Pests| Mealy bug | Pests main menu |
| The white dust | Technical sheet Citrus mealy bug |
Mealy bug is one of the hardest pests to control. Its body is covered with white waxy threads, which often make a chemical pest control little successful.
| Several species of mealy bugs are known to appear in greenhouses. The most important ones are the citrus mealy bug (Planococcus citri) and some Pseudococcus-species. The citrus mealy bug can be found sporadically in cucumber, melon and aubergine. In tomato Pseudococcus affinis has become more and more widespread. The bugs are covered with a white waxy secretion. A female can lay 300 to 500 eggs in a cotton-like pouch made of wax threads. After laying eggs, which takes 5-10 days, the female mealy bug dies. The young bugs, which are most mobile, disperse to find suitable feeding sites and then begin to feed on plant sap. There are 3 nymphal stages in the mealy bug's lifecycle. The length of the lifecycle depends on temperature and takes 90 days at 18°C and 30 days at 30°C. |
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Mealy bugs cause nearly the same damage as aphids. Like aphids, they suck plant sap and secrete honey dew, on which fungi can easily grow. This dirtiness gives ornamental plants a loss of quality. Viruses, however, are less transmitted by mealy bugs than by aphids.
Apart from yellowing, defoliation, and cosmetic damage, mealy bugs also reduce the vigour of the plant.
Because male mealybugs can fly, they can
be easily and quickly detected using our lure. This can be done with delta
traps and a pheromone lure inside or with yellow sticky traps to which
the pheromone lure
is fixed by means of a paperclip. This scouting strategy makes it possible
to intervene quickly. Quicker intervention increases the chance of both
biological (e.g. the parasitic wasp Leptomastix dactylopii or
the predatory beetle Cryptolaemus montrouzieri) and chemical
control to succeed.
Biobest launches the product as a pheromone lure which is packed as10
pieces in a useful “blister package”, preventing contact of
the pheromone lures
with hands or tools.
This pheromone is specific for the Citrus
mealybug (Planococcus citri). That’s the reason why
it is still very important to continue scouting the crop for other mealybugs.
Trials have shown that other mealybugs are not attracted to the lure and
this can cause surprises.
| Cryptolaemus montrouzieri | Leptomastix dactylopii | ||||
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