JBiopest 7(1):47-51(2014) Management of pink hibiscus mealybug JBiopest 5(1): 1-6 © 438 Association of ants with pink hibiscus mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green) and its influence on predatory fauna in mulberry ecosystem

Abstract

ABSTRACT The pink hibiscus mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) is a major sucking pest of mulberry, infests tender shoot and causes bunchy top which leads to retarded growth of the plants. The leaves in the infested shoots become unfit for young age silkworm rearing. Infestation of M. hirsutus is often associated with attendant ants and they help spreading of the pest besides protecting from natural enemies. Thus, a study on the association of ants with M. hirsutus and their influence on the predatory fauna in mulberry gardens was carried out in southern Tamil Nadu. Four ant species viz. Monomorium indicum, Solenopsis geminata, Tapinoma sessile and Camponotus compressus were found to have association with the pink mealy bug in mulberry garden. Among the species, M. indicum was found predominant accounting for an average of 37.78 numbers per mealybug infested shoot whereas the rest of the species S. geminata (3.3), T. sessile (1.67) and C. compressus (0.56) were exhibited least association. The average mealy bug population was comparatively higher in ant attended colonies (61.22) than unattended ones (49.22). The population of predatory fauna decreased significantly (0.96) on ants association compared to the mealy bug infested shoots free from the ants (4.75) which indicates the deterring potentiality of the attendant ants. Destruction of the predominant M. indicum colonies in mulberry ecosystem could help increase the field activities of predatory fauna against M. hirsutus