Species Ferrisia virgata (Cockerell, 1893)

Museums

Regional Maps

• Dactylopius segregatus Cockerell, T.D.A. 1893. A list of West Indian Coccidae. Journal of the Institute of Jamaica 1: 252-256 [254].
• Dactylopius virgatus Cockerell, T.D.A. 1893. The West Indian species of Dactylopius. The Entomologist 26: 177-179, 266-268 [178].

  Type data:

   Lectotype USNM 1 adult ♀, JAMAICA: Kingston.
• Dactylopius virgatus farinosus Cockerell, T.D.A. 1893. The West Indian species of Dactylopius. The Entomologist 26: 177-179, 266-268 [178].
• Dactylopius virgatus humilis Cockerell, T.D.A. 1893. The West Indian species of Dactylopius. The Entomologist 26: 177-179, 266-268 [179].
• Dactylopius ceriferus Newstead, R. 1894. Scale insects in Madras. Indian Museum Notes 3(5): 21-32 [24].
• Dactylopius talini Green, E.E. 1896. Catalogue of Coccidae collected in Ceylon. Indian Museum Notes 4: 2-10 [7].
• Dactylopius dasylirii Cockerell, T.D.A. 1896. New species of insects taken on a trip from the Mesilla Valley to the Sacramento Mts., New Mexico. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 4: 201-207 [202].
• Dactylopius setosus Hempel, A. 1900. As coccidas Brasileiras. Revista do Museu Paulista 4: 365-537 [386].
• Dactylopius magnolicida King, G.B. 1902. Descripcao de Dactylopius magnolicida. Von Ihering. Revista do Museu Paulista 5: 616-617 [616].
• Dactylopius virgatus madagascariensis Newstead, R. 1908. On the gum-lac insect of Madagascar, and other coccids affecting the citrus and tobacco in that island. Quarterly Journal, Institute of Commercial Research in the Tropics. University of Liverpool 3: 3-13 [7].
• Pseudococcus marchali Vayssière, P. 1912. Deux coccides nouveaux de l'Afrique occidentale. Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France 17: 366-368 [366].
• Pseudococcus bicaudatus Keuchenius, P.E. 1915. Onderzoekingen en beschouwingen over eenige schadlijke schildluizen van de Koffiekultuur op Java. Mededeelingen van het Besoekisch Proefstation. Djember 16: 1-65 [49].
• Heliococcus malvastrus McDaniel, B. 1962. A new species of scale insect from the Rio Grande Valley, Texas (Pseudococcidae, Coccoidea). Texas Journal of Science 14: 323-327 [323] [cited also as valid species in ScaleNet; status not resolved].

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Cockerell, T.D.A. 1898. The Coccidae of the Sandwich Islands. The Entomologist 31: 239-240 [240] (synonymy of Dactylopius ceriferus Newstead, 1894)
• Cockerell, T.D.A. 1899. Article VII. – First supplement to the check-list of the Coccidae. Bulletin of the Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History 5: 389-398 [391] (synonymy of Dactylopius talini Green, 1896)
• Green, E.E. 1916. Observations on some recently described Coccidae. Bulletin of Entomological Research 7: 51-52 [51] (synonymy of Pseudococcus bicaudatus Keuchenius, 1915)
• Costa Lima, A. 1939. Espècies de Pseudococcus observadas do Brasil. (Homoptera: Coccoidea–Pseudococcidae). Boletim Biológico. Rio de Janeiro 4: 1-10 [3] (synonymy of Dactylopius setosus Hempel, 1900)
• Ferris, G.F. 1950. Report upon scale insects collected in China (Homoptera: Coccoidea). Part I. (Contribution no. 66). Microentomology 15: 1-34 [93] (synonymy of Dactylopius virgatus farinosus Cockerell, 1893; synonymy of Dactylopius virgatus humilis Cockerell, 1893; synonymy of Pseudococcus marchali Vayssiere, 1912)
• Mamet, J.R. 1951. Notes on the Coccoidea of Madagascar, II. Mémoires de l'Institut Scientifique de Madagascar A 5: 213-254 [216] (synonymy of Dactylopius virgatus madagascariensis Newstead, 1908)
• Ferris, G.F. 1953. Atlas of the Scale Insects of North America. v. 6. The Pseudococcidae. (Part 2). Palo Alto, California : Stanford University Press Vol. 6(2) 506 pp. [362] (synonymy of Dactylopius dasylirii Cockerell, 1896)
• McKenzie, H.L. 1967. Mealybugs of California with taxonomy, biology, and control of North American species (Homoptera: Cooccoidea: Pseudococcidae). Berkeley : Univ. Calif. Press 526 pp. [181] (synonymy of Heliococcus malvastrus McDaniel, 1962)
• Williams, D.J. & Granara de Willink, M.C. 1992. Mealybugs of Central and South America. London, England : CAB International Institute of Entomology 635 pp. [183] (synonymy of Dactylopius magnolicida King, 1902; synonymy of Dactylopius segregatus Cockerell, 1893)

