Michaud, J. P.Pluke, Richard W. H.Escribano, AnaStansly, Philip A.2008-05-292008-05-292008-05-29http://hdl.handle.net/2097/831Citation: Pluke, Richard W. H., Ana Escribano, J. P. Michaud, and Philip A. Stansly. 2005. “POTENTIAL IMPACT OF LADY BEETLES ON DIAPHORINA CITRI (HOMOPTERA: PSYLLIDAE) IN PUERTO RICO.” Florida Entomologist 88 (2): 123–28. https://doi.org/10.1653/0015-4040(2005)088[0123:PIOLBO]2.0.CO;2.The first detections of Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, in North America occurred almost simultaneously in Florida and in the Caribbean (Guadeloupe). Damaging populations on citrus have been reported in Florida but not in Puerto Rico where the psyllid was first detected in 2001, having probably arrived with its parasitoid, Tamarixia radiate Waterston. In an effort to identify additional sources of mortality, the relative abundance of coccinellid species was estimated on 180 citrus trees from early April to early July 2003. The most abundant species were Coelophora inaequalis F. (38.8%) and Cycloneda sanguinea limbifer L. (31.3%), and the least abundant were Cladis nitidula F. (5.9%), Coleomegilla innonata Mulsant (4.8%), Chilocorus cacti L. (2.1%), Scymnus sp. (5.9%), Hippodamia convergens Guerin (2.4%), and Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant (8.8%). These eight species were collected from citrus production areas in Puerto Rico for a laboratory study of feeding behavior. All eight consumed D. citri nymphs, with C. innonata consuming psyllids at a greater rate than C. cacti or Scymnus sp. Choice tests showed that C. inaequalis and C. s. limbifer preferred brown citrus aphid (BCA) Toxoptera citricida to D. citri as prey, whereas C. nitidula and C. cacti (both Chilochorini) preferred D. citri . Our results suggest that coccinellid species could play an important role as predators of the psyllid in Puerto Rico and contribute to its natural control.© 2005 The authors. Copyright for any article published in Florida Entomologist is held by the author(s) of the article. Florida Entomologist follows terms of the Creative Commons, Attribution Non-Commercial License (cc by-nc). By submitting and publishing articles in Florida Entomologist, authors grant the FOJ and Florida Entomologist's host institutions permission to make the article available through Internet posting and electronic dissemination, and to otherwise archive the information contained both electronically and in a hard printed version. When used, information and images obtained from articles must be referenced and cited appropriately. Articles may be reproduced for personal, educational, or archival purposes, or any non-commercial use. Permission should be sought from the author(s) for multiple, non-commercial reproduction. Written permission from the author(s) is required for any commercial reproduction.https://journals.flvc.org/flaent/about/submissionshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/Asian citrus psyllidCoccinellidaePredatorRelative abundanceFeeding behaviorNatural controlText