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Scouting Citrus for Pests - Page 24
Homoptera are prodigious sap feeders and all but the armored scales secret honeydew as a means of eliminating excess water and sugars thereby concentrating the more dilute amino acids and other nutrients required for growth and development. Honeydew causes the formation of black sooty mold on leaves and fruit. Sooty mold diminishes the ability of leaves to photosynthesize and also may lower fruit grade if not removed. Sooty mold can be loosed by oil sprays and usually removed in the packing house. The mouthparts specialized for sucking sap and are equipped with piercing stylets. Most feeding stages (nymphs) are immobile or move very little except for the first nymphal stage or crawler, which after leaving the egg and mother wonders on the plant surface
in search of a good place to feed. Adult females may be winged and motile (aphids, whiteflies) or immobile (scales). Males are winged. Transition stages between nymph and adult whitefly and mealybug are often (incorrectly) referred to as pupae.
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