Newly available Pherobank product, pheromone lure for Pseudococcus comstocki

Pseudococcus comstock

English: Comstock mealybug
French: Cochenille de Comstock

Pseudococcus comstocki (Kuwana) is a polyphagous mealybug native to Asia. It is a pest of ornamentals and fruit trees (apple, pear and peach) in America and Eastern Europe where this species has been incidentally introduced. It was first recorded in Western Europe (Italy and France) in 2004. P. comstocki in Europe develops three generations per year and overwinters in the egg stage. Overwintered eggs hatch from April onward and crawlers infest leaves and apple and pear flowers. Most of adult females move from leaves to old branches and the trunk to lay eggs. In infested orchards females are often concealed in the fruit calyx (on pears and apples) or at the fruit stem cavity (on peaches) and after fruit picking are transported far away by fruit trading. Indirect damage, i.e. honeydew excretion and development of sooty mould is remarkable, leading to early defoliation and fruit quality deterioration.

For more information about this insect please see:

https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/45084
https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/PSECCO

The female pheromone of Pseudococcus comstocki has been identified in 1980 by the group of Negishi (https://doi.org/10.1303/aez.15.328) as 2,6-Dimethyl-1,5-heptadien-3-yl acetate (Figure 1).