Page 34 - עלון הנוטע ספטמבר אוקטובר 2021

)33 ׳מעמ ףוס( תיגולויב הרבדה
plants in Homestead, Florida, in June 2018, few individuals
of parasitic wasps (Encyrtidae) were collected: Acerophagus
Biological control of the papayaae and Anagyarus loecki, known as primary parasitoids
papaya mealybug in Israel on the papaya mealybug, and Cheiloneurus sp., probably
a hyperparasitoid on A. loecki. In September 2018 a small
rearing of A. papayae was established in Homestead and in
Zvi Mendel, Alex Protasov / Institute of Plant Protection, January 2019, approximately 100 mealybug mummies were
Agriculture Research Organization, Volcani Center, Rishon sent from Florida to Israel. The first field releases in papaya
LeZion, Israel net houses in the Western Galilee, under appropriate permits,
Rita E. Duncan, Daniel Carrillo / Dept. of Entomology and were conducted in June 2019. In August 2019 parasitism rate
Nematology, University of Florida, Tropical Research and Ed- in both papaya net house and the open fields reached 95-
ucation Center, Homestead, Florida, USA 99%. Less than a year after the first release of A. papayaae
complete control of the mealybug has been achieved. Obser-
The papaya mealybug, Paracoccus marginatus Williams & vations on this biological control system suggest that A. pa�
Granara de Willink was accidentally introduced into a net payaae successfully endures the high summer temperatures
house complex of papaya Carica papayaa in the Carmel coast of the net houses as well as the low outdoor temperatures
of Israel, probably in 2014 and was discovered a year lat- during the winter of the Coastal plain of Israel.
er. This was the first record of occurrence of the mealybug
in the West Palearctic region. Until early 2019, well estab-
lished mealybug populations were discovered in papaya net-
ted plantations and outdoor vegetation in the Carmel coast,
Western Galilee, and the Southern coastal plain of Israel.
As expected, this polyphagous mealybug infested various
plant species, whereas extremely high populations occurred
mainly on papaya, Hibiscus rosa�sinensis and its other Hi�
biscus spp., Jatropha spp. Morus alba, Plumeria rubra and
Sapium sebiferum. Avocado trees infested by the mealybug
were observed in the Carmel coast and Western Galilee. The
papaya mealybug has been fortuitously attacked by various
species of predators, mainly ladybirds such as Cryaptolaemus
montrouzieri, Scyamnus spp. and Hyapraspis spp. (Coleoptera:
Coccinellidae), as well as lacewings such as Chryasoperla car�
nea and Syampherobius sanctus (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae
and Hemerobiidae, respectively). However, these predators
were observed only in outdoor locations and on plant species
other than papaya. Seeding releases of C. montrouzieri from
mass production on the citrus mealybug, and those collected
from wild conspecific populations that developed on prickly
pear infested by the cochineal Dactyalopius opuntiae, failed to
establish on the papaya mealybug colonies on papaya plants.
From small colonies of papaya mealybug detected on papaya

2021 רבוטקוא-רבמטפס ,ה”ע הנש ’עטונה ןולע‘ 34 ‘Alon Hanotea’ vol. 75, September-October 2021