First Record of the Striped Mealybug, Ferrisia virgata and the Wax Scale Ceroplastes sp. on Coffee Plants in Saudi Arabia

Alhudaib, K.A., W. Elmenofy and A.S. Ghazwani. 2024. First Record of the Striped Mealybug, Ferrisia virgata and the Wax Scale Ceroplastes sp. on Coffee Plants in Saudi Arabia. Arab Journal of Plant Protection, 42(4): 456-460. https://doi.org/10.22268/AJPP-001270 Coffee is one of the most important and promising agricultural commodities in Saudi Arabia and all over the world. This is the first report of the occurrence of Ferrisia virgata and Ceroplastes sp. associated with coffee in urban landscapes in Jazan region, Saudi Arabia during the 2022 fall season. Both insects were identified according to the morphological characteristics and amplification of 800 bp amplicon of 28s rRNA of the mealybug and the wax scale. The phylogenetic analysis of the amplified 28s sequences with sequences already available in GenBank confirmed the occurrence of such pests in Saudi Arabia on coffee cultivars, and it represents a potential threat to coffee production in Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries. Thus, quick management action is highly needed to prevent the expected spread of these insect pests. Keywords: Ferrisia virgata, Ceroplastes sp., mealybug, wax scale, phylogenetic analysis.