ABSTRACT
Five mealybug species belonging to Pseudococcidae and Monophlebidae families of Hemiptera order were
recorded as minor pests of cotton in India. These mealybug species were spherical mealybug Nipaecoccus
viridis (Newstead), striped mealybug Ferrisia virgata (Cockerell), Pink hibiscus mealybug
Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green), mango mealybug Rastrococcus iceryoides (Green) (Pseudococcidae)
and ber mealybug Perissopneumon tamarindus (Green) (Monophlebidae). N. viridis was found to infest
cotton from Nagpur, Wardha and Amaravati districts of Maharashtra. F. virgata was recorded from
Nagpur and Coimbatore while M. hirsutus from Coimbatore. R. iceryoides was documented from Nagpur
and Salem in association with other mealybugs such as Phenacoccus solenopsis, Paracoccus marginatus
and N. viridis while P. tamarindus was restricted to Sirsa of Haryana state. Among these species, N. viridis
was found to be next most widely distributed mealybug species after P. solenopsis and deserves close
monitoring