Newly available Pherobank products: pheromone lure for Pseudococcus longispinus

Pseudococcus longispinus

English: long-tailed mealybug
Dutch: langstaartwolluis

Pseudococcus longispinus, is a species of mealybug in the family Pseudococcidae. This small off-white insect gets its common name from the two long, waxy filaments protruding from the last abdominal segment of adult females. This characteristic helps distinguish it from other mealybugs that may feed on the same host plants, although these long filaments sometimes break off. P. longispinus is a widely distributed pest that feeds on many economically important crops, particularly tropical fruits and ornamentals.

The female produced pheromone has been identified by the group of Jocelyn Millar in 2009 (Org. Lett. 11:2683-2685 (2009)) as the irregular monoterpene 2-(1,5,5-trimethylcyclopent-2-en-1-yl)ethyl acetate (Figure 1). This pheromone formulated in ready-for-use lures is now available from Pherobank.