Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T17:50:27.413Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Variations in the population of the mango mealybug Rastrococcus invadens (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae), and its parasitism, in relation to smoke pollution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2008

Olufemi O.R. Pitan
Olufemi O.R. Pitan*
Affiliation:
Department of Crop Protection, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria
*
*Email: femipitan@yahoo.com
Get access

Abstract

A survey was conducted in Ibadan, Nigeria, between 1 November and 30 December 2000 to examine the mango mealybug Rastrococcus invadens Williams infestation. Results obtained prompted another study in which the population of R. invadens and its parasitism were monitored from January 2001 to December 2005 on smoke-polluted infested mango trees after relocation of smoke sources. A third study was conducted between January and April 2007 in Ibadan, Nigeria, where mealybug-infested mango trees were searched for and the levels of pollution around them characterized using a derived rating scale. The survey results showed that only 7.5% of a total of 489 mango trees examined in 2001 were infested with mango mealybug and were located in exhaust, car park, motorway or converging environments. In study 2, the mango mealybug population significantly (P < 0.05) declined, and parasitism significantly increased on trees from where pollution sources were relocated. All the 86 mango mealybug-infested trees scouted for in study 3 were located in smoke-polluted areas. Significantly higher numbers of infested trees and mealybug population, and significantly lower parasitism levels were found on mango trees in exhaust areas, compared with others. Pollution level was correlated with mealybug population (positively) and parasitism (negatively) in 2000 and 2007. Whereas mealybug population gradually built up on hitherto clean trees where pollution sources were relocated, parasitoid activity seemed to be enhanced by the relocation of smoke sources. The effectiveness and conservation of the parasitoids may therefore depend on the air quality around the infested trees.

