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In recent years, populations of the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae), have increased in rural citrus orchards and urban backyard gardens. In order to fi nd biological control options for D. citri, a search for natural enemies was conducted in the department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia. The collections were carried out in citrus orchards in rural areas and house gardens and street trees in urban areas.
Natural enemies were collected from D. citri found on Citrus spp. and Murraya paniculata (L.) Jack (Rutaceae). A total of 16 species of natural enemies of D. citri distributed in six families in fi ve orders are reported from Colombia.
Herein we provide an updated list of 95 species of arthropod (arachnids and insects) natural enemies of D. citri distributed in nine orders and 23 families recorded worldwide.
The white coconut scale, Parlagena bennetti Williams, 1969 (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) is reported for the fi rst time on New Zealand fl ax, Phormium tenax J.R. Forst. & G. Forst. (Xanthorrhoeaceae), coconut, Cocos nucifera L., Manila palm, Veitchia merrillii (Becc.) H.E. Moore, oil palm, Elaeis guineensis Jacq. and an oil palm hybrid OxG: E. oleifera x E. guineensis (Arecaceae) in continental Colombia, and on coconut from Venezuela. Previously, P. bennetti was known only on the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and San Andres, causing serious damage to coconut, its only known host until now. A brief characterization of P. bennetti and an updated list of 23 species of scale insects of the family Diaspididae reported worldwide on Elaeis spp. is provided.
At Topes de Collantes Natural Park, Alturas de Trinidad, in the mountains of Guamuhaya province of Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, 30 species of scale insects belonging to 21 genera, four families and an endemic species were identifi ed. Specimens were deposited at the insect zoological collection of the Ecology and Systematics Institute (CZACC), Cuba. A literature review was carried out and the world data base on scale insects, ScaleNet was consulted. A cartographic map indicating the collecting sites at the scale of 1: 250,000 was created using MapInfo Professional Version 4.5 program. Twelve species are recorded for the fi rst time for the mountains of Guamuhaya and further 10 species are recorded for other locations. 82% of the species were polyphagous, 11% were oligophagous and 7% were monophagous. 57% were introduced species, 43% were native and 79% are cosmopolitan or widely distributed species. 30 species and 21 families of host plants were identifi ed, of which 23 plant species were new host plant records for 19 scale insect species, and 11 botanical families are for the fi rst time recorded as hosts for 10 scale insect species. There were signifi cant differences in the distribution of scale insects and their host plant species, botanical families and vegetation type.
The Colombian fluted scale (CFS), Crypticerya multicicatrices Kondo & Unruh (Hemiptera: Monophlebidae) is a polyphagous scale insect which affects about 100 species of plants. Between 2010–2013, the species was reported as an invasive pest on the islands of San Andres and Old Providence, Colombian territory in the Caribbean sea.
Currently, populations of the CFS also have increased in the city of Cali, Valle del Cauca State, mainland Colombia, affecting different host plants, especially leguminous trees such as Caesalpinia peltophoroides Benth., Pithecellobium dulce (Roxb.) Benth., P. saman (Jacq.) Benth. (Fabaceae) and mango, Mangifera indica L. (Anacardiaceae). With the aim of searching for natural enemies to control the CFS, field studies were conducted in the city of Cali between February 2013 and October 2014. As a result of this study, two species of lady beetles were found feeding on CFS, i.e., Anovia punica Gordon and Rodolia cardinalis (Mulsant) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). This is the first record of R. cardinalis preying on CFS.