Sample/Specimen Submissions
January
| Samples Submitted |
490 |
| Specimens Identified |
27,875 |
February
| Samples Submitted |
547 |
| Specimens Identified |
28,393 |
Year to Date
| Samples Submitted |
1,037 |
| Specimens Identified |
56,268 |
Colpoptera sp. (an issid planthopper)
Photograph courtesy of Susan E. Halbert, DPI
Nipaecoccus viridis (Lebbeck mealybug)
Photograph courtesy of Lyle J. Buss, University of Florida
Entomology Section
Compiled by Susan E. Halbert, Ph.D.
This section provides the division's plant protection specialists and other customers with accurate identifications of arthropods. The entomology section also builds and maintains the arthropod reference and research collection (the Florida State Collection of Arthropods - with over 9 million specimens), and investigates the biology, biological control and taxonomy of arthropods.
Colpoptera sp., an issid planthopper, a new Continental USA record for the genus, was detected in Florida for the first time on January 4, 2010, in a Multi-Lure trap hung in a Blighia sapida (akee). The biology of these bugs is unknown, but no species in this genus is known to be a pest. The Florida specimen more closely resembles Mexican species than Caribbean ones, but it might be an undescribed species. (Miami-Dade County; E-2010-185; Gloria Gonzalez; 4 January 2010.) (Dr. Susan E. Halbert, Dr. Stephen W. Wilson, University of Central Missouri, and Dr. Lois O’Brien, Visiting Scholar, University of Arizona.)
Nipaecoccus viridis, the Lebbeck mealybug, a new Western Hemisphere record, was collected on dodder (Cuscuta exaltata) in November 2009 by CAPS surveyors working in the Rosemary Scrub Natural Area in Palm Beach County. The mealybug was subsequently found on other species in the area. This species has been intercepted at United States ports of entry on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, but its establishment in a natural area away from a port is currently unexplained. This species is widely polyphagous in regions where it has been introduced, and it has been especially destructive on mango, citrus and cotton. Two species of Anagyrus wasps (Encyrtidae) are effective biocontrol agents. See the DPI Pest Alert. (Palm Beach County; Andrew I. Derksen, CAPS/DPI, and Karolynne M. Griffiths, CAPS/USDA; E-2009-8598; 13 November 2009.) (Dr. Ian C. Stocks.)
Entomology Specimen Report
Following are tables with entries for records of new hosts or new geographical areas for samples identified in the current volume's time period as well as samples of special interest. An abbreviated table, with all the new records, but less detail about them, is presented in the body of this web page and another version with more complete data is downloadable as a PDF or an Excel spreadsheet.
The tables are organized alphabetically by plant host, if the specimen has a plant host. Some arthropod specimens are not collected on plants and are not necessarily plant pests. In the table below, those entries have no plant information included and are organized by arthropod name.
Download full spreadsheet in PDF format
Download full spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel format
