spread depends on the size and activity of the mealybug population. It is hard to see this correlation within the cacao population because symptoms start to show at times of new growth. Transmission CSSV is primarily transmitted by mealybugs. These mealybugs have a mutualistic relationship with ants which provide protection in return for sugar exudates. Fourteen species of mealybugs within the family Pseudoccidae act as vectors for CSSV, but Planococcoides njalensis and Planococcus citri are the most important mealybug vectors. Transmission is semi-persistent, meaning that the virus is taken up into the vector's circulatory system, but does not replicate within it. The feeding period required for acquisition of the virus is, at minimum, 20 minutes, but optimally 2–4 days. Once acquired, the virus can be transmitted within 15 minutes, but optimal transmission occurs 2–10 hours after acquisition. No transmission of the virus occurs through the mealybug eggs. Although primarily transmitted by mealybugs, CSSV can also be mechanically transmitted, through wounds. A recent study has found that CSSV can also be transmitted by seed. Environment Light intensity has the effect of reducing swelling in shoots while plants in the shade show more severe symptoms. Temperature and nutrition have no significant effect. Since mealy bugs are the vectors of the virus, environmental conditions favorable to mealy bugs could increase the spread of the virus. Planococcus njalensis population density is closely correlated with density of ants in the genus Crematogaster, which build protective carton tents over the mealy bug colonies. High-density planting can facilitate the spread of the virus when mealy bugs are able to go from plant to plant through the interlocked canopy. Aside from crawling from plant to plant, mealy bugs can be dispersed by wind as well. In controlled trials, 340 feet was the maximum distance a mealy bug could be spread from an infected plant to a cacao seedling by wind dispersal. In dry conditions, aerial dispersal is increased. Management Only occurs in West Africa. Major problem in Togo, Ghana, Cote d'Ivorie and Nigeria; transmitted by mealybugs. The Swollen Shoot Virus is not native to cocoa but jumped into the cocoa from trees that grew in the rain forests of W. Africa (e.g. Cola chlamydantha, Ceiba pentandra, Adansonia digitata, Cola gigantea and Sterculia tragacantha). The virus is a badnavirus within the family Caulimoviridae. Eradication of infected trees has been the most widely used means of control. In Ghana, between