''Pseudococcus comstocki'', common name Comstock mealybug, is a species of

mealybug Mealybugs are insects in the family Pseudococcidae, unarmored scale insects found in moist, warm habitats. Many species are considered pests as they feed on plant juices of greenhouse plants, house plants and subtropical trees and also act as a ...

. The species was first discovered in 1902 in Japan. It is an invasive pest species that feeds on fruit and plants.

Description

Adult female Comstock mealybugs are long, have no wings, and have "17 pairs of filaments" that extend from the edge of its body with a longer pair at the rear. The adult males are minuscule, similar to the size of gnats, and have a short life span. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. Th ...

e resemble female adults except for "being smaller with less wax and no long filaments". Its eggs are long orange ovals that are clumped together on twigs, cuts on trees, and on fruit during the summer. During autumn, the egg clusters are laid in bark crevices. Each mass of eggs is referred to as an

ovisac Marsupium is the Latin word for a (brood) pouch in several animal groups: * Pouch (marsupial), in marsupials * Brood pouch (Peracarida), in peracarid crustaceans * Brood pouch (Syngnathidae), in syngnathids such as sea horses * Brood pouch (gast ...

or a nest and it is coated with white filaments that resemble cotton.

Feeding and control

The species use "piercing-sucking mouthparts" to create honeydew that causes mold, that is the color of soot, to grow on fruit. They are a pest, including in eastern North America where the species is the main mealybug pest. The Comstock mealybug feeds on apples, pears, peaches, and many ornamental plants. The honeydew stops

photosynthesis Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored i ...

while also damaging the plant. Chemicals have been used to reduce the population of the species with 80% efficiency although it has not been successful in Central Asia. A mixture of

biological pest control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also i ...

and

chemicals A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wit ...

successfully removed the species from orchards and vegetable fields in what was once part of the USSR. Parasitoids and predators were brought into California to control the species population including '' Pseudaphycus malinus'', '' Allotropa convexifrons'', '' Allotropa burrelli'', and '' Zarhopalus corvinus''. In a 1980 Japanese study, virgin adult females were taken from pumpkins so that scientists could extract their

sex pheromone Sex pheromones are pheromones released by an organism to attract an individual of the same species, encourage them to mate with them, or perform some other function closely related with sexual reproduction. Sex pheromones specifically focus on ind ...

in order to capture the males.

Range

In 1902, the species was first discovered by Shinkai Inokichi Kuwana on mulberry and

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since ht ...

trees in Japan. The species is native to eastern Asia and it was introduced into central Asia, eastern Europe, the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Argentina. It was originally believed that ''P. comstocki'' was in New Zealand, but a 1977 study determined that the specimens were ''P. calceolariae'' and ''P. obscurus''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10642695 Sternorrhyncha Pseudococcidae Insects described in 1902