Trabutina mannipara, or mana scale, is a species of mealybug found in the Middle East and southern Europe.[1][2] It is the most well-known of the five species in the genus Trabutina, of which it is the type species,[3] due to its association with the biblical story of manna.[4] T. mannipara feeds parasitically on tamarisk trees, and excretes a sweet substance which is sometimes collected for human consumption.[5] Obsolete terms for it include Coccus manniparus and Trabutina palestina.[a] This species can be found in the Sinai[7] and Iraq.[8]
| Trabutina mannipara | |
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| Species: | T. mannipara
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| Trabutina mannipara (Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1829)
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It was described in 1829 by Hemprich and Ehrenberg (as Coccus manniparus),[9] after investigation in the Sinai mountains.[10] Ehrenberg believed that the bite wounds in the tamarisk plant created as the insects fed on the plant caused a sweet sticky substance known locally as "manna", and which Ehrenberg associated with the biblical manna, to flow out of the plant.[5] In 1929, F. S. Bodenheimer found that the manna was in fact produced by the insects themselves,[5] and argued that the description of the sticky substance and its geographical region argued in favor of Ehrenberg's identification with the biblical manna.[11] The identification with biblical manna continues to appear in more recent literature.[12]
T. mannipara, like other mealybugs, is parasitic on plants, and in its excretions is a great deal of undigested material.[13] In the case of mannipara, these excretions are high in sugar.[13]
In the United States, where tamarisks are invasive species, T. mannipara has been tested for possible use in controlling tamarisks.[14]
Notes edit
References edit
- ^ CABI Invasive Species Compendium.
- ^ Yair Ben-Dov (1988). "Manna scale, Trabutina mannipara (Hemprich & Ehrenberg) (Homoptera: Coccoidea: Pseudococcidae)". Systematic Entomology. Volume 13, Issue 4.
- ^ D.J. Williams and P. J. Gullan (2010). "Family-group names proposed in the family Pseudococcidae (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccoidea)".Zootaxa.
- ^ Evelyna M. Danzig and Douglass R. Miller (1996). "A Systematic Revision of the Mealybug Genus Trabutina (Homoptera: Coccoidea: Pseudococcidae)." Israel Journal of Entomology, XXX. p. 7.
- ^ a b c R.A. Donkin (1 December 2013). Manna: An Historical Geography. Springer. pp. 78–79. ISBN 978-94-017-6117-8.
- ^ Joseph Seckbach; Zvy Dubinsky (11 October 2010). All Flesh Is Grass: Plant-Animal Interrelationships. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 111. ISBN 978-90-481-9316-5.
- ^ Jolivet (1 January 1992). Insects and Plants: Parallel Evolution & Adaptations, Second Edition. CRC Press. p. 119. ISBN 978-1-877743-10-8.
- ^ Masumeh Moghaddam (23 September 2013). An Annotated Checklist of the Scale Insects of Iran (Hemiptera, Sternorrhyncha, Coccoidea) with New Records and Distribution Data. PenSoft Publishers LTD. p. 74. ISBN 978-954-642-702-1.
- ^ Yair Ben-Dov (1988). "Manna scale, Trabutina mannipara (Hemprich & Ehrenberg) (Homoptera: Coccoidea: Pseudococcidae)". Systematic Entomology. Volume 13, Issue 4. p. 388, 389.
- ^ M. Bertholet (1862). "On the Manna of Sinai, and the Manna of Syria". The Pharmaceutical Journal and Transactions. Second Series, Volume 3. p. 274.
- ^ S. Mark Henry (17 September 2013). Symbiosis: Associations of Invertebrates, Birds, Ruminants, and Other Biota. Elsevier. p. 120. ISBN 978-1-4832-7592-5.
- ^ M. Mani; C. Shivaraju (24 February 2016). Mealybugs and their Management in Agricultural and Horticultural crops. Springer India. p. 138. ISBN 978-81-322-2677-2.
- ^ a b Vincent B. Wigglesworth (6 December 2012). The Principles of Insect Physiology. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 497. ISBN 978-94-009-5973-6.
- ^ Moshe Coll; Eric Wajnberg (25 July 2017). Environmental Pest Management: Challenges for Agronomists, Ecologists, Economists and Policymakers. Wiley. p. 116. ISBN 978-1-119-25556-7.
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