Host Plants Distribution and Overwintering of Cotton Mealybug (Phenacoccus Solenopsis; Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae)

Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Pseudococcidae) has been noted as a sap sucking pest on cultivated cotton Gosspium hirsutum L. in Pakistan from 2005. Since 2005, this New World species has emerged as serious pest of cotton and other crops and weeds in Pakistan and neighbouring countries. The species is polyphagous and invasive, and can attack many other economic crops. The study found the host plant range and the over wintering of the pest in agroecological conditions Pakistan during surveys from 2005 to 2009. This information can be helpful in management of this pest. © 2010 Friends Science Publishers