Generic Combinations

• Pseudococcus dasylirii (Cockerell, 1893). —
  Fernald, M.E. 1903. A catalogue of the Coccidae of the world. Bulletin of the Hatch Experiment Station of the Massachusetts Agricultural College 88: 1-360 [101] (change of combination)
• Pseudococcus virgatus farinosus (Cockerell, 1893). —
  Cockerell, T.D.A. 1902. A catalogue of the Coccidae of South America. Revista Chilena de Entomología 6: 250-257 [252] (change of combination)
• Pseudococcus virgatus humilis (Cockerell, 1893). —
  Fernald, M.E. 1903. A catalogue of the Coccidae of the world. Bulletin of the Hatch Experiment Station of the Massachusetts Agricultural College 88: 1-360 [111] (change of combination)
• Pseudococcus virgatus madagascariensis (Newstead, 1908). —
  Lindinger, L. 1913. Afrikanische Schildläuse. V. Die Schildläuse Deutsche-ostafrikas. Jahrbuch der Hamburgischen Wissenschaftlichen Anstalten 30: 59-95 [68] (change of combination)
• Pseudococcus magnolicida (King, 1902). —
  Cockerell, T.D.A. 1902. A catalogue of the Coccidae of South America. Revista Chilena de Entomología 6: 250-257 [252] (change of combination)
• Pseudococcus segregatus (Cockerell, 1893). —
  Fernald, M.E. 1903. A catalogue of the Coccidae of the world. Bulletin of the Hatch Experiment Station of the Massachusetts Agricultural College 88: 1-360 [109] (change of combination)
• Ferrisiana setosus (Hempel, 1900). —
  Ali, S.M. 1970. A catalogue of the Oriental Coccoidea. (Part IV) (Insecta: Homoptera: Coccoidea). Indian Museum Bulletin 5: 71-150 [108] (change of combination)
• Ferrisiana virgata (Cockerell, 1893). —
  Takahashi, R. 1929. Aphididae and Coccidae of the Pescadores. Transactions of the Natural History Society of Formosa 19: 425-431 [429] (change of combination)
• Ferrisia virgata (Cockerell, 1893). —
  Fullaway, D.T. 1923. Notes on the mealy-bugs of economic importance in Hawaii. Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 5: 305-321 [308] (change of combination)
• Pseudococcus virgatus (Cockerell, 1893). —
  Kirkaldy, G.W. 1902. Hemiptera. Fauna Hawaiiensis 3(2): 93-174 [103] (change of combination)

Distribution

States

Northern Territory, Queensland

Other Regions

Christmas Island terrestrial & freshwater

Ecological Descriptors

Sap-feeder.

ID Keys

(Lit, I.L., Caasi-Lit, M. & Calilung, V.J., 1998) [31] (female; Philippines); (Kosztarab, M., 1996) [124] (female; northeastern North USA); (Williams, D.J., 1996) [3] (female; world); (Tang, F.T., 1992) [209] (female; Palaearctic & Oriental Regions); (Williams, D.J. & Watson, G.W., 1988) [77] (female; tropical South Pacific region); (Williams, D.J., 1970) [ 114] (female; world); (McKenzie, H.L., 1967) [179] (female; U.S.A., California); (Beardsley, J.W., 1960) [211] (male; Hawaii); (Ferris, G.F., 1953) [360] (female; North America); (Ferris, G.F., 1950) [88] (female; North America)

GENERAL

Good description and illustration of the adult female given by Ferris in Zimmerman, E.C. 1948. Homoptera: Sternorrhyncha. pp. 268 in Zimmerman, E.C. (ed). Insects of Hawaii. Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press Vol. 5 464 pp., Ferris, G.F. 1950. Atlas of the Scale Insects of North America. (Ser. 5, vol. 5). The Pseudococcidae (Part I). Palo Alto, California : Stanford University Press 278 pp., McKenzie, H.L. 1967. Mealybugs of California with taxonomy, biology, and control of North American species (Homoptera: Cooccoidea: Pseudococcidae). Berkeley : Univ. Calif. Press 526 pp., Williams, D.J. & Watson, G.W. 1988. The Scale Insects of the Tropical South Pacific Region. Part 1. The armoured scales (Diaspididae). London : CAB International Institute of Entomology 290 pp., Williams, D.J. & Granara de Willink, M.C. 1992. Mealybugs of Central and South America. London, England : CAB International Institute of Entomology 635 pp., Kosztarab, M. 1996. Scale insects of Northeastern North America. Identification, biology, and distribution. Martinsburg, Virginia : Virginia Museum of Natural History 650 pp. and by Lit, I.L., Caasi-Lit, M. & Calilung, V.J. 1998. The mealybugs (Pseudococcidae, Coccoidea, Hemiptera) of eggplant (Solanum melongena Linn.) in the Philippines. Philippine Entomology 12: 29–41. Good description and illustration of the adult male (from population in Hawaii) given by Beardsley, J.W. 1960. A preliminary study of the males of some Hawaiian mealybugs (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae). Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 17: 199–243. Good description of the adult female given by Borchsenius, N.S. 1949. Insects Homoptera. suborders mealybugs and scales (Coccoidea). Family mealybugs (Pseudococcidae). Vol. VII. Fauna SSSR. Zoologicheskii Institut Akademii Nauk SSSR 38: 1–382. Descriptions and illustrations prior to 1980 appear to contain a combination of the diagnostic characters of both F. virgata and the very similar species F. malvastra.

