First Report of the Papaya Mealybug,Paracoccus marginatus(Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), in China and Genetic Record for Its Recent Invasion in Asia and Africa

The papaya mealybug, Paracoccus marginatus Williams and Granara de Willink (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), is a polyphagous pest that damages many tropical crops. It is a native of Central America and spread to the Caribbean region and South America in the 1990s; since then it has accidentally been introduced to some islands in the Pacific region and some countries in Africa and Asia. We recorded its presence in China for the first time in 2013 from Guangdong Province and Yunnan Province in southern and southwestern China, respectively. Our genetic analysis revealed that only 1 haplotype of P. marginatus has been recorded in all of Asia, including China, reflecting the very recent invasion of P. marginatus in Asia. This study also includes a summary of the global geographical distribution of P. marginatus.