Gerson, U. 1977 La caspilla Parlatoria pergandei Comstock y sus enemigos naturales en Israel. [The scale insect Parlatoria pergandei Comstock and its natural enemies in Israel.]. Boletín del Servicio de Defensa Contra Plagas Inspección Fitopatología 3: 21-53.
Notes: [Seminar on biological control of scale-insects and aleurodids on citrus.: Seminario de lucha biologica contra cochinillas y aleurodidos de los citricos.] Parlatoria pergandii Comst. and P. cinerea Hadden both occur on citrus in Israel and characters are given by which they can be differentiated and distinguished from P. theae Ckll., which also occurs on citrus in the eastern Mediterranean. In Israel, P. pergandii is more widely distributed than P. cinerea and, where the two species occur together, P. pergandii is dominant in summer and P. cinerea in winter. Lemon is the species most suceptible and grapefruit the species least susceptible to attack by P. pergandii. The population dynamics of P. pergandii and its phenology in Israel are described and discussed, together with its development in the laboratory at constant temperatures of 24 and 28 deg C. On the basis of these observations, it appears that the spread of the scale insect in Israel is limited by low relative humidities and high temperatures. A list is provided of the ten species of insects and mites that attack P. pergandii in Israel and the most important, which include coccinellids,are briefly discussed. Aphytis hispanicus (Merc.) and Encarsia inquirenda (Silv.) (Prospaltella inquirenda) are important parasites of Parlatoria pergandii and also parasitise P. cinerea and P. oleae (Colv.); their temperature and RH requirements are discussed. The recent increase in the importance of P. pergandii as a citrus pest in Israel and the attention given to it is attributed to: the maturing of citrus groves (P. pergandii attacks citrus trees from the time they are 10-12 years old); the use of broad-spectrum insecticides that have adversely affected populations of beneficial insects; and the increase in the conspicuousness of the damage caused by this scale insect following the successful control of California red scale [Aonidiella aurantii (Mask.)] that has made the growers more aware of the pest.