Biology:Macugonalia moesta

Short description: Species of insect

Macugonalia moesta
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hemiptera
Suborder:	Auchenorrhyncha
Family:	Cicadellidae
Genus:	Macugonalia
Species:	M. moesta
Binomial name
Macugonalia moesta (Fabricius, 1803)

Macugonalia moesta is a species from the genus Macugonalia. The species was originally described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1803.

Description

Macugonalia moesta is a small blue insect that is 6,7 millimeters long. It has two spots on its back that look like a blue band in the middle and black on the sides. The head and the middle part of the body, the thorax, are black. On the thorax, there is a blue band that stops near the insect's compound eyes. On the head, there is a white band between the eyes that covers two small eyes called ocelli.

Hosts

Macugonalia moesta has been found on Wedelia trilobata, Ayapana pallustrus, Heliotropium indicum, Ocimum basilicum, Hyptis mutabilis and Aristolochia iquitensis.

Distribution

Macugonalia moesta has been documented in Brazil , French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, and Suriname. Recent observations obtained through Crowdsourcing seem to confirm this.

Ecology

Together with Macugonalia umbrosa, M. moesta has been observed as possible vectors for Xylella fastidiosa in citrus orchards in Brazil. X. fastidiosa is a xylem-inhabiting, vector-transmitted, Gram-negative, very slow-growing bacterium, which in the Amazon causes citrus variegated chlorosis (CVC) or citrus X disease.

References

Wikidata ☰ Q10574967 entry