An official website of the United States government.
Scientific Name:
Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green, 1908) (ITIS; name is valid but unverified)
Common Name:
Pink hibiscus mealybug, pink mealybug, hirsutus mealybug
Native To:
Asia (Roltsch et al. 2006)
Date of U.S. Introduction:
1984 in Hawaii; 1999 in California (Roltsch et al. 2006); 2002 in Florida (Hoy et al. 2003)
Means of Introduction:
Unknown; possibly with imported cargo or passenger luggage (Sagarra and Peterkin 1999)
Impact:
Destroys crops and ornamental plants (Hoy et al. 2003)
Distribution / Maps / Survey Status
USDA. FS. Northern Research Station.
Select the non-indigenous forest pest to view maps depicting state and county distribution. Produced by: USDA, FS, Forest Health Protection, and its partners.
USDA. APHIS. Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey. National Agricultural Pest Information System.
Images
University of Georgia. Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health.
Videos
Google. YouTube; Jamaica Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.
Selected Resources
The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source. Or, to display all related content view all resources for Pink Hibiscus Mealybug.
Partnership
European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization.
IUCN. Species Survival Commission. Invasive Species Specialist Group.
CABI. Plantwise Knowledge Bank.
Texas State University System. Texas Invasive Species Institute.
State and Local Government
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Division of Plant Industry.
See also: Plant Industry Pest Alerts for more pests
Academic
University of Florida. IFAS Extension. Miami-Dade County.
See also: Ornamental Entomology for more pests
University of Florida. Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension.
Electronic Data Information Source Publication #ENY029
Citations
- Hoy, M.A., A. Hamon, and R. Nguyen. 2003. Pink Hibiscus Mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutu. University of Florida, University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension. Publication #ENY029 (IN156).
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Maconellicoccus hirsutus. [Accessed Feb 22, 2015].
- Roltsch, W.J., D.E. Meyerdirk, R. Warkentin, E.R. Andress, and K. Carrera. 2006. Classical biological control of the pink hibiscus mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green), in southern California. Biological Control 37(2):155-166.
- Sagarra, L.A., and D.D. Peterkin. 1999. Invasion of the Caribbean by the hibiscus mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus Green [Homoptera : Pseudococcidae] Phytoprotection 80(2):103-113.