Monitoring movement of Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) between unmanaged and managed citrus groves with immunomarking

ABSTRACT Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae), is an economically important pest of citrus, causing direct damage to the host plants through feeding and indirect damage by vectoring the bacterial causal agents of huanglongbing (HLB) or citrus greening disease. Management of D. citri and citrus greening disease requires a better understanding of the movement patterns and dispersal capabilities of D. citri between managed and unmanaged citrus groves. Given the abundance of unmanaged or abandoned groves in the vicinity of managed ones in Florida, it is critically important to evaluate the role of unmanaged groves as a continuous source of D. citri infestation into managed groves. The present study was undertaken to determine the movement patterns of D. citri from unmanaged into managed groves. Movement of D. citri was quantified over the course of several months to determine whether a seasonal trend exists. Marking and tracking the movement of D. citri was performed using a recently developed immunomarking technique which utilizes crude food proteins (chicken egg albumin and bovine casein) to mark psyllids directly into the field. Our results indicate that abandoned citrus groves serves as a source of infection for managed groves and that D. citri are capable of moving several hundred meters within the course of 3-5 days. Finally, movement of D. citri occurs even when abundant food and oviposition site resources are present and is biased in the direction from unmanaged into managed citrus groves.