Avocado-pest
Guides
Aleuropleurocelus
Aleuropleurocelus is a genus of whiteflies (Aleyrodidae) in the suborder Sternorrhyncha. The genus includes species that are phytophagous pests of woody plants. One undescribed species close to A. acaudatus has been documented as a significant pest of native Mexican avocados (Persea americana) in southern Coahuila, where it is subject to substantial natural parasitism by aphelinid wasps.
Bruggmanniella
Bruggmanniella is a genus of gall midges (Cecidomyiidae: Asphondyliini) comprising approximately ten species that induce galls on various host plants. The genus is characterized by distinctive morphological features including three-segmented palpi, simple tarsal claws, and male gonostyli with teeth completely divided mesally. Species induce galls on stems, twigs, flower buds, ovaries, and fruits of diverse plant families including Lauraceae, Malpighiaceae, Annonaceae, Fabaceae, Celastraceae, Dilleniaceae, and Sapotaceae. Phylogenetic analysis confirms Bruggmanniella as a monophyletic Neotropical lineage, with Asian species reassigned to the genus Odontokeros.
Copturus
Copturus is a genus of true weevils (Curculionidae) comprising more than 190 described species. The genus was established by Schoenherr in 1825. At least one species, Copturus aguacatae, is a documented agricultural pest of avocado (Persea americana) in Mexico, where it is known as the avocado stem weevil or barrenador de ramas del aguacate. This species has been studied for its spatial distribution patterns in commercial plantations and is associated with multiple parasitoid species.
Dikraneurini
Dikraneurini is a diverse tribe of leafhoppers in the subfamily Typhlocybinae, containing 74 genera and 497 valid species worldwide. Members are small, slender, phloem-feeding insects typically 3.0–3.5 mm in length, often with white to yellowish coloration. The tribe is economically significant as it includes potential agricultural pests and belongs to the leafhopper family most associated with plant pathogen transmission. Dikrella mella, a member of this tribe, has been documented as a potential pest of avocado in Mexico.
Eupelmus cushmani
Eupelmus cushmani (Crawford, 1908) is a chalcidoid wasp in the family Eupelmidae, classified within the subgenus Eupelmus (Eupelmus). It is known as a parasitoid of the avocado branch borer Copturus aguacatae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), with documented occurrences in Mexico, Brazil, and Hawaii. The species was previously described under the synonym Eupelmus amicus Girault.
Euwallacea perbrevis
tea shot-hole borer
Euwallacea perbrevis, the tea shot-hole borer, is an invasive ambrosia beetle native to South and Southeast Asia through Australia. It is part of the Euwallacea fornicatus cryptic species complex, distinguished from its three sibling species (E. fornicatus, E. fornicatior, and E. kuroshio) primarily through molecular genetics rather than morphology. The beetle cultivates symbiotic fungi in galleries bored into host trees and vectors fungal pathogens causing Fusarium branch dieback. It has been introduced to the United States (Florida, Hawaii), Costa Rica, and Panama, where it poses significant economic threats to avocado production and urban trees.
Grapholitini
Grapholitine moths, Leafroller moth tribe
Grapholitini is a tribe of tortricid moths comprising approximately 1200 described species. The tribe contains numerous economically significant agricultural pests that damage fruits and seeds. Molecular phylogenetic analyses have resolved the tribe into two major lineages—a Dichrorampha clade and a Cydia clade—with the genus Grapholita found to be polyphyletic. The tribe likely originated in the Nearctic, Afrotropical and Neotropical regions during the middle Eocene (ca. 44.3 Ma).
Heilipus
pine weevils
Heilipus is a genus of New World weevils in the family Curculionidae, containing over 280 described species distributed from the southern United States to northern Argentina. The genus is characterized by two primary feeding guilds: seed borers that develop within fruits of Lauraceae, and trunk borers that tunnel into stems of host trees. Several species are significant agricultural pests, particularly of avocado (Persea americana) and other commercial crops. The Brazilian Atlantic Forest has been proposed as a possible center of origin for the genus based on high diversity of both weevils and host plants.
Heilipus squamosus
Avocado Weevil, Avocado Tree Girdler
Heilipus squamosus is a large weevil native to the southeastern United States and the sole species of its genus occurring in North America. It gained notoriety as the "avocado tree girdler," causing significant economic damage to Florida avocado groves from the late 1930s through the 1950s, with larval feeding resulting in 8-10% tree mortality. The species was historically considered rare outside avocado-producing regions, but 21st-century citizen science observations have expanded its known range from eight to fifteen states. Long confused with the French Guiana species H. apiatus due to an erroneous distribution in the original 1807 description, this nomenclatural issue was clarified in 2022.
