Species: Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley - Catalog

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Common name: Solenopsis mealybug

Field Characters: Body oval, often quite large (5 mm); somewhat rounded in lateral view; dark green almost black; legs red; covered by thin, white, mealy wax, with dark dorsosubmedial bare spots on intersegmental areas of thorax and abdomen, these areas forming 1 pair of dark longitudinal lines on dorsum; ovisac absent from dorsum, but well developed ventally; with 18 pairs of lateral wax filaments, posterior pairs longest, up to _ of length of the body. Normally occurring on crown of host. Surface of lateral filaments rough.

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Validation characters: Without quinquelocular pores; without dorsal multilocular pores or oral-collar tubular ducts; ventral multilocular pores normally present on segmentsVI or VII to VIII; normally with 9-segmented antennae; circulus usually large and flaccid; translucent pores on apex of femur and on tibia; denticle on claw.

Comparison: Phenacoccus solenopsis is very similar to P. solani by lacking quinquelocular pores, dorsal multilocular pores, and dorsal oral-collar tubular ducts. Phenacoccus solenopsis differs by having multilocular pores from segment VI or VII to VIII; 9-segmented antennae; a large circulus; and translucent pores on apex of femur and on tibia; whereas Phenacoccus solani has multiloculars usually present from segment IV-VIII; 8-segmented antennae; a small circular or oval circulus; and translucent pores on hind tibia only.

U.S. quarantine notes: This species is moderately polyphagous being found on at least 14 host families. It has been reported in the literature from the new world only, but we have recently examined specimens from other zoogeographic areas; it is most common in the new world. It has been taken in quarantine from Cuba (Sida), Dominican Republic (Euphorbia), Ecuador (Cucurbita), and Mexico (many hosts). Several species of Phenacoccus other than P. franseriae, P. gossypii, P. madeirensis, P. parvus, P. solani ,and P. solenopsis have been taken at US ports-of-entry including: P. avenae Borchsenius (Turkey on bulbs), P. azaleae Kuwana (Japan on azalea), P. manihoti Matile-Ferrero (Central Africa and South America on Manihot), and P. pergandei Cockerell (Japan and Korea on Diospyros, Magnolia, Malus, Prunus, Punica, and Rhododendron).

References: McKenz1967; WilliaGr1992.

All references mentioning: Phenacoccus solenopsis

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