Hosts: Recorded on 38 genera of plants from 27 plant families and over 100 different species. Common on vegetables, ornamental, fruit and shade tree crops in Hawaii, including avocado, banana, bird-or-paradise, breadfruit, citrus, coconut, eggplant, kamani, Indian banyan, macadamia, mango, palm, paperbark, papaya, pepper, pikake, plumeria, poinsettia, rose, sea grape, ti, and tropical almond. Distribution: Native to Central American and the Caribbean region. First reported in Hawaii in 1978 and now present on all of the major islands. Damage: a) Direct – damage caused by piercing and sucking of sap from foliage. Majority of feeding done during the first three nymphal stages. Usually insufficient to kill plants. b) Indirect – damage due to accumulated honeydew and white, waxy flocculent material. The honeydew serves as a substrate for sooty mold, which blackens the leaf and decreases photosynthesis and plant vigor, and can cause disfigurement. The flocculent material is spread by the wind and can create an unsightly nuisance. c) Virus transmission – damage from virus transmission can be considerable. These viruses cause over 40... ...
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