Puto (bug) explained

Puto is a genus of insects described as giant mealybugs, although it is the only extant genus in different family Putoidae; it was originally described by Victor Antoine Signoret in 1875.^[1]

Hosts

Giant mealybugs occur on a wide range of hosts, each species having its own specific host. Host plants commonly include conifers, grasses and various woody shrubs. All parts of the plant can be infested.

Description

The adult female is oval and up to five millimetres long and concealed by tufts of powdery white wax. If the wax is removed, two longitudinal black stripes can be seen on the upper surface of the body and the wax glands are large and conspicuous. The legs and antennae are well developed and a dark colour.^[2]

Life cycle

There are generally four instars in the female and five in the male. In many species there is a single generation each year and the first instar is the overwintering stage.^[2] Puto sandini however takes four years to complete its life cycle.^[3]

Species

The current scientific consensus appears to be based on the two-subgenus proposal by Gavrilov-Zimin & Danzig;^[4] the following species, recorded from the Americas, mainland Europe and SE Asia, are included in BioLib.cz (as separate genera):

Puto subgenus Ceroputo

Authority: Šulc, 1897^[5]

1. Puto (Ceroputo) graminis
2. Puto (Ceroputo) liquidambaris
3. Puto (Ceroputo) mimicus
4. Puto (Ceroputo) pilosellae ("hairy mealybug")
5. Puto (Ceroputo) vaccinii

Puto subgenus Puto

Authority: Signoret, 1875^[6] - list incomplete:

• Puto antennatus ("conifer mealybug")^[7]
• Puto acirculus
• Puto albicans
• Puto ambigua
• Puto ambiguus
• Puto antennatus
• Puto antioquensis
• Puto arctostaphyli
• Puto atriplicis
• Puto barberi
• Puto borealis
• Puto brunnitarsis
• Puto bryanthi
• Puto calcitectus
• Puto californicus
• Puto cupressi
• Puto decorosus
• Puto echinatus
• Puto euphorbiaefolius
• Puto israelensis
• Puto janetscheki
• Puto kosztarabi
• Puto lasiorum
• Puto laticribellum
• Puto mexicanus
• Puto marsicanus
• Puto mimicus
• Puto nulliporus
• Puto orientalis
• Puto pacificus
• Puto palinuri
• Puto pricei
• Puto profusus
• Puto sandini
• Puto simmondsiae
• Puto superbus
• Puto yuccae

External links

• Images at iNaturalist

Notes and References

1. Signoret VA (1875) "Essai sur les cochenilles ou gallinsectes (Homoptères - Coccides), 15e partie" Annales de la Société Entomologique de France (serie 5)
2. Web site: Family: Putoidae . . February 22, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101011004053/http://www.sel.barc.usda.gov/ScaleKeys/ScaleFamilies/key/Scale%20Families/Media/Html/ScaleFamilies/Families/Putoidae/Pmexicanus.html . October 11, 2010 . dead .
3. R. I. Washburn . 1965 . Description and bionomics of a new species of Puto from Utah (Homoptera: Coccoidea: Pseudococcidae) . . 58 . 3 . 293–297 . 10.1093/aesa/58.3.293 .
4. Gavrilov-Zimin IA, Danzig EM (2012) Taxonomic position of the genus Puto Signoret (Homoptera: Coccinea: Pseudococcidae) and separation of higher taxa in Coccinea. Zoosystematica Rossica 21(1): 97–111.
5. https://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id1999805/ BioLib.cz: Genus Ceroputo Šulc, 1897
6. https://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id101503/ BioLib.cz: genus Puto Signoret, 1875
7. Reyne, A.. 1954. A redescription of Puto antennatus Sign. (Homoptera: Coccidea); with notes on Ceroputo pilosellae Sulc and Macrocerococcus superbus Leon. Zoologische Mededelingen. 32. 24. 291 - 324. https://web.archive.org/web/20131231184858/http://www.repository.naturalis.nl/document/150222. 31 December 2013. live.