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Title: Mealybugs of importance at United States ports of entry

Author
item Miller, Douglass
item RUNG, ALESSANDRA - POSTDOC.UNIVERSITY MD.
item VENABLE, GEORGE - MULTIMEDIA STU.BELTS.MD
item GILL, G - CALIF.DEPT.OF FOOD&AGRI
item WILLIAMS, D - NATL.HIST.MUS.LONDON

Submitted to: Systematic Entomology Laboratory World Wide Web Site
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/2/2005
Publication Date: 11/20/2005
Citation: Miller, D.R., Rung, A., Venable, G.L., Gill, G.L., Williams, D.J. 2005. Mealybugs of importance at United States ports of entry. Systematic Entomology Laboratory World Wide Web Site.

Interpretive Summary: Mealybugs are common pests, and about 25% of all mealybug species that occur in the US are invasive species. They cause millions of dollars damage annually and are major pests in greenhouses, fruit and nut crop systems, forests, and ornamental plantings. The purpose of this research is to provide a comprehensively illustrated expert system that will facilitate the identification of the most commonly intercepted mealybug species at US ports-of-entry. Information is also provided on primary references, distribution, major hosts, and diagnostics. This research will be of special interest and utility to APHIS identifiers, but also is important to State Department of Agriculture personnel, extension specialists, and scale insect researchers.

Technical Abstract: This research provides a Lucid expert system for the identification of the 58 most commonly intercepted mealybug species at US ports-of-entry. The system includes an identification key with images of each character state, a well illustrated glossary of terms, images of each mealybug species as it appears in the field, through a compound microscope, and with a line drawing. Catalog information is provided for primary references, distribution, and each mealybug species through links to an online database system called ScaleNet (http://www.sel.barc.usda.gov/scalenet/scalenet.htm).