Dysmicoccus boninsis ( Kuwana, 1909 )

Caballero, Alejandro, Ramos-Portilla, Andrea Amalia & Kondo, Takumasa, 2017, Scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) on sugarcane in Colombia, with description of a new species of Tillancoccus Ben-Dov (Coccidae), Zootaxa 4258 (5), pp. 490-500 : 496-497

Dysmicoccus boninsis ( Kuwana, 1909)

Hosts. Polyphagous, known to feed on 39 species belonging to ten plant families ( García Morales et al. 2016). In Colombia, D. boninsis has been previously recorded feeding on stems of sugarcane. In this study, this species was found for the first time feeding on the roots of sugarcane.

Diagnosis. Dorsum: numerous oral collar tubular ducts present; with only 8 or 9 pairs of cerarii, each containing 2 enlarged setae. Venter: multilocular disc pores present on the fifth and posterior abdominal segments; translucent pores present on hind coxa and a few on the hind tibia; circulus normally notched at each side and divided by an intersegmental line, but sometimes small and oval (Williams & Granara de Willink 1992).

Distribution. Cosmopolitan. In Colombia, it has been previously recorded from the departments of Antioquia, Caldas, Cauca, Nariño, Norte de Santander, Quindío, Santander, Tolima and Valle del Cauca ( Kondo et al. 2008). Here it is recorded for the first time from the department of Caquetá.

Economic importance and control. The gray sugarcane mealybug has been recorded from a wide range of grasses, as well as host plants from other families. On sugarcane, this species has been generally recorded as a minor pest but, when attended by ants, it may kill young shoots ( Bartlett 1978). Kondo et al. (2008) recorded eight ant species associated with D. boninsis in Colombia: Brachymyrmex sp., Crematogaster sp., Ectatoma ruidum Roger, Linepithema sp., Neilanderia sp., Solenopsis sp., Pheidole sp. and Wasmania auropunctata Roger. Dysmicoccus boninsis is not considered a pest of sugarcane in Colombia ( Lastra & Gómez 2000, Bustillo 2013).

Material studied. COLOMBIA: Antioquia, Medellín , 1560 m a.s.l., 25.iii.2010, 5 ♀, UNAB voucher N° 843 ; Boyacá: Togui, Vda. Garibal, Fca El Milagro , 1664 m a.s.l., 05°55′00″N, 73°30′54″W, 23.iii.2012, coll. H. Matheus, 9 ♀, UNAB voucher N° 843 ; Caquetá: Florencia , Vda. La Carbona, 674 m a.s.l., 01°42′01″N, 75°02′26″W, 12.x.2013, coll. J. Silva, tended by Crematogaster sp. ( Formicidae ) and Wasmannia auropunctata (Formicidae) , 1 ♀, UNAB voucher N° 843; Florencia, Vda. Avenida Sebastopol, 826 m a.s.l., 01°44′57″N, 75°39′13″W, 13.x.2013, coll. J. Silva, tended by Pheidole biconstricta Mayr (Formicidae) , 6 ♀, UNAB voucher N° 843; Florencia, Vda . San Luis, 388 m a.s.l., 01°41′01″N, 75°37′42″W, 11.x.2013, coll. E. Rojas, tended by Pheidole sp. ( Formicidae ), 4 ♀, UNAB voucher N° 843 ; Chocó: Acandí, Sapzurro , 8.i.2005, coll. F. Serna & E. Vergara, 19 ♀, UNAB voucher N° 843 ; Tolima, Coello, Ibagué, San Francisco , 1158 m a.s.l., 04°23′56″N, 75°17′18″W, 13.xii.2005, coll. A. Ramos, 6 ♀, UNAB voucher N° 843.

Note. All material collected off stems of S. officinarum , except for those from Boyacá, which were collected from roots.

Observations. This is the first record of D. boninsis being associated with Pheidole biconstricta in Colombia.