Two-tailed mealy bug

-J.Delince

BSA-11-409

Nomenclature

• Scientific Name: Ferrisia virgata (or) Ferrisiana virgata

• Common Name: Two tailed or Striped Mealy bug

Systematic position and related species

• Kingdom : Animalia

• Phylum : Arthropoda

• Class : Insecta

• Order : Hemiptera

• Family : Pseudococcidae

• Genus : Ferrisia

• Species : F. virgata

• Related species- Ferrisia malvastra, F.gilli, F.terrani

Distribution• Widely Distributed

• Mostly in tropics and extends towards temperate regions.

• Present in all countries

• In India also it is seen in all tropical states.

Hosts

• Attacks 150 genera from 68 families

• Brinjal, Sapota , Pomegranate, avocado, banana, betel vine, black pepper, cassava, cashew, cauliflower, citrus, cocoa, coffee, cotton, custard apple, egg-plant, grape-vine, guava, jute, lantana, Leucaena, litchi, mango, oil palm, pigeon pea, pineapple, soybean and tomato.

• Weed hosts are plants of Fabaceae and Euphorbiaceae.

Damage Symptoms

• Presence of white mealy mass in under surface of leaves & on terminal shoots.

• Yellowing of older leaves, withering of leaves

• And it infests fruits which cause premature shedding

• Honey dew secretion invites sooty mould.

• Excess infestation results in wilting of the plant.

Vector

• Cocoa swollen shoot virus

• Cocoa Trinidad virus

Insect description

• Adult females are apterous oval, greyish yellow with 8 segmented antenna

• Purplish dorsal longitudinal stripes along the back

• Pair of wax filaments at the caudal end.

• Nymphs are pale yellow to white

• Adult males are tiny winged, less than 2mm

First and second instar

Life Cycle

• Fecundity- 109-185 eggs/generation

• Incubation period- 3-4 hours

• Number of instars – 3(female), 4(males)

• Development period-26-47 days(Female), 31-57(Male)

• Longevity- 36-53 days(Females), 1-3days(Males)

Management

• Collect and destroy the infested plant parts

• Avoid flood irrigation

• Remove alternate hosts

• Prevent the movement of ants.

• 1-2%neem oil, NSKE or FORS(25g/l)

• Triazhophos 2 ml+ neem oil 5 ml/1, phosalone 35 EC 1.5 ml+ neem oil 5 ml/1.

• Spray methyl demeton 25 EC or monocrotophos 36 WSC 2ml/lit

• Spray application of dichlorvas 76 WSC 1ml/lit + fish oil rosin soap 25 g/lit

• Release Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, Chilochorus sps beetles @ 10/tree or 5000beetles/ha

• Other predators- Geocoris tricolor (the lygaeid bug), Pullus coccidivora and Nephus regularis.

• Release of parasitoids Anagrus dactylopii, Gyanusoidea mirzai

• Field release of green lace wing Chrysoperla carnea

References

• www.csiro.au

• http://www.ncipm.org.in/NCIPMPDFs/Publication/Bulletin-Mealybugs%20(English).pdf

• http://agritech.tnau.ac.in/crop_protection/crop_prot_crop_insect-veg_brinijal.html

• www.en.Wikipedia.org/Ferrisia_virgata

• http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/23981 -Invasive Species compendium

• Agricultural insect pests of tropics and their control-Dennis S.Hill Pg-195, 2008

Thank you