Taxonomic notes on Pseudococcus elisae Borkhsenius, a mealybug new to the Hawaiian fauna (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae).
Beardsley J. W. Jr.
Author Affiliation: Dep. Entomology, Univ. Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 26 : 31-34
Abstract : The discovery is reported of the Central American banana pest Pseudococcus elisae on several islands of Hawaii, including Oahu where it was collected on red ginger (Alpinia purpurata) and appears to be established; this confirms a previous report of the pseudococcid on Honolulu in 1981 and an interception of it in California on red ginger from Oahu in 1984. A further collection was made on Aglaonema on Molokai in 1985. In view of its importance to the banana industry in Central America, this scale should be considered as a potentially serious new pest in Hawaii. Information is given on the morphology of the adult female, which is compared with that of the closely related P. affinis. Other food-plants of P. elisae (including banana, ginger, mango, cabbage and tomato) are listed, and information is given on its distribution in Costa Rica, Guatamala, Honduras, Panama, Jamaica and the Gilbert Islands [Kiribati].