The Harrisia cactus mealybug (HCM), Hypogeococcus pungens (Hemiptera: Pseucococcidae), is known to be an effective biological control agent for invasive columnar cacti in Australia and South Africa. In the Caribbean, Central and North America, HCM is an alien invasive species that is threatening native cactus. Despite their negative impacts on ecosystems where cacti are native, no publications have described the symptomatology associated with HCM infestation. This article describes the morphology of the galls produced by HCM on seven host cactus species occurring in Puerto Rico.
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1 December 2015
Symptomatology of Infestation by Hypogeococcus pungens: Contrasts between Host Species
Roberto Carrera-Martínez,
Laura Aponte-Díaz,
Jorge Ruiz-Arocho,
David A. Jenkins
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Haseltonia
Vol. 2015 • No. 21
December 2015
Vol. 2015 • No. 21
December 2015
biological invasion
Harrisia Cactus Mealybug
Hypogeococcus pungens
Pilosocereus royenii
Puerto Rico
symptomatology