Authors: Villanueva, Raul¹; Rodrigues, Jose²; Childers, Carl³

Source: Experimental and Applied Acarology, Volume 36, Number 1, May 2005 , pp. 83-92(10)

Publisher: Springer

Abstract:

The orange bagworm (OBW), Cryptothelea gloverii (Packard) (Lepidoptera: Psychidae) was previously reported feeding on citrus fruit and foliage and preying upon the camphor scale Pseudaonidia duplex (Cockerell) (Homoptera: Coccidae). In this study using laboratory assays, OBW preyed upon citrus rust mite, Phyllocoptruta oleivora (Ashmead) (Acari: Eriophyidae) and consumed eggs and adults of both P. oleivora and Panonychus citri (McGregor) (Acari: Tetranychidae), two important pest mites on Florida citrus. OBW was also observed to feed on the purple scale, Lepidosaphes beckii (Newman) (Homoptera: Diaspididae) and on a fungus (Penicillium sp.). OBW fed on orange and grapefruit leaves by starting from the border and eating part of the leaf, by chewing holes, or consuming the outer epithelium of either the axial or abaxial surface of the leaf without penetrating through the leaf. OBW was observed in orange orchards in association with fruit extensively russeted by P. oleivora feeding. Laboratory assays revealed that OBW larvae preferred to feed on oranges infested with P. oleivora rather than on clean fruits that were free of mite feeding damage. Feeding damage to citrus fruit by OBW larvae results in one to several holes being eaten into the rind or albedo, without damage to the fruit sacs.

Keywords: Citrus; Cryptothelea gloverii; Eriophyidae; Mite predation; Panonychus; Phyllocoptruta; Predacious Lepidoptera; Psychidae; Tetranychidae

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10493-005-1673-0

Affiliations: 1: Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center, North Carolina State University, 455 Research Drive, Fletcher, NC, 28732, USA, 2: Entomology and Nematology Department, University of Florida, IFAS, Citrus Research and Education Center, 700 Experiment Station Rd, Lake Alfred, FL, 33850, USA, 3: Entomology and Nematology Department, University of Florida, IFAS, Citrus Research and Education Center, 700 Experiment Station Rd, Lake Alfred, FL, 33850, USA, Email: ccc@lal.ufl.edu

Publication date: 2005-05-01

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