About Macugonalia moesta (Fabricius, 1803)
Macugonalia moesta is a small blue insect with a body length of 6 to 7 millimeters. It has two spots on its back that appear as a blue band in the center and black on the outer sides. The head and the middle body segment, the thorax, are black. A blue band runs across the thorax, ending near the insect's compound eyes. A white band sits between the eyes on the head, and covers the two small simple eyes called ocelli. This species has been officially documented in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, and Suriname. Recent crowdsourced observations appear to confirm this recorded distribution. Alongside Macugonalia umbrosa, M. moesta has been observed as a possible vector of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa in Brazilian citrus orchards. X. fastidiosa is a Gram-negative, very slow-growing bacterium that lives in plant xylem tissue and is transmitted by insect vectors. In the Amazon region, this bacterium causes citrus variegated chlorosis, also known as citrus X disease.
