The Pink Hibiscus Mealybug Maconellicoccus Hirsutus (Green) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) in Greece

Hellenic Plant Protection Journal 10: 80-83, 2017 DOI 10.1515/hppj-2017-0009

SHORT COMMUNICATION

The pink hibiscus mealybug Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) in Greece

P.G. Milonas* and G.K. Partsinevelos

Summary The invasive pink hibiscus mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green) (Hemiptera: Pseudo- coccidae), is reported for fi rst time in Greece. Individuals of the mealybug were found infesting Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (Linnaeus) (Malvaceae) in private and public gardens in the urban environment in Rhodes, Dodecanese islands, East Greece. This is the fi rst report of genus Maconellicoccus in Greece.

Additional Keywords: hibiscus, invasive species, mealybug

Introduction the world, i.e. North America, the Caribbean and Africa. Overall M. hirsutus distribution The genus Maconellicoccus Ezzat (Hemipte- includes 75 countries in all over the world ra: Pseudococcidae) includes eight species (EPPO, 2005). In Europe, it was reported that are distributed in Australian, Oriental for fi rst time in Cyprus in 2011 (EPPO, 2011). and Ethiopian regions but only Maconellicoc- Upon its introduction into several countries, cus hirsutus has been reported in Palaearctic it has caused substantial economic damag- region (García Morales et al., 2016). Maconel- es through the cost of control operations licoccus hirsutus Green, known as pink hi- and impact on trade. In the US, it has been biscus mealybug, is a highly polyphagous estimated that without control, it may cause species native to southern Asia, that feeds a damage of 163 million dollars only in Flori- on 212 genera in 75 host plant families, in- da (Chong et al., 2015). cluding important crops such as bean (Pha- Adult females are 2.5-4 mm long, wing- seolus vulgaris), chrysanthemum (Chrysan- less, soft-bodied, elongate oval and fl at- themum spp.), hibiscus (Hibiscus spp.), rose tened. Females can lay more than 500 eggs. (Rosa spp.), pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo), avo- Eggs are orange initially but turn into pink cado (Persea americana), citrus (Citrus spp.), before hatching. Crawlers are 0.3 mm long, coconut (Cocos nucifera), coff ee (Coff ea spp.), pink, oval in shape with well-defi ned legs cotton (Gossypium spp.), corn (Zea mays), and antennae, and lack the waxy body vegetables, grape (Vitis vinifera) and pea- coating; young adult females turn greyish- nuts (Arachis hypogaea) (Chong et al., 2015; pink, dusted with mealy white wax that cov- García Morales et al., 2016). For a complete ers their bodies; adult males are gnat-like 1 list of M. hirsutus host plants see Chong et mm long, pink to orange, with a single pair al. (2015). of wings and two pairs of fi laments. They Pink hibiscus mealybug is considered a are weak fl yers, lack mouthparts and live highly invasive species. Although it is be- only one day or two. Entire colony is cov- lieved to originate from India, it has been ered by white, waxy ovisac material (Chong accidentally introduced into other parts of et al., 2015; García Morales et al., 2016). One generation is completed in approximate- ly fi ve weeks in warm conditions. In Jordan, Laboratory of Biological Control, Benaki Phytopatho- nymphs have three peaks and adult females logical Institute, 8 St. Delta Str., GR-145 61, Kifi sia, Atti- ca, Greece. two peaks, in early February and mid-Ju- * Corresponding author: [email protected] ly, respectively (Al-Fwaeer et al., 2014). Here

© Benaki Phytopathological Institute Maconellicoccus hirsutus in Greece 81 we report the fi rst presence of M. hirsutus in M. hirsutus have been reported outside Rho- Greece. des. The specifi c pathway of introduction of Feeding by larvae and adults causes char- the species into Rhodes is unknown. How- acteristic symptoms on the damaged plants. ever, long distance dispersal of the pest is During feeding both larvae and adults inject likely to occur through movement of infest- toxic saliva that causes curling and contor- ed plant material and to a lesser extend with tion of leaves. Infested plants become stunt- infested fruits and cut fl owers (EPPO 2005). ed, swollen with leaf curl, shortened inter- The introduction of the pink hibiscus nodes or malformed stems. Damage varies mealybug in Rhodes without its natural en- according to the susceptibility of each host emies could pose a serious threat for sev- species; in highly susceptible plants feeding eral crops of high economic importance, can ultimately cause the death of the plant such as vegetables, vineyards and orna- (EPPO, 2005; Vitullo et al., 2009; Hoy et al., mental plants in urban areas and in nurser- 2014; García Morales et al., 2016). ies. Control eff orts of the mealybug should principally focus on the identifi cation and mapping of the actual infested area on the Materials and Methods island of Rhodes in order to design an effi - cient management plan that would restrict Infested hibiscus plants were found on further spread of the pest in the area. A sus- the island of Rhodes (36°26’1.49”N and tainable solution should defi nitely include 28°13’28.54”E) in September 2014 and sam- the careful introduction of its natural ene- ples were sent to BPI. New samples were mies following all the appropriate proce- sent to BPI collected from the Municipali- dures for such an approach. ty of Rhodes coming from Hibiscus sp. (Mal- Because of the minimum tolerance lev- vaceae), Ceratonia silique (Fabaceae), Erythri- el for M. hirsutus damage, intense man- na sp. (Fabaceae) and Bauhinia sp. (Fabaceae) agement approaches are often required. in autumn of 2016. All of them are known Management tactics include monitoring, host plants of M. hirsutus. Microscopic slides cultural, biological and chemical treatments. were prepared following the procedure de- Observations for typical damage symptoms scribed by Kosztarab and Kozár (1988) and like bunchy top, honeydew and sooty-mold identifi ed according to description and illus- presence can help in the identifi cation of in- tration by Williams and Watson (1988). Spec- festation spots. The pheromone of M. hirsu- imens are deposited at the Biological Con- tus has been identifi ed and can be used in trol Laboratory of BPI. pheromone traps for monitoring and detec- Material examined: Rhodes (Dodeca- tion especially in areas with low infestation nese islands); 02.ix.2014, 2 ♀♀, Hibiscus sp. density. Monitoring with pheromone traps (Malvaceae); Rhodes, 02.ix.2014 1 ♀♀ Hi- is also useful for timing insecticide applica- biscus sp. (Malvaceae); Rhodes; 13.xii.2016, tions. 2 ♀♀, Hibiscus sp (Malvaceae); Rhodes; After its introduction into a new area 13.xii.2016, 1 ♀♀, Hibiscus sp. (Malvaceae). M. hirsutus is usually diffi cult to eradicate due to its high reproductive ability and polyphagy. In areas where it has been estab- Results and Discussion lished, long standing sustainable management has been provided by biological con- This is the fi rst record of the pink hibiscus trol. Especially, classical biological control mealybug, M. hirsutus in Greece. Reports attempts have been quite successful (Kai- from local authorities from the island of ro et al., 2000). Several natural enemies have Rhodes had pointed out that infestation has been associated with M. hirsutus, includ- expanded within the island during the years ing specialist and generalist parasitoids and 2014-2016. No other outbreaks or records of predators. In classical biological control the