SYSTEMATICS

Biparental populations of this species have been reported from U.S.A., Maryland (see Highland, H.A. 1956. The biology of Ferrisiana virgata, a pest of azaleas. Journal of Economic Entomology 49: 276–277), Hawaii (see Beardsley, J.W. 1960. A preliminary study of the males of some Hawaiian mealybugs (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae). Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 17: 199–243), Egypt (see Afifi, S. 1968. Morphology and taxonomy of the adult males of the families Pseudococcidae and Eriococcidae (Homoptera: Coccoidea). British Museum (Natural History), 2nd Report on Economic Zoology 13: 3–210) and India (see Sinha, P.K. & Sayeed, M.Z. 1983. Sex-ratio in Ferrisia virgata Ckll (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae). Biological Bulletin of India 5(2): 140–146; Sinha, P.K., Sayeed, M.Z., Singh, V.N. & Srivastava, A.K. 1985. Observations on the courtship and copulatory behaviour in the white-tailed mealybug Ferrisia virgata Ckll. (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) under laboratory conditions. Proceedings, National Academy of Sciences, India 55(Sect. B, Pt I): 1–5; Paul, S.K. & Ghose, S.K. 1989. Descriptions of various instars of Ferrisia virgata (Cockerell) (Pseudococcidae, Homoptera). Environment & Ecology 7: 838–845). Sinha & Sayeed (1983) reported on a wide range in sex ratio (1:2.5–4 up to 1:16–17) in India. Copulatory behaviour of the male and female described by Sinha, P.K., Sayeed, M.Z. & Dinesh, D.S. 1985. Dispersal and establishment behaviour during post-embryonic development of Ferrisia virgata (Homoptera). pp. 141–144 in, Goel, S.C. & Srivastava, C.B.L. (eds) Recent Advances in Developmental Biology of Animals..

STRUCTURE

See colour photograph in McKenzie, H.L. 1967. Mealybugs of California with taxonomy, biology, and control of North American species (Homoptera: Cooccoidea: Pseudococcidae). Berkeley : Univ. Calif. Press 526 pp., Lit, I.L., Caasi-Lit, M. & Calilung, V.J. 1998. The mealybugs (Pseudococcidae, Coccoidea, Hemiptera) of eggplant (Solanum melongena Linn.) in the Philippines. Philippine Entomology 12: 29–41, and Wong, C.Y., Chen, S.P. & Chou, L.Y. 1999. [Guidebook to Scale Insects of Taiwan.]. Wufeng, Taichung, Taiwan : Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute 98 pp..

ECONOMIC AND CONTROL

Hanna, A.D., Judenko, E. & Heatherington, W. 1956. The control of Crematogaster ants as a means of controlling the mealybugs transmitting the swollen-shoot virus disease of cacao in the Gold Coast. Bulletin of Entomological Research 47: 219–227 reported this mealybug as a vector of the swollen-shoot virus disease of Cacao in Ghana.

General References

Kaydan, M.B. & Gullan, P.J. 2012. A taxonomic revision of the mealybug genus Ferrisia Fullaway (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), with descriptions of eight new species and a new genus. Zootaxa 3543: 1–65 [50]

Tao, C.C.C. 1999. List of Coccoidea (Homoptera) of China. Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute, Special Publication No. 78: 1-176 [14] (Dactylopius cerciferus: misspelling of species name)

Common Name References

Lit, I.L. & Calilung, V.J. 1994. An annotated list of mealybugs (Pseudococcidae, Coccoidea, Hemiptera) from Mount Makiling and vicinity, Laguna, Philippines. Philippine Entomologist 9: 385-398 (Cited also by ) (Grey Mealybug)

McKenzie, H.L. 1967. Mealybugs of California with taxonomy, biology, and control of North American species (Homoptera: Cooccoidea: Pseudococcidae). Berkeley : Univ. Calif. Press 526 pp. (Cited also by , and ) (Striped Mealybug)

Schmutterer, H. 1969. Pests of crops in Northeast and Central Africa with particular reference to Sudan. Portland : Gustav Fischer Verlag 269 pp. (Guava Mealybug)

History of changes