New Orchid Mealybug

And another new pest insect... Orchid Mealybug, Pseudococcus dendrobiorum Williams (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) was collected on March 27, 2009 off of an Phalaenopsis orchid in Florida and was identified on April 2, 2009. This is new to this hemosphere and to the continental US.

DESCRIPTION: (from the Florida DPI Website) Adults and immatures of this mealybug are grayish-pink in color. Wax filaments are present around the entire body, with the two or three pairs of filaments at the tip of the abdomen being slightly longer than the rest. A patch of white waxy secretion is often present on the roots surrounding the mealybug. See images here

HOSTS: restricted to the following members of the Orchidaceae: Ascoglossum sp., Cymbidium sp., Dendrobium sp., Phalaenopsis sp., Pholidota sp. and Promatocalpum species.