Page 39 - Volume 1, Issue 1, January 2008
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Pseudococcidae of Greece
37
coccus vovae
(Nasonov) on various
Cypres-
sus
species. Although
P. citri
,
P. ficus
,
P. tauri-
cus
and
P. longispinus
have been previously
found in Greece,
H. bohemicus
,
H. nudus
, and
P. hordei
are less well known and this is the
first record of their presence in Greece.
H. bohemicus
has a palaearctic distribu-
tion and is present in central Europe and
China (3). It is known as a pest of grapevines
in central Europe, but its hosts include many
plant species belonging to 12 families. Its
biology has been studied in northern Italy,
where it develops two generations per year
(9). Although
H. bohemicus
is uniformly dis-
tributed in the vineyards along with
P. ficus,
in contrast to the latter, it does not pose a
threat to viticulture, due to its ecological
habits that constantly expose the species
to the environmental conditions. Parasitiza-
tion in some years might reach 60% (23).
H. nudus
is a cosmopolitan species oc-
curring in the leaf sheath and crown of vari-
ous Gramineae plant species (4). It may cause
browning and stunting of grasses and is
closely related to
H. abludens
Borchsenius but
the latter has only 6-segmented antennae.
Phenacoccus hordei
has a palaearctic dis-
tribution and is fairly common, occurring
on the roots of plants, especially grasses (5).
It has also been reported on Leguminose-
ae and Umbellifereae plants. It is capable
of producing three generations per year. It
overwinters as second, rarely as third instars
and its adults develop by the end of April.
This studywas partially supported by the Bena-
ki Phytopathological Institute and the Hungar-
ian National Science Foundation (OTKA).
Literature Cited
Argyriou, L.C. 1983.
1.
Faunal analysis of some scale in-
sects in Greece.
Proceedings of the 10th International
Symposium of Central European Entomofaunistics
, Bu-
dapest, 15-20 August 1983 364-367.
Ben-Dov,
2.
Y. 1994.
A systematic catalogue of themealy-
bugs of the world (Insecta: Homoptera: Coccoidea:
Pseudococcidae and Putoidae) with data on geograph-
ical distribution, host plants, biology and economic im-
portance. Intercept Limited, Andover, UK. 686 pp.
Ben-Dov, Y. 2006a.
3.
ScaleNet,
Heliococcus bohemic-
us,
Available from:
/
catalogs/pseudoco/Heliococcusbohemicus.htm (ac-
cessed 20 October 2006).
Ben-Dov, Y. 2006b.
4.
ScaleNet,
Heterococcus nudus
.
Available from:
-
logs/pseudoco/Heterococcusnudus.htm (accessed
20 October 2006).
Ben-Dov, Y. 2006c.
5.
ScaleNet,
Phenacoccus hordei
.
Available from:
logs/pseudoco/Phenacoccushordei.htm
(accessed
20 October 2006).
Table 2.
Mealybug (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae) species collected in the present study.
Mealybug species
Collection
location
Collection
date
Host plant
Heliococcus bohemicus
Sulc
Korinthos
2004
Vitis vinifera
Heterococcus nudus
(Green)
Chalkidiki
10 April 06 Gramineae
Phenacoccus hordei
(Lindeman)
Magnesia, Pelion 25 April 06
Thymus vulgaris
Planococcus citri
(Risso)
Korinthos
Attika
2004
11 July 06
Vitis vinifera
Citrus sinensis
Planococcus ficus
(Signoret)
Korinthos
29 June 06
Vitis vinifera
Planococcus vovae
(Nasonov)
Kalamata
Athens
6 June 06
2 June 06
Juniperus
sp
.
Cypressus sempervirens
Pseudococcus longispinus
(Targioni Tozzetti)
Athens, Elliniko 22 July 06
Cycas
sp.
Puto tauricus
(Leonardi)
Athens, N. Ionia 27 April 06 Gramineae