Heliothrips
Heliothrips is a genus of thrips in the family Thripidae comprising approximately 18 described species. The genus includes economically significant pests, most notably Heliothrips haemorrhoidalis (greenhouse thrips), which infests a wide range of cultivated plants. Members of this genus are characterized by their fringed wings and rasping-sucking mouthparts. Several species have been documented as polyphagous herbivores with broad host ranges spanning multiple plant families.
thripsThripidaepestagriculturehorticulturegreenhouse-thripspolyphagousHeliothrips-haemorrhoidalisbiological-control-targetquarantine-pestkiwifruit-peststrawberry-pestavocado-pestornamental-pestworldwide-distributionfringed-wingsThysanopteraPanchaetothripinaeHaliday-183618-speciesgeneralist-herbivorerasping-sucking-mouthpartsHylobiini
Hylobiini is a tribe of weevils within the subfamily Molytinae (Curculionidae). The tribe includes approximately 89 species in the genus Heilipus, which are distributed across the Americas. Members of this tribe are primarily associated with the plant family Lauraceae, with some species functioning as seed predators in fruits and others as bark-boring pests. The tribe contains three subtribes: Epistrophina, Hylobiina, and Incertae sedis.
Idona
Idona is a genus of leafhoppers in the family Cicadellidae, subfamily Typhlocybinae, and tribe Dikraneurini. The genus was established by DeLong in 1931. Species within this genus are associated with agricultural crops, including avocado, where at least one species (Idona minuenda) has been identified as a pest. The genus is part of the diverse leafhopper fauna of the Americas and has been documented in taxonomic studies focusing on Typhlocybinae systematics.
Idona minuenda
Idona minuenda is a species of leafhopper in the family Cicadellidae, subfamily Typhlocybinae. It was first described by Ball in 1921. The species is known to occur in North America and has been recorded as a pest of avocado in Mexico. It is associated with the mymarid wasp Anagrus sp. near takeyanus, which acts as an egg parasitoid.
Paraleyrodes
nesting whiteflies, Bondar's nesting whitefly (for P. bondari), fig whitefly (for P. minei)
Paraleyrodes is a genus of whiteflies in the subfamily Aleurodicinae, commonly known as nesting whiteflies due to the woolly wax nests constructed by females around egg masses. The genus includes economically significant invasive species such as P. bondari (Bondar's nesting whitefly) and P. minei, which are pests of coconut, citrus, fig, avocado, and ornamental plants. Species in this genus are characterized by distinctive waxy secretions, sessile nymphal stages, and polyphagous feeding habits on woody plants.
whiteflyinvasive-pestagricultural-pestornamental-pestAleurodicinaecoconut-pestcitrus-pestfig-pestavocado-pestwoolly-wax-nestspolyphagousphloem-feederhoneydew-producersooty-moldFlorida-pestCalifornia-pestIndia-pestBangladesh-pestCroatia-pestGreece-pestnatural-enemiesbiological-controlintegrated-pest-managementProtopulvinaria pyriformis
Pyriform Scale
Protopulvinaria pyriformis, commonly known as the pyriform scale, is a soft scale insect in the family Coccidae. It is a significant agricultural pest primarily associated with avocado, though it has been recorded on citrus and other hosts. The species exhibits parthenogenetic reproduction in most populations and possesses the unusual ability for a soft scale to move around as an adult female. It is known from multiple continents including Australia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas.
Pseudacysta
avocado lace bug
Pseudacysta is a monotypic genus of lace bugs (family Tingidae) containing a single described species, P. perseae. The genus is notable for its specialized association with avocado as a host plant. The sole species is a significant agricultural pest causing foliar damage to avocado crops and has undergone substantial range expansion across the Americas.
Pseudophanerotoma
A genus of solitary endoparasitoid wasps in the family Braconidae, subfamily Cheloninae. Species are known to parasitize tortricid moths, including agricultural pests. The genus occurs from southern Texas through Mexico and Central America to South America (Brazil, Peru, French Guiana). At least four species have been described: P. huichol (Mexico), P. austini (Guatemala), P. paranaensis (Brazil, French Guiana), and P. thapsina (Texas, French Guiana).
Xyleborus bispinatus
Xyleborus bispinatus is a tropical ambrosia beetle in the tribe Xyleborini. Native to the Americas, it has established populations in Florida and been introduced to the Iberian Peninsula. The beetle maintains nutritional mutualisms with ambrosia fungi and has demonstrated unusual flexibility in acquiring symbionts from invasive beetle species, including plant pathogens. It is a potential vector for laurel wilt disease and has been associated with avocado decline in multiple regions.