Three new and important insect pests recorded for the first time in Colombian plantations

Abstract

Subsequent to 1950, commercially propagated and non-native trees, including Pinus, Eucalyptus and Cupressus species in Colombian plantations, have been damaged by several native defoliating insects, residing mainly in the Lepidoptera (Geometridae), Phasmatodea (Heteronemiidae) and the Hymenoptera (Formicidae). We report on the relatively recent appearance of three important and damaging new insect pests of plantation-grown Pinus and Eucalyptus spp. in Colombia, two of which are not native to this country. These include Monalonion velezangeli (Hemiptera: Miridae), Glycaspis brimblecombei (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) and Pineus boerneri (Hemiptera: Adelgidae). This report provides information on the basic biology of these new pests, their hosts, areas of occurrence, likely origin and prospects for their management in the future.