Citrus Flatid Planthopper, Metcalfa pruinosa (Say) (Insecta: Hemiptera: Flatidae)

Abstract

True to its name, the citrus flatid planthopper, Metcalfa pruinosa (Say), is found on citrus, but also is found on a wide variety of woody plants, many of which are used in the ornamental trade. This planthopper seldom causes economic damage to most plants except to those weakened by some other factor such as freeze damage. The unsightly white, flocculent, waxy material made by the nymphs impairs the sales quality of affected plants, partly because buyers sometimes mistake these deposits for those of mealybugs or the cottony-cushion scale. This document is EENY-329 (originally published as DPI Entomology Circular 85), one of a series of Featured Creatures from the Entomology and Nematology Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Published: June 2004. 
 EENY329/IN605: Citrus Flatid Planthopper, Metcalfa pruinosa (Say) (Insecta: Hemiptera: Flatidae) (ufl.edu)

Journal of Plant Protection Research

“…Nymphs were first observed in June, adults emerged in mid-July and survived until the end of October. This indicates that in Poland the citrus flatid planthopper gives one generation per year and overwinters as eggs, which agrees with observations of other authors (Mead 1969;Lauterer 2002).…”

“…actinidiae Takikawa (Psa) from experimentally inoculated plants to healthy ones under laboratory conditions. In its native range there is usually no need for pest control apart from cases where obvious damage is observed, which is, however, uncommon (Mead 1969). Cutting twigs infested with eggs and the usage of many insecticides have been successful against the pest, however, many of them are of broad spectrum belonging to the groups of organophosphates and pyrethroids (Girolami and Mazzon 2001), and therefore they may be a substantial danger to beneficial arthropods, e.g., honeybees (Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758), which collect honeydew produced by the planthopper and utilize it to produce honey (Lucchi 1997).…”

“…Being highly polyphagous, in North America it is not of significant economic importance, doing little harm to citrus trees and some ornamentals (Mead 1969). However, in Europe this gregarious insect infests various cultivated and wild trees, shrubs and weedy plants.…”

Phenology model development for Neodryinus typhlocybae: Evaluation of phenological synchrony with its host, Metcalfa pruinosa

“…The citrus flatid planthopper, Metcalfa pruinosa (Say) (Hemiptera: Flatidae), is native to North America [ 1 ] but has invaded non-native regions, including around 20 European and East Asia countries, including South Korea [ 2 ]. Its polyphagous characteristics combined with continual immigration into crop fields have been concerns in many countries where M. pruinosa has successfully established itself [ [3] , [4] , [5] , [6] , [7] ].…”

“…Metcalfa pruinosa is a univoltine insect, while N. typhlocybae has both univoltine and bivoltine life cycles [ 1 , 26 ]. Neodryinus typhlocybae adults effectively parasitize and lay eggs on either the third, fourth, or fifth instars of M. pruinosa [ 23 , 27 ].…”