MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG

MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG

MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG

MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG

MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG

MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG

MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG

MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG

MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG

MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG

MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG

MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG

MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG

MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG

MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG

MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG

MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG MEALY BUG

R.R.D.T. NIRANGA Department of Horticulture & Landscape GardeningFaculty of Agriculture & Plantation mgt Wayamba

University of Sri Lanka

MEALY BUG

Kingdom : Animalia

Phylum : Arthropoda

Class : Insecta

Order : Homoptera

Suborder : Sternorrhyncha

Family : Pseudococcidae

Scientific classification

- Mealy bugs are sexually dimorphic

- Females

- are nymphal

- exhibit reduced morphology

- and are wingless

- Males

- Are winged

- do change completely during their lives

- exhibit a radical change during their life cycle

- changing from wingless, ovoid nymphs to "wasp-like" flying adults.

Morphological Features

- Mealy bug females feed on plant sap

- They attach themselves to the plant and secrete a powdery wax

layer used for protection

- The males are short-lived

Ovulation

- Some species of mealy bug lay their eggs in the same waxy layer

- Other species are born directly from the female.

Vine mealy bug adult

female with egg mass.

Species include

Pseudococcus viburni - Obscure mealy bug

Paracoccus marginatus - Papaya Mealy bug

Planococcus citri - Citrus mealy bug

Maconellicoccus hirsutus - pink hibiscus mealy bug grape mealy bug

60 crops that can be affected by mealy bug (Pseudococcidae family) have been identified.

More than 200 species of mealy bug have been identified in Sri Lanka (Source Hayleys Agro official web site)

- Serious pest of many tropical and sub tropical fruits, vegetables,

and ornamental plants

- The first discovery of P. marginatus in the United States was in

Florida in 1998

- Native to Mexico and Central America

- In 2008, first observed in the Western Province

- It causes severe economic losses, health problems and habitat

destruction in many tropical and sub tropical plants

Papaya Mealy bug (Paracoccus marginatus)

Galle Matara

Polonnaruwa

Anuradhapura

Colombo

Kegalle

Ratnapura

Gampaha

Dispersion

Severely affected plant species

Carica papaya Hibiscus spp. Plumeria spp. Acacia spp.

Annona squamosa Ipomoea spp. Manihot spp. Mimosa pigra

Persea americana Solanum melongena Acalypha spp Orchid spp.

Severely affected plant species cont.

Breadfruit Jack Manioc Mango

Chillies Brinjals Citrus Pineapple

The mealy bug injects a toxin as it feeds on leaves and fruit which results

- chlorosis (yellowing)

- stunting, deformation

- early leaf and fruit drop

- buildup of honeydew

- Sooty mold growing on honeydew excreted by the mealy bugs interferes with photosynthesis

- Heavy mealy bug infestations may kill plants

Damage

1st instar

2nd instar

3rd instar

4th instar

♀ 8-10 days

♂

1-2 days

4 -7 days

2-3 days

♀

2-3 days

10-14 days

Common for Both ♂ and ♀

Adult

Egg

Life cycle of Papaya mealy bug

Attention

Safe solution for controlling

- Mechanical and synthetic chemical control is not compatible

- Difficult to find out local biological control agents

- Need to find out more quick and safe solution

- The tiny parasitic wasps

Anagyrus loecki

Pseudleptomastix mexicana

Acerophagus papayae

- lady beetles - lacewings

- provide excellent biological control of the papaya mealy bug

- Acerophagus papayae was decided to introduce to Sri Lanka

Biological Control

Government exported 50000 sample of Acerophagus papayae from USA

• Kingdom : Animalia

• Phylum : Arthropoda

• Class : Insecta

• Order : Hymenoptera

• Family : Chalcidoidea

• Genus : Acerophagus

• Scientific name : Acerophagus papayae

Taxonomy

- Parasitoid that feeds only on the Papaya Mealy bug

- Belongs to the Bee family

- Each female has an egg sac that contains 500-600 eggs

- Lays only about 100 to 200 eggs in each pest, and has

the ability to infest many

- Other countries noted a 99% reduction of the Papaya

Mealy bug just three months after introducing the

parasitoid.