INFESTATION OF CITRUS BLACK FLY, ALEUROCANTHUS WOGLUMI ASHBY, 1915 (HEMIPTERA: ALEYRODIDAE) IN AN AGROECOLOGICAL ORCHARD IN PARAIBA STATE

Abstract

Aleurocanthus woglumi is present in Paraiba state since 2009, causing a lot of damage to the citrus production in the State. There is a lack of knowledge about the bioecology of this Aleyrodidae member under the climatic conditions of Paraíba State. Thus, in order to know the population density of the pest and study the interference of climatic factors upon these insects, yellow sticky traps were installed evenly distributed in the orchard in the agroecological citrus property in Areia city, in Paraiba state. There were two distinct population peaks of the pest, one in September 2011 and another in April 2012. The lowest densities of the pest were recorded between October and December 2011, a period in which there was no new budding. The population monitoring of A. woglumi in Paraiba state has allowed knowing the time in which the insect occurs in the orchard and the variations in the number of individuals throughout time.