Host range of invasive Jack Beardsley mealybug, Pseudococcus jackbeardsleyi Gimpel and Miller in Karnataka
The movement of invasive mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) which are major pests of a wide range of agricultural, horticultural and ornamental plants worldwide has been documented by Muniappan (2011). As envisaged in the paper after the invasion of papaya mealybug, and Phenacoccus madeirensis (Madeira mealybug), the Jack Beardsley mealybug was recorded in India (Shylesha and Joshi, 2011, Mani et al., 2012). Certain of attributes of the Pseudococcidae, viz., wide host range, short generation time, cosmopolitan nature, ability to transmit some important plant viruses, etc., have contributed to their enormous damage potential (Meyer et al.,2008). In this regard, Pseudococcus jackbeardsleyi Gimpel and Miller (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), known as the Jack Beardsley mealybug, a polyphagous species of neotropical origin commonly occurring in Caribbean and Central and South America, that is known to attack 93 plant species including several vegetable and fruit and ornamental crop species (CAB Intl., 2001) has entered India infesting several of crop plants. The invasive mealybug is greyish in colour; thin filaments around the body, caudal pair about one half of the length of the body, and ovisac covering hind part of the body (Williams 2004a). The presence of ovisac differentiates it from Pseudococcus longispinus (Targioni Tozzetti). Morphological details of the P. jackbeardsleyi occurring in India are given by Mani et al., (2012).