Annals of the Entomological Society of America (2014) 107, 842-847

Xavier Martini, Angelique Hoyte and Lukasz L. Stelinski (2014)
Abdominal color of the Asian citrus psyllid (Hemiptera: Liviidae) is associated with flight capabilities
Annals of the Entomological Society of America 107 (4), 842-847
Abstract: We examined the propensity for flight initiation and flight capability of the Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, Hemiptera: Liviidae) with a flight mill. We measured continuous flight by D. citri for up to 3 h, which equated to a distance of ≈2.4 km. We compared the flight capability of D. citri depending on their sex and morphotype (color of abdomen). Two general morphotypes exist within this species: green-blue and gray-brown. We observed that ≈32% of psyllids from the green-blue morphotype tested exhibited long durations of flight (>60 s); whereas <5% of psyllids from the gray-brown morphotype performed such long duration flights. There was no significant difference in flight performance between the two sexes within both the gray-brown and green-blue morphotypes. Furthermore, psyllids from the gray-brown morphotype were characterized by smaller pronotums and shorter wings than psyllids from the green-blue morphotype. In addition, males, in general, were characterized by smaller pronotums and shorter wings than females. However, neither pronotum nor wing size were associated with flight capability of D. citri. Our results may help explain dispersal behavior of D. citri with respect to practical management on an area-wide scale.
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Database assignments for author(s): Xavier Martini, Lukasz Stelinski

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Diaphorina citri