THE PARASITES OF PSEUDOCOCCUS COMSTOCKI KUW

Abstract

Pseudococcus comstocki Kuwana is classed among the injurious mealy-bugs. It attacks a wide range of host plants. So far it has become abundant in the United States only in certain states east of the Mississippi River. In Connecticut it has received the name catalpa mealybug, because of its injuriousness to that plant. It is recorded as attacking many food-producing plants, but so far it has not been rated as a serious pest of any commercial crop plants. P. comstocki has been recorded from California by G. F. Ferris, where it was taken on Monterey pines growing on the campus of Stanford University. Ferris also records this mealybug from a number of host plants, including citrus, collected in Japan by Dr. Kuwana. A lookout has been kept for the appearance of P. comstocki in southern California, as it is considered to be a potential pest of citrus.