Bactericera

Puton, 1876

psyllid bugs, jumping plant lice

Bactericera is a of ( ) established by Auguste Puton in 1876. The genus is predominantly distributed in the Palaearctic and Nearctic regions, with 24 recognized in North America north of Mexico. Members are small phloem-feeding commonly known as "." The genus includes economically significant agricultural pests, most notably Bactericera cockerelli (potato/tomato psyllid), which transmits the bacterial 'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum' causing zebra chip in potatoes.

Distribution

Primarily Palaearctic and Nearctic regions. In North America, 24 are recorded north of Mexico, with documented occurrences in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and other western states. The has been to New Zealand.

Human Relevance

The contains significant agricultural pests. Bactericera cockerelli causes major to potato, tomato, pepper, eggplant, and through feeding damage and transmission of 'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum', which causes zebra chip in potatoes. This disease can result in complete crop loss in affected fields and has caused $22.5 million in losses in New Zealand. B. cockerelli is listed as a in the EPPO region and has been detected in southern California, where it now occurs annually and has become a chronic problem.

Similar Taxa

  • CacopsyllaBoth are in the superfamily , but Cacopsylla belongs to Psyllidae rather than . Cacopsylla such as C. pyricola () are also significant agricultural pests that transmit , making them ecologically similar to Bactericera cockerelli.
  • Diaphorina () shares similar pest status and -vectoring with B. cockerelli, but belongs to . Both are agricultural pests monitored using similar techniques including content analysis to track landscape movements.

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Sources and further reading