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Performance of the Striped Mealybug Ferrisia virgata Cockerell (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) under Variable Conditions of Temperature and Mating

  • Ecology, Behavior and Bionomics
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Abstract

Mealybugs have strong associations with their host plants due to their limitations for dispersal. Thus, environmental conditions and host quality may impact the biological traits of mealybugs. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to report on the biology of a Brazilian population of the striped mealybug Ferrisia virgata Cockerell (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), which has recently been reported to infest cotton in Brazil. We evaluated the development and reproductive performance of F. virgata reared under different temperatures (25, 27, and 28°C) and mating status. The type of reproduction was also studied with insects reared on a factitious host and on cotton plants. Shorter development was obtained at 28°C as follows: nymphs generating males and females exhibited three and four instars with a mean duration of 19.1 and 20.5 days, respectively. The nymphal viability ranged from 77 to 96%, and was highest at 25°C. Females reared at 28°C initiated reproduction earlier (16.4 days), but the reproductive period was similar in all temperatures (∼16.2 days). Females produced more nymphs at 27 and 28°C (440 and 292 neonates) than at 25°C (277 neonates), although they lived longer at 25°C (63 days). Ferrisia virgata females exhibited only sexual reproduction. Thus, only mated females produced offspring, whereas unmated females died without reproducing. Therefore, the studied population of F. virgata exhibited only sexual reproduction with high survival and offspring production when fed cotton. Furthermore, pumpkin is a feasible host for mass rearing this mealybug species in the laboratory, an opening avenue for future studies.

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Acknowledgments

We express our deep appreciation to Dr Alessandra Rung (Plant Pest Diagnostics Branch, California Department of Food and Agriculture, Sacramento, CA) and Douglas Miller (Systematic Entomology Laboratory, ARR-USDA, Beltsville, MD) for identifying the striped mealybug species. Additionally, we thank the “Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco (FACEPE)” and the “Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)” Foundation for providing grants to the first and third authors, respectively, and research funds APQ-0538-5.01/10 and PNPD no. 02544/09-1 to conduct this work.

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  1. Depto de Agronomia-Entomologia, Univ Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Rua Dom Manoel de Medeiros s/n, Dois Irmãos, 52171-900, Recife, PE, Brasil

    M D Oliveira, P R R Barbosa, C S A Silva-Torres & J B Torres

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  1. M D Oliveira
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  2. P R R Barbosa
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  3. C S A Silva-Torres
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  4. J B Torres
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Correspondence to J B Torres.

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Edited Kleber Del Claro – UFU

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Oliveira, M.D., Barbosa, P.R.R., Silva-Torres, C.S.A. et al. Performance of the Striped Mealybug Ferrisia virgata Cockerell (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) under Variable Conditions of Temperature and Mating. Neotrop Entomol 43, 1–8 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-013-0171-z

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