Biological control of Pseudococcus longispinus
The long-tailed mealybug, Pseudococcus longispinus (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) is a polyphagous pest, native to Australia which occurs in Europe, New Zealand, America and South Africa. In Spain, P. longispinus is a damaging pest of the Spanish persimmon (Diospyros kaki). In addition to feeding damage, it also excretes honeydew that promotes the growth of sooty mould on the fruit. Before harvest, infestation of fruit with P. longispinus can reach up to 80 %. Parasitoids are considered the primary natural enemies of P. longispinus and can be highly effective in controlling P. longispinus, however their effectiveness in the field can be lowered by hyperparasitoids. Sixteen persimmon orchards were surveyed in the Valencia region of Spain. Eight parasitoid species were identified, including five primary parasitoids and three hyperparasitoids were found (Table 1). Anagyrus fusciventris was the most abundant species, accounting for 47.6% and being widely distributed in 14 of the 16 sampled orchards. The hyperparasitoids Chartocerus sp. and Prochiloneurus sp. emerged mostly from large mealybug mummies that were used by A. fusciventris females. Hyperparasitism did not seem to limit the affect on the population growth rate of P. longispinus within the same year, suggesting that the high abundance of hyperparasitoids did not disrupt the biological control of P. longispinus.
Table 1. Eight parasitoid species identified from Pseudococcus longispinus in Spain.
Species | Family | Biology | Listed in EPPO PM 6/3* |
Anagyrus fusciventris | Encyrtidae | Primary solitary parasitoid | Appendix 1 & 2 |
Anagyrus vladimiri | Encyrtidae | Primary solitary parasitoid | Appendix 1 |
Anagyrus aligarhensis | Encyrtidae | Primary solitary parasitoid | |
Cryptanusia comperei | Encyrtidae | Primary solitary parasitoid | |
Tetracnemoidea peregrina | Encyrtidae | Primary solitary parasitoid | Appendix 1 |
Prochiloneurus sp. | Pteromalidae | Solitary hyperparasitoid | |
Pachyneuron sp. | Pteromalidae | Solitary hyperparasitoid | |
Chartocerus sp. | Signiphoridae | Gregarious hyperparasitoid |
* EPPO PM 6/3 Biological control agents safely used in the EPPO region. Appendix 1: Commercially or officially used biological control agents; Appendix 2: Classical biological control agents successfully established in the EPPO region.
Sources
Plata A, Gómez-Martínez MA, Beitia FJ, Tena A (2023) Do hyperparasitoids disrupt the biological control of Pseudococcus longispinus in persimmon? Biological Control, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2023.105310