Keywords

Rastrococcus invadensGyranusoidea tebygiparasitismsmoke pollutionpopulation fluctuation
Type
Research Paper
Information
International Journal of Tropical Insect Science , Volume 28 , Issue 3 , September 2008 , pp. 119 - 125
Copyright
Copyright © ICIPE 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agounke, D., Agricola, U. and Bokonon-Ganta, A. H. (1988) Rastrococcus invadens Williams (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), a serious exotic pest of fruit trees and other plants in West Africa. Bulletin of Entomological Research 78, 695–702.Google Scholar
Agricola, U., Agounke, D., Fischer, H.-U. and Moore, D. (1989) The control of Rastroccoccus invadens Williams (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) in Togo by the introduction of Gyranusoidea tebygi Noyes (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae). Bulletin of Entomological Research 79, 671–678.Google Scholar
Akinlosotu, T. A., Fajuyigbe, F. B. and Anno-Nyako, F. (1994) Incidence of Rastrococcus invadens Williams (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) on horticultural crops in Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Science 28, 307–313.Google Scholar
Alstad, D. N. and Edmunds, G. F. (1982) Effects of air pollution on insect populations. Annual Review of Entomology 27, 369–384.Google Scholar
Bell, J. N. B., McNeill, S., Houldon, G., Brown, V. C. and Mansfield, P. J. (1993) Atmospheric change: effect on plant pests and diseases. Parasitology 106, S11–24.Google Scholar
Boavida, C., Neuenschwander, P. and Schulthess, F. (1992) Spatial distribution of Rastrococcus invadens Williams (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae) on mango trees. Journal of Applied Entomology 114, 381–391.Google Scholar
Bokonon-Ganta, A. H. and Neuenschwander, P. (1995) The impact of the biological control agent Gyranusoidea tebygi Noyes (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), on the mango mealybug, Rastrococcus invadens Williams (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae), in Benin. Biocontrol Science and Technology 5, 95–107.Google Scholar
Bolsinger, M. and Flückiger, W. (1984) Effect of air pollution at a motorway on the infestation of Virbunum opulus by Aphis fabae. European Journal of Pathology 14, 256–260.Google Scholar
Campbell, B. C. and Duffey, S. S. (1979) Tomatine and parasitic wasps potential incompatibility of plant antibiosis with biological control. Science 205, 700–702.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dale, D. (1988) Plant-mediated effects of soil mineral stresses on insects, In Plant Stress–Insect Interactions (Edited by Heinrichs, E. A.), pp. 35–110. John Wiley and Sons, New York.Google Scholar
Flückiger, W. and Oertli, J. J. (1978) Observations of an aphid infestation on hawthorn in the vicinity of a motorway. Naturwissenschaften 65, 654–655.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Führer, E. (1985) Air pollution and the incidence of forest insect problems. Zeitschrift Fur Angewandte Entomologi 99, 371–379.Google Scholar
Gate, I. M., McNeill, S. and Ashmore, M. R. (1995) Effects of air pollution on the searching behaviour of an insect parasitoid. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 85, 1425–1430.Google Scholar
Heliövaara, K. and Väisänen, R. (1986) Industrial pollution and the pine bark bug, Aradus cinnamomeus (Heteroptera: Aradidae). Journal of Applied Entomology 101, 469–475.Google Scholar
Hillmann, R. C. (1972) Biological effects of air pollution on insects, emphasizing the reaction of the honeybee to sulphur dioxide. PhD Thesis, Pennsylvanian State University, University Park, 157 pp.Google Scholar
Hillmann, R. C. and Benton, A. W. (1972) Biological effects of air pollution on insects, emphasizing the reactions of the honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) to sulphur dioxide. Journal of Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 88, 195–198.Google Scholar
Holopainen, J. K., Kainulainen, P. and Oksanen, J. (1995) Effects of gaseous air pollutants on aphid performance on Scots pine and Norway spruce seedlings. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 85, 1431–1436.Google Scholar
Ivbijaro, M. F., Udensi, N., Ukwela, U. M. and Anno-Nyako, F. V. (1992) Geographical distribution and host range of the mango mealybug, Rastrococcus invadens Williams, a serious exotic pest of horticulture and other crops. Insect Science and Its Application 13, 411–416.Google Scholar
Kozlov, M. V. (2003) Density fluctuations of the leafminer, Phyllonorycter strigulatella (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) in the impact zone of a power plant. Environmental Pollution 121, 1–10.Google Scholar
Matokot, I., Reyd, G., Malonga, P. and Le, R. U. (1992) Dynamique des populations de Rastrococcus invadens (Homoptera: Pseudococcidea) au Congo: influence de l'introduction accidentelle du parasitoide asiatique Gyranusoidea tebygi (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae). Entomophaga 37, 123–140.Google Scholar
Neuenschwander, P., Boavida, C., Bokonon-Ganta, A., Gado, A. and Herren, H. R. (1994) Establishment and spread of Gyranusoidea tebygi Noyes and Anagyrus mangicola Noyes (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), two biological control agents released against the mango mealybug Rastrococcus invadens Williams (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae) in Africa. Biocontrol Science and Technology 4, 61–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pitan, O. O. R., Akinlosotu, T. A. and Odebiyi, J. A. (2000) Impact of Gyranusoidea tebygi (Noyes) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) on the mango mealybug, Rastrococcus invadens Williams (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae) in Nigeria. Biocontrol Science and Technology 10, 245–254.Google Scholar
Pitan, O. O. R., Mwamsat, G., Akinyemi, S. O. S., Adebayo, O. S. and Akinlosotu, T. A. (2002) Effect of the mango mealybug and sooty mould attack on mango and the impact of the released Gyranusoidea tebygi Noyes on yield. Fruits 57, 103–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pitan, O. O. R., Odebiyi, J. A. and Akinlosotu, T. A. (1999) Introduction and establishment of Gyranusoidea tebygi in Nigeria, pp. 26–28. In Proceedings of the 17th Annual Conference of the Horticultural Society of Nigeria, held at University of Port Harcourt, 1999 (Edited by Umeh, V. C. and Olufolaji, E. O.), National Horticultural Research Institute, Ibadan, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Port, G. R. and Thompson, J. R. (1980) Outbreaks of insect herbivores on plants along motorways in the United Kingdom. Journal of Applied Ecology 17, 649–655.Google Scholar
Price, P. W., Ratheke, B. J. and Gentry, D. A. (1974) Lead in terrestrial arthropods: evidence for biological concentration. Environmental Entomology 3, 70–72.Google Scholar
Przybylski, Z. (1979) The effects of automobile exhaust gases on the arthropods of cultivated plants, meadows and orchards. Environmental Pollution 19, 157–161.Google Scholar
Reimer, J. and Whittaker, J. B. (1989) Air pollution and insect herbivores: observed interactions and possible mechanisms. Insect Plant Interactions 1, 73–105.Google Scholar
Ruszcyk, A. (1986) Mortality of Papilio scamander scamander (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) pupae in four districts of Porto Alegre (Southern Brazil) and the causes of the super abundance of some butterflies in urban areas. Revista Brasileira de Biologia 46, 567–580.Google Scholar
Smith, J. M. (1957) Effects of food plant on California red scale Aonidiella auranti (Mask) on reproduction of its hymenopterous parasites. Canadian Entomology 89, 219–230.Google Scholar
Templin, E. (1962) On the population dynamics of several pine pests in smoke-damaged forest stands. Wissenschaft Zeitschrift der Technische Universität, Dresden, 11, 631–637.Google Scholar
Williams, D. J. (1986) Rastrococcus invadens sp.n. (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) introduced from the oriental region to West Africa and causing damage to mango, citrus and other trees. Bulletin of Entomological Research 76, 695–699.Google Scholar
Zhou, X., Tang, F. D. and Xie, Y. P. (2001) Influence of air pollution of Comstock mealybug's population in the Ginkgo and Fraxinus. Scientia Silvae Sinicae 37, 65–70.Google Scholar