The importance of mutualism is receiving more attention in community ecology. In this study, the fire ant Solenopsis invicta was found to take advantage of the shelters constructed by the leaf roller Sylepta derogata to protect mealybugs (Phenacoccus solenopsis) against their natural enemies. This protective effect of fire ant tending on the survival of mealybugs in shelters was observed when e...

Two species of mealybugs, Tridiscus sporoboli (Cockerell) and Trionymus sp., have emerged as potentially serious pests of turf-type buffalograss, Buchloe dactyloides (Nuttall) Engelmann. Sixty-two buffalograss selections were screened for resistance to these mealybugs in 4 greenhouse trials. Using a 1-6 rating scale (1 = no signs of mealybugs, 6 = >75% of tillers infested), 'Prairie' and '609' ...

Endosymbiosis has been a major driver of evolutionary diversification of eukaryotes. However, symbiosis can create conflict between partners and symbiont density is often tightly regulated within hosts to ensure optimal functioning of the holobiont. The horticultural pest insects, citrus mealybugs, make an intriguing and potentiallypowerful case study for endosymbiosis, harbouring two obligate,...

Mutualistic ants can protect their partners from natural enemies in nature. Aenasius bambawalei is an important parasitoid of the the invasive mealybug Phenacoccus solenopsis. We hypothesized that mutualism between native ants and mealybugs would favor survival of mealybugs. To test this, we examined effects of tending by the native mutualistic ant Tapinoma melanocephalum on growth of P. soleno...

The literature concerning the association between ants and the mealybugs causing pineapple wilt disease is surveyed. A great deal of data on this subject has been published in the relatively obscure technical papers and reports of the defunct Pineapple Research Institute of Hawaii. This review article is an attempt to bring this information to a broader audience and examine it in the context of...

The citrus mealybug, Planococcus citri (Risso) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), is the main grapevine pest in vineyards in some countries, such as Spain and Brazil. In Galician vineyards (northwestern Spain), mealybug population levels are low because the accumulated degree-days are lower than in other grapevine-growing areas. The main problem caused by mealybugs is the transmission of viruses, eve...

13 Mealybugs (Coccoidea: Pseudococcidae) are sap-sucking plant parasites that harbor 14 bacterial endosymbionts within specialized organs. Previous studies have identified two 15 subfamilies, Pseudococcinae and Phenacoccinae, within mealybugs, and determined the 16 primary endosymbionts (P-endosymbionts) of the Pseudococcinae to be β Proteobacteria 17 (Candidatus Tremblaya princeps) containing ...

SIMILAR MEALYBUGS: There are several mealybugs that are reported as occurring on orchids, and in Florida the most commonly encountered mealybugs on orchids are: pineapple mealybug (Dysmicoccus brevipes), longtailed mealybug (Pseudococcus longispinus), Jack Beardsley mealybug (Pseudococcus jackbeardsleyi), orchid mealybug (Pseudococcus microcirculus) and the obscure mealybug (Pseudococcus viburn...

Saccharococcus sacchari is the primary colonizer of the developing "sterile" tissue between the leaf sheath and stem of sugar cane. The honeydew secreted by the mealybugs is acidic (about pH 3) and supports an atypical epiphytic microbiota dominated by acetobacter-like bacteria and acidophilic yeast species. However, Erwinia and Leuconostoc species predominate within the leaf sheath pocket regi...

ABSTRACT The roles of Pineapple mealybug wilt-associated viruses (PMWaVs) and mealybug (Dysmicoccus spp.) feeding in the etiology of mealybug wilt of pineapple (MWP) were evaluated. Container-grown pineapple (Ananas comosus) plants from five commercially grown Hawaiian proprietary selections and a field study utilizing a randomized complete block design were used to test four treatments for ind...