predatory species Cryptolaemus montrouz- Chong, J.H. Roda, LA and Mannion, M.C. 2008. Life ieri Mulsant (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and History of the Mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsu- the parasitoids Anagyrus kamali Moursi and tus (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), at Constant Temperatures. Environmental Entomology, 37(2): Gyranusoidea indica Shafee, Alam and Agar- 323-332. wal (Hymenoptea: Encyrtidae) are regard- EPPO, 2005. Data sheets on quarantine pests. Maco- ed as most commonly used biological con- nellicoccus hirsutus. OEPP/EPPO, Bulletin, 35: 413- trol agents (Chong et al., 2015). The releases 415. of the above parasitoids and predators have EPPO, 2011. First report of Maconellicoccus hirsutus in resulted in very successful control of M. hir- Cyprus. EPPO Reporting Service, No 4 Paris, 2011- 04-01. sutus in Central America (Chong et al., 2015). García Morales, M., Denno, B.D., Miller, D.R., Miller, The use of contact insecticides may re- G.L., Ben-Dov, Y. and Hardy, N.B. 2016. ScaleNet: sult in scarce control of the scale population A literature-based model of scale insect biolo- due to the cryptic behaviour and the waxy gy and systematics. Database. doi: 10.1093/da- covering of the mealybug bodies. Therefore, tabase/bav118. http://scalenet.info. any applications should follow after care- Hoy, A.M., Avas, H. and Nguyen, Ru, 2014. Pink hibiscus mealybug Maconellicoccus hirsutus. UF/IFAS ful monitoring for the presence of crawlers University of Florida. Database http://entnemd- which are the most susceptible stage. Sys- ept.ufl .edu/creatures/ (Assessed 28/12/2016). temic insecticides might have a higher ef- Kairo, T.K.M., Pollard, V.G., Peterkin, D.D. and Lo- fi cacy on reducing M. hirsutus populations. pez, V.F. 2000. Biological control of the hibis- Nevertheless, application of insecticides cus mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus Green (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) in the Caribbe- should be avoided when biological control an. Integrated Pest Management Reviews, 5: 241– eff orts are taking place. At present, no in- 254. secticide against M. hirsutus is registered in Kosztarab, M. and Kozár, F. 1988. Scale insects of Greece. central Europe. Boletin del Museo de Entomolo- gia de la Universidad del Valle Akademiai Kiado. Budapest. 456 p. We would like to thank the two anonymous re- Vitullo, J., Zhang, A., Mannion, C. and Bergh, J.C. 2009. Expression of feeding symptoms from viewers for their valuable comments. pink hibiscus mealybug (Hemiptera: Pseudo- coccidae) by commercially important cultivars of hibiscus. Florida Entomologist, 92(2): 248-254. Literature Cited Williams, D.J. and Watson, G.W. 1988. The Scale In- sects of the Tropical South Pacifi c Region. Pt. 2: Al-Fwaeer, M., Abu-Obaid, I., Al-Zyoud, F., Abo- The Mealybugs (Pseudococcidae). CAB Interna- Alosh, A. and Halaybeh, M. 2014. Population Dy- tional Wallingford, U.K. 260 pp. namics of the Hibiscus Mealybug Maconellicoc- cus hirsutus Green (Hom., Pseudococcidae) and Its Parasitoid on Guava Trees in Madaba-Jordan. International Journal of Agriculture and Forestry, 4(3): 171-177. Chong, J.H., Aristizabal, F.L. and Arthurs, P.S. 2015. Biology and Management of Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) on Orna- mental Plants. Journal of Integrated Pest Man- agement, 6 (1): 1-14. Received: 10 January 2017; Accepted: 26 April 2017

Πρώτη καταγραφή του Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) στην Ελλάδα

Π.Γ. Μυλωνάς και Γ.Κ. Παρτσινέβελος

Περίληψη Το είδος Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), καταγράφεται για πρώτη φορά στην Ελλάδα. Ενήλικα άτομα του ψευδόκοκκου συλλέχθηκαν σε φυτά ιβίσκου Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (Linnaeus) (Malvaceae) σε ιδιωτικούς και δημόσιους κήπους στο αστικό περιβάλλον, στη Ρόδο. Αυτή είναι η πρώτη καταγραφή του γένους Maconellicoccus στην Ελλάδα.

Hellenic Plant Protection Journal 10: 80-83, 2017