Planococcus citri (Risso, 1813)Dysmicoccus texensis (Tinsley, 1900)

Fornazier, M. J., Martins, D. S., Fanton, C. J. & Benassi, V. L. R. M., 2019, INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT IN CONILON COFFEE, Conilon coffee - The Coffea canephora produced in Brazil, Vitória, ES, Brasil: Incaper - Capixaba Institute for Research, Technical Assistance and Rural Extension, pp. 493-533 : 2025-2026

Planococcus citri and P. minor :

they are very similar species and are part of a complex of mealybugs known as citrus mealybug. The females have an oval shape, with a length of 3 to 5 mm, the young forms have pink coloration; the adults are yellow-brown and the body is covered with a whitish powdery secretion. They characterize for having 18 side appendages, powdery white on each side and two more terminal appendages, larger than the lateral ones.Throughout life, these coccidians can lay about 400 eggs for 90 days. They secrete a white woolly substance that serves to protect the eggs next to the insect body. The eggs are yellow-orange in color and the nymphs appear after 10 to 20 days of laying. Inhabiting a small cocoon, they reach adulthood in about ten days. They live in colonies made up of individuals at various stages of development. Both nymphs and adults suck sap in flower buds and underdevelopment fruits ( Figure 7 ). The complete evolutionary cycle is 25 days, on average.The are registered in different agroecological regions of Espírito Santo ( FORNAZIER et al., 2000g, 2001a; SANTA-CECÍLIA; REIS; SOUZA, 2002; SANTA-CECÍLIA et al., 2005), where its detection occurred in the 1970's, causing losses of up to 100% of coffee production ( PAULINI et al., 1977).

Dysmicoccus texensis : They are insects with aptera adult female, oval body and pinkish color, covered with finely grained white wax, which gives it the appearance of flour and about 2.5 mm in length. They have 34 filamentous appendages around the body, with 17 on each side, the latter two being longer ( SANTA-CECÍLIA et al., 2007). Its reproduction is parthenogenetic, being able to generate up to 253 individuals during period of 52 to 87 days. The most favorable temperature to the population development is of 20 to 25 oC and associated to the high relative humidity, with up to five annual generations ( NAKANO, 1972). The first infestations arise in small colonies right below the neck or collar of new plants. With the development of the population, the insect is spreading to the plant roots, forming nodes called crypts, inside of which live their young and adult forms associated with the fungus of the genus Bornetina , which gives a plate appearance on the roots ( Figure 8 ).

Figures

Figure 7. Flower bud (A), branches (B) and rosette (C) of the coffee tree infested with citrus mealybug.

Figure 8. Coffee scale root, Dysmicoccus texensis.