 49-50. [in Russian].

Quayle, H. J. 1938. Insects of Citrus and Other Subtropical Fruits. Comstock Publ. Co., Ithaca, New York. 583 p.

Smith, H. S. 1923. The successful introduction and establishment of the ladybird, Scymnus binaevatus Mulsant, in California. J. Econ. Ent. 16: 516-18.

Smith, H. S. & H. M. Armitage. 1920. Biological control of mealybugs in California. Calif. State Dept. Agric. Monthly Bull. 9: 104-58.

Smith, H. S. & H. Compere. 1929. New insect enemies of the citrophilus mealybug from Australia. Bull. Calif. Dept. Agric. 18: 214-18.

Woglum, R. S. 1922. Control of the citrophilus mealybug. U. S. Dept. Agric. Bull. 1040. 20 p.