Pellizzari, G., Duso, C., Rainato, A., & Visigalli, T. 2008 Pseudococcus comstocki (Kuwana) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), a pest of peach in north-eastern Italy.. Proceedings of the XI International Symposium on Scale Insect Studies, Oeiras, Portugal, 24-27 September 2007. ISA Press Lisbon, Portugal 322 pp.

Notes: P. comstocki is a polyphagous species, native to Asia. It was first recorded in Italy in 2004 on mulberry trees (Morus nigra) in the district of Verona. P. comstocki is a notorious pest of ornamentals and fruit trees (apples, pears and peaches) in the countries where this species has been accidentally introduced (USA, Canada, and Argentina). The district of Verona is a very important centre of peach and nectarine cultivation in Italy, which is why the Regional Quarantine Service decided in 2006 to monitor this species and funded a research programme on its biology in north-eastern Italy. In summer 2006, other foci of this mealybug were discovered in the town of Treviso and near Lake Garda on several different species of ornamental. Leaf fall was observed on highly infested Prunus laurocerasus and on Viburnum hedges. Unfortunately, in early August 2007, heavy infestations were also recorded in nectarine and peach orchards near Verona. According to preliminary biological observations carried out on protected apple and mulberry trees, P. comstocki has three generations/year and overwinters at the egg stage. Egg hatching starts in the second half of April and crawlers infest leaves and flower buds. The adult females of the three generations were observed in June (I generation); from the end of July to the first half of August (2nd generation), and from mid September until October (31d generation). The species is strongly attended by ants. The mealybugs are usually transported by ants in the crown zone of the trunk where the ants build a soil nest all around them. Females of the 2'''' generation migrate to the trunk, branches and fruits to lay eggs in sheltered places. The adult females are often concealed in the fruit cavity or near the peduncle and, after picking, can easily be transported far away with fruit trade.