The vine mealybug (VM), Planococcus ficus (Signoret), is an Afrotropical species, whose worldwide populations probably originated from the Mediterranean basin. It was introduced to the Americas during the second half of the 20th century (Ben-Dov 1994; Gill 1994). Until the early 1980s, this pest was frequently misidentified as the citrus mealybug, Planococcus citri (Risso), as both Planoccocus ...