Dysmicoccus boninsis (Kuwana, 1909) Coccoidea

Dysmicoccus boninsis View in CoL

(gray sugarcane mealybug)

has a cosmopolitan distribution and has been found previously in Brazil in Bahia, Minas Gerais, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo states ( Silva et al. 1968). Its hosts include many plants in at least nine families, including a wide variety of grasses ( Poaceae ) and it is known as a pest of sugarcane ( Ben­Dov 2004b). In contrast to species such as P. viburni , taxonomically, D. boninsis is considered to be a distinctive species ( Williams & Granara de Willink 1992). The live appearance of adult females of D. boninsis ranges from purplish­brown to gray with white powdery wax covering the body and wax filaments usually limited to short terminal abdominal filaments ( Zimmerman 1948; Kawai 1980). Although the species was common on the sugarcane plants examined in this study, no significant damage to the plants was apparent and production was considered acceptable for home consumption.