Abstract
Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Pseudococcidae) was first recorded on cultivated
cotton from Texas, USA in 1991. Since 2005, this New World species has emerged as serious pest of cotton in
Pakistan and India, and is now a serious threat to cotton in China and other cotton-growing countries worldwide.
The species is polyphagous and invasive, and can attack many other economic crops. So far, it has been
reported from 173 species in 54 plant families, and from 26 countries in different ecological zones. The study
found that host plant species and meteorological conditions had significant effects, whereas locality had no
significant effect on the fecundity of the mealybug.
