ABSTRACT
The relationship between sap-sucking insects and plant phloem is a highly specialized biotic interaction. Aphids, psyllids, whiteies, scale insects, and mealy bugs (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha) are specialized phloem feeders, able to survive on a nutritionally unbalanced diet and minimize the defense responses of host plants. Phloem-sucking insects damage plants by reducing photosynthesis, affecting growth and distribution of nutrients, acting as the main vectors for plant viruses, and in some cases, injecting toxins into tissues (Thompson and Goggin 2006).
