Trabutina mannipara explained

Trabutina mannipara, or mana scale, is a species of mealybug found in the Middle East and southern Europe.^{[1] [2]} It is the most well-known of the five species in the genus Trabutina, of which it is the type species,^[3] due to its association with the biblical story of manna.^[4] T. mannipara feeds parasitically on tamarisk trees, and excretes a sweet substance which is sometimes collected for human consumption.^[5] Obsolete terms for it include Coccus manniparus and Trabutina palestina. This species can be found in the Sinai^[6] and Iraq.^[7]

It was described in 1829 by Hemprich and Ehrenberg (as Coccus manniparus),^[8] after investigation in the Sinai mountains.^[9] Ehrenberg believed that the bite wounds in the tamarisk plant created as the insects fed on the plant caused a sweet sticky substance known locally as "manna", and which Ehrenberg associated with the biblical manna, to flow out of the plant. In 1929, F. S. Bodenheimer found that the manna was in fact produced by the insects themselves, and argued that the description of the sticky substance and its geographical region argued in favor of Ehrenberg's identification with the biblical manna.^[10] The identification with biblical manna continues to appear in more recent literature.^[11]

T. mannipara, like other mealybugs, is parasitic on plants, and in its excretions is a great deal of undigested material.^[12] In the case of mannipara, these excretions are high in sugar.

In the United States, where tamarisks are invasive species, T. mannipara has been tested for possible use in controlling tamarisks.^[13]

Notes and References

1. https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/54399 CABI Invasive Species Compendium
2. Yair Ben-Dov (1988). "Manna scale, Trabutina mannipara (Hemprich & Ehrenberg) (Homoptera: Coccoidea: Pseudococcidae)". Systematic Entomology. Volume 13, Issue 4.
3. D.J. Williams and P. J. Gullan (2010). "Family-group names proposed in the family Pseudococcidae (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccoidea)".Zootaxa.
4. Evelyna M. Danzig and Douglass R. Miller (1996). "A Systematic Revision of the Mealybug Genus Trabutina (Homoptera: Coccoidea: Pseudococcidae)." Israel Journal of Entomology, XXX. p. 7.
5. Book: R.A. Donkin. Manna: An Historical Geography. 1 December 2013. Springer. 978-94-017-6117-8. 78–79.
6. Book: Jolivet. Insects and Plants: Parallel Evolution & Adaptations, Second Edition. 1 January 1992. CRC Press. 978-1-877743-10-8. 119.
7. Book: Masumeh Moghaddam. An Annotated Checklist of the Scale Insects of Iran (Hemiptera, Sternorrhyncha, Coccoidea) with New Records and Distribution Data. 23 September 2013. PenSoft Publishers LTD. 978-954-642-702-1. 74.
8. Yair Ben-Dov (1988). "Manna scale, Trabutina mannipara (Hemprich & Ehrenberg) (Homoptera: Coccoidea: Pseudococcidae)". Systematic Entomology. Volume 13, Issue 4. p. 388, 389.
9. M. Bertholet (1862). "On the Manna of Sinai, and the Manna of Syria". The Pharmaceutical Journal and Transactions. Second Series, Volume 3. p. 274.
10. Book: S. Mark Henry. Symbiosis: Associations of Invertebrates, Birds, Ruminants, and Other Biota. 17 September 2013. Elsevier. 978-1-4832-7592-5. 120.
11. Book: M. Mani. C. Shivaraju. Mealybugs and their Management in Agricultural and Horticultural crops. 24 February 2016. Springer India. 978-81-322-2677-2. 138.
12. Book: Vincent B. Wigglesworth. The Principles of Insect Physiology. 6 December 2012. Springer Science & Business Media. 978-94-009-5973-6. 497.
13. Book: Moshe Coll. Eric Wajnberg. Environmental Pest Management: Challenges for Agronomists, Ecologists, Economists and Policymakers. 25 July 2017. Wiley. 978-1-119-25556-7. 116.