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Analysis of institutional authors

Vercher, RosaCorresponding AuthorEscriche, IsabelCorresponding Author

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August 7, 2025
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Aboveground and Belowground Male Population of the Invasive Citrus Mealybug Delottococcus aberiae De Lotto (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae)

Publicated to: Insects. 16 (7): 651- - 2025-01-01 16(7), DOI: 10.3390/insects16070651

Authors:

Vercher Aznar, Rosa; Sanchez Domingo, Adrian; Escriche Roberto, Mª Isabel
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Affiliations

Univ Politecn Valencia, Escuela Tecn Super Ingn Agron & Medio Nat, Inst Agroforestal Mediterraneo IAM UPV, Camino Vera S-N, Valencia 46022, Spain - Author
Univ Politecn Valencia, Inst Ingn Alimentos FoodUPV, Camino Vera s-n, Valencia 46022, Spain - Author

Abstract

The invasive Delottococcus aberiae is one of the most harmful mealybugs on citrus in Spain, since it causes deformations and the premature falling of fruits in citrus orchards. To improve control strategies, this study evaluates its population above- and belowground, their distribution in the soil in addition to identifying natural enemies. The distribution in the soil of emerged males varies significantly with the distance to the tree trunks with an annual average number of 0.95 males/trap/day at 0.5 m, and ranging between 0.25 and 0.32 at 1 m, 1.5 m and 2 m. There is a consistent emergence of males throughout the year, both above- and belowground, with four distinct peaks, the first two occurring in February and April. This observation is essential to manage fruit damages that follows between March and June. Among the natural enemies detected belowground the following are highlighted: Bdellidae mites (52%), Hymenoptera parasitoids (16%) and spiders (11%). When implementing IPM strategies, emphasis should be placed on adequate soil management (crops, mulching, or the release of natural enemies) and to the appearance of first generation. We propose a belowground population sampling method as a simple and practical tool to quantify this pest's the winter and spring populations, which remain undetectable using current methodologies.
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Keywords

BiodiversityCoccoideCoccoideaFaunMale capturesManagementNatural enemiesPopulation dynamicsSampling methodologiesSoilSoil distribution

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Insects due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2025, it was in position 15/110, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Entomology.

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Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-04-03:

  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 4 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

    It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

    • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
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    Leadership analysis of institutional authors

    There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Vercher Aznar, Rosa) and Last Author (Escriche Roberto, Mª Isabel).

    the authors responsible for correspondence tasks have been Vercher Aznar, Rosa and Escriche Roberto, Mª Isabel.

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    Awards linked to the item

    This research was funded by the Next Generation European Union and the Plan de Recuperacion, Transformacion y Resiliencia of the Spanish Government, with the support of Generalitat Valenciana (project AGROALNEXT/2022/043); and by the project "Ruralfruit-AgroEco" (AGCOOP_A/2022/015) subsidized by the PDR-CV 2014-2020.
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