Vine Mealybug, Planococcus ficus Signoret (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae)

Vine mealybug, Planococcus ficus Signoret, is a recently introduced pest in California vineyards. Vine mealybug was first recorded from the Crimea region in the 1890s; currently, it is found in the Middle East, North African and Mediterranean countries, Pakistan, Argentina and California in the United States. While vine mealybug infestations are most damaging in vineyards, the mealybug is also an occasional pest of apple, avocado, banana, date palm, fig, mango and citrus. In the laboratory, vine mealybug can be reared on a number of hosts, including butter-nut squash (Cucurbita moschata) and potatoes (Solanum tuberosum). The vine mealybug is one of several mealybugs species that attack vineyards, e.g., Pseudococcus maritimus Erhorn (grape mealybug), P. viburni (Signoret) (obscure mealybug), P. longispinus (Targioni-Tozzeti) (long-tailed mealy bug), and occasionally by Planococcus citri Risso (citrus mealybug) and Maconellicoccus hirsutusGreen (pink hibiscus mealybug). Of these...