Rhizoecus cyperalis (Hambleton) (Hemiptera: Rhizoecidae), a new record for Colombia

Abstract

The family Rhizoecidae Williams, 1969 (Hodgson 2012) is composed of 244 species of mealybugs distributed in 18 genera (Ben-Dov et al. 2013). According to Hambleton (1946) all species in the Rhizoecidae are hypogeal in habit. The soil-inhabiting mealybugs that feed on the roots of plants, although less well-known than those that feed above ground, damage a wide variety of commercially grown, subtropical ornamental plants (Hambleton 1976). In the USA, the following species of Rhizoecus K¨unckel d’Herculais, 1878, have been considered the most damaging: R. falcifer Kunckel d’Herculais; R. kondonis Kuwana [a junior synonym of Ripersiella kondonis (Kuwana)]; Rhizoecus americanus (Hambleton); Rhizoecus simplex (Hambleton); Rhizoecus floridanus Hambleton and Rhizoecus pritchardi McKenzie [a junior synomym of Rhizoecus dianthi Green] (Hambleton 1976). According to Hambleton (1976), one of the important factors affecting coffee production in several countries of Central and South America is directly related to the feeding of Rhizoecus and related mealybugs, and several species have been reported attacking other important crops such as cacao, citrus, cotton and bananas (Hambleton 1976).