Powell, E.C., & Hauxwell, C. 2026 Heliococcus summervillei Brookes, an invasive pest of pasture and turf grass established and spreading in Texas, USA. Pest Alert (Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Division of Plant Industry) FDACS-P-02267
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Notes: The pasture mealybug, Heliococcus summervillei, was reported in Puerto Rico in 2019, marking a new Western Hemisphere record, Barbados in 2020, and in Mexico in July 2025. In October 2025, H. summervillei was first reported in the continental United States causing pasture dieback in Texas, though researchers suspect it may have been arrived before 2022. Now known in at least 22 counties in Texas, the potential for this pest to establish in Florida is high. To date, H. summervillei has not been found, or intercepted, in Florida. This pest poses a potential risk to Florida’s pasture grass, turf grass and sugarcane industries. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.22937.48489
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