Seasonal Abundance of the Asian Citrus Psyllid, Diaphorina citri (Homoptera: Psyllidae) in Southern Florida

Authors

  • James H. Tsai
  • Jin-Jun Wang
  • Ying-Hong Liu

Abstract

Seasonal abundance of the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, was studied weekly in two orange jasmine [Murraya paniculata (L.) Jack] plots in southern Florida from October 1998 to October 1999. Psyllid populations occur throughout the season on orange jasmine in southern Florida. Population peaks were observed in October, November, and December in 1998, and May and August in 1999. Psyllid population levels were positively related to the availability of new shoot flushes which were in turn related to the weekly minimum temperature and rainfall. Natural enemies were not key factors in regulating populations during the study period. The populations of adult psyllids were also studied weekly on potted orange jasmine and grapefruit (Citrus paradisi Macfadyen) plants from June 1999 to July 2000. The population levels of psyllid on both host plants were not significantly different and general population trends on the two hosts were similar over time. Continuous shoot flushes produced by orange jasmine could play an important role in maintaining high populations of this insect when new shoot flushes were not available in the commercial citrus groves.

View this article in BioOne

Downloads

Published

2002-09-01

Issue

Vol. 85, No. 3 (September 2002)

Section

Literature Review Articles

License

Copyright for any article published in Florida Entomologist is held by the author(s) of the article. Florida Entomologist is an open access journal. Florida Entomologist follows terms of the Creative Commons, Attribution Non-Commercial License (cc by-nc). By submitting and publishing articles in Florida Entomologist, authors grant the FOJ and Florida Entomologist's host institutions permission to make the article available through Internet posting and electronic dissemination, and to otherwise archive the information contained both electronically and in a hard printed version. When used, information and images obtained from articles must be referenced and cited appropriately. Articles may be reproduced for personal, educational, or archival purposes, or any non-commercial use. Permission should be sought from the author(s) for multiple, non-commercial reproduction. Written permission from the author(s) is required for any commercial reproduction.