Pest Never Seen in North America Before Detected in Texas

Texas is confronting a new insect invader that agricultural officials say could take a serious bite out of the state's grazing and hay fields. The pasture mealybug, Helicococcus summervillei, never before reported in North America, has now been confirmed in more than 20 Texas counties, prompting an urgent alert from the Texas Department of Agriculture, Fox News reports. "This is a completely new pest to our continent, and Texas is once again on the front lines," said Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. "If the pasture mealybug spreads across Texas grazing lands like it has in eastern Australia, it could cost Texas agriculture dearly in lost productivity and reduced livestock capacity."

First documented in Australia in 1928, the pasture mealybug is linked there to "pasture dieback" across millions of acres. The insect feeds at or just below the soil surface and inside plant tissues, gradually weakening and killing grasses used for grazing and hay. Damage can be hard to spot at first; early signs include yellowing within a week, purpling or reddening leaves, stunted plants despite normal moisture, poor roots, and patchy dead or thinning areas. The insects themselves look like small white, cottony clusters on plants or debris. Authorities are urging ranchers to report suspicious symptoms or insects to the TDA, the Houston Chronicle reports. "Early identification is critical, and we need every producer's eyes on the ground," Miller said.

Infestations have been confirmed in counties including Brazoria, Galveston, Wharton, Matagorda, Victoria, and others, with Victoria County reporting the heaviest losses so far. Researchers think the bug has likely been in Texas since before 2022. There are currently no insecticides approved in the US specifically to control this species, so officials are focusing on tracking its spread and developing management options. The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service has much more on the pest here. It notes that fire ants, which feed on the "honeydew" some insects excrete, "are known to tend and protect many soft-bodied insects, such as mealybugs, from predators and, thus, may exacerbate mealybug infestations."