Plants suspected to contain bio insecticidal agents against mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) in Indonesia

Mealybugs (Insecta; Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) are the important pest of agricultural crops and ornamental plants worldwide, including in Indonesia. Beside their high invasive nature and high economic impact, mealybugs are difficult to control so that the presence of this insect is of serious concern. That is why research to find effective ways to control and eradicate mealybugs is continuously being carried out in many countries including Indonesia. This paper presents the results of research on the search for natural ingredients from plants that can be developed into bioinsecticides against mealybugs conducted in Indonesia in the last 20 years. The data were compiled by searching relevance papers containing researches done in Indonesia, by Indonesian researchers that have been published both in national and international journals that can be accessed using Google search engine. The result is as follows. There are three genera of mealybugs that are of the greatest concern because of the high losses they cause, namely: Planococcus, Pseudoccus, and Paracoccus. There are 19 plant species that have been reported as a potential source of insecticides against mealybugs including Allium sativum, Anonna squamosa, Areca catechu, Azadirachta indica, Barringtonia asiatica, Carica papaya, Cassia spectabilis, Cinnamomum burmannii, Cymbopogon nardus, Eucalypus sp., Gliricidia sepium, Lantana camara, Moringa oleifera, Nicotiana tabacum, Piper betel, Piper retrofractum, Reutealis trisperma, and Tephrosia vogelii.