Guiding classical biological control of an invasive mealybug using integrative taxonomy
Date
2015
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Public Library of Science
Abstract
Delottococcus aberiae De Lotto (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) is a mealybug of Southern
African origin that has recently been introduced into Eastern Spain. It causes severe distortions
on young citrus fruits and represents a growing threat to Mediterranean citrus production.
So far, biological control has proven unsatisfactory due to the absence of efficient
natural enemies in Spain. Hence, the management of this pest currently relies only on
chemical control. The introduction of natural enemies of D. aberiae from the native area of
the pest represents a sustainable and economically viable alternative to reduce the risks
linked to pesticide applications. Since biological control of mealybugs has been traditionally
challenged by taxonomic misidentification, an intensive survey of Delottococcus spp. and
their associated parasitoids in South Africa was required as a first step towards a classical
biological control programme. Combining morphological and molecular characterization (integrative
taxonomy) a total of nine mealybug species were identified in this study, including
three species of Delottococcus. Different populations of D. aberiae were found on wild olive
trees, in citrus orchards and on plants of Chrysanthemoides monilifera, showing intraspecific
divergences according to their host plants. Interestingly, the invasive mealybug
populations from Spanish orchards clustered together with the population on citrus from
Limpopo Province (South Africa), sharing COI haplotypes. This result pointed to an optimum
location to collect natural enemies against the invasive mealybug. A total of 14 parasitoid
species were recovered from Delottococcus spp. and identified to genus and species
level, by integrating morphological and molecular data. A parasitoid belonging to the genus
Anagyrus, collected from D. aberiae in citrus orchards in Limpopo, is proposed here as a
good biological control agent to be introduced into Spain.
Description
CITATION: Beltra, A., et al. 2015. Guiding classical biological control of an invasive mealybug using integrative taxonomy. PLoS ONE, 10(6):1-14, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0128685.
The original publication is available at http://journals.plos.org/plosone
The original publication is available at http://journals.plos.org/plosone
Keywords
Mealybugs, Taxonomy plant, Biological control of pests
Citation
Beltra, A., et al. 2015. Guiding classical biological control of an invasive mealybug using integrative taxonomy. PLoS ONE, 10(6):1-14, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0128685