Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fort Pierce, Florida » U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory » Subtropical Insects and Horticulture Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #213007
Title: Phenology of Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green) Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) in Florida based on attraction of adult males to pheromone traps

Author
item Hall, David
item RODA, AMY - USDA-APHIS
item Lapointe, Stephen
item HIBBARD, KEN - FDACS-DPI

Submitted to: Florida Entomologist
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/6/2007
Publication Date: 6/1/2008
Citation: Hall, D.G., Roda, A., Lapointe, S.L., Hibbard, K. 2008. Phenology of Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green) Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) in Florida based on attraction of adult males to pheromone traps. Florida Entomologist 91:305-310.

Interpretive Summary: Research was conducted in Florida to assess the phenology of pink hibiscus mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green), based on numbers of adult males captured at traps baited with a synthetic pheromone. Males were highly attracted to traps baited with the lure, consistent with reports in the literature. Numbers of adult males captured at traps indicated that M. hirsutus was consistently most abundant during late summer and early fall with peak populations occurring anytime during late August through early October. Populations were consistently low during winter and spring from January through mid April. Applied management strategies for infestations of M. hirsutus – for example, insecticide treatments or augmentative releases of biological control agents – might best be timed to coincide with just before or during periods of time when the mealybug is most abundant, which based on trap captures of males would normally be anytime from mid summer to late fall. The synthetic pheromone may have potential as a tool for mating disruption. Mating disruption to prevent population peaks might be most effective if initiated during late July or August, about a month before peak populations based on our study.

Technical Abstract: Research was conducted in Florida to assess the phenology of pink hibiscus mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green), based on numbers of adult males captured at traps baited with a synthetic pheromone. Trapping was conducted at three locations in east central Florida in ornamental plantings of hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L.) infested by the mealybug, with traps hung directly within plants. Trapping was also conducted in southeast Florida near Miami in a tropical fruit tree planting. Males were highly attracted to traps baited with the lure, consistent with reports in the literature. Numbers of adult males captured at traps indicated that M. hirsutus was consistently most abundant during late summer and early fall with peak populations occurring anytime during late August through early October. Populations of M. hirsutus, based on captures of males, were consistently low during winter and spring from January through mid April.