The Mediterranean vine mealybug and its natural enemies in southern Israel

Abstract

The phenology of the Mediterranean vine mealybug popula tion in the vineyards of southern Israel was found to be characterized by a peak, occurring between mid-May and mid-June, followed by a sharp drop during July. A second, smaller peak occurs between October and December. During winter the mealybugs remain beneath the bark of the trunk at a very low population level. The primary parasites, all of the anagyrine Encyrtidae, were (in descending order of abundance): Anagyrus pselldococci, Leptomastix jlavus, Clausenil1 joseji, Pauridia peregrina. and Leptomastidea abnormis. The hyperparasites were Aehrysopophagus aegyptil1eus (Encyrtidae) and Pacllyneuron rieulum (Pteromalidae). Tetrastychus sp. (Eulophidae) and Thysanus sp. (Signiphoridae), very rare parasites, remained unclassified. Hyperaspis spp. and Seymnus spp. (CoccineUidae) are mealybug predators. They were sometimes parasitized by Homa/oty/us quaylei (Encyrtidae). The phenology of the entoJilophagous insects is described.

Citrus Mealybug (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) Movement and Population Dynamics in an Arbor-Trained Vineyard

“…Most studies of mealybugs in vineyards refer to movements from the green part of the plants to the more concealed lower part of the trunk in late season (Ruiz Castro 1965;Berlinger 1977;Geiger and Daane 2001;Koplow Wies 2004;Bentley et al 2006a,b;Varela et al 2006). In the current study, sampling to determine the movement of mealybugs revealed the absence of downward peak movements of nymphs throughout the year except on the lower part in the second half of July, probably due to the spread of crawlers hatched from eggs laid above the lower trap.…”

“…Low temperatures, low grapevine activity, and high rainfall may be the main causes of mealybug deaths during the winter. When present in low numbers, overwintering citrus mealybugs are mainly located at the bottom of the trunk (Bodenheimer 1951, Ruiz Castro 1965, Berlinger 1977. These locations are protected against the rain and to a lesser extent against the low temperatures.…”

Vine mealybug, Planococcus ficus (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae ), a Key Pest in South African vineyards. A Review

“…Berlinger (1977) described P. ficus as the 'Mediterranean vine mealybug ', Bodenheimer (1924) as 'subterranean vine mealy bug ' and De Lotto (1975) as 'vine mealybug'.…”

“…Apart from being a vector of GLRa V-3, high infestations of P. ficus in table grape bunches result in direct crop loss and progressive weakening of vines through early leaf loss (Kriegler, 1954;Whitehead, 1957;Berlinger, 1977;Charles, 1982;Walton, 2003).…”

“…Upward movement on the trunk began from spring or early summer (October in South Africa, March/April in Israel and Italy) (Kriegler, 1954;Berlinger, 1977;Duso, 1990;Walton, 2003). Populations started to develop on new growth and the population peak was recorded between the end of January and the beginning of February, after which numbers declined (Kriegler, 1954;Whitehead, 1957;Walton, 2003).…”