Mealybugs

People often ignore mealybugs, primarily because they look more like cotton residue than insects. Chances are, you’ve seen so many mealybugs on a trip outdoors or in your plants at home and shrugged it off immediately.

However, it might surprise you to know that mealybugs are serious pests, just like cockroaches and ants. They harm plants, like crops, plant foliage, and succulent plants, or those typically found in gardens or houses, feeding on the stem and down to the roots, causing severe damage. Keep reading to know more about mealybugs and how to protect your plants from an infestation. 

What Is A Mealybug?

Mealybugs, or the Pseudococcidae family, are unarmored-scale insects found in moist, warm habitats and are primarily attracted to plants with a high sap content. Mealybugs are known for producing waste high in sugar content, often referred to as honeydew, which can damage leaves severely if present in high concentrations. 

Additionally, certain mealybugs can produce toxins when they feed. And they also contribute to the growth of black sooty mold in plants. 

Identifying Mealybugs in the Wild

Knowing what mealybugs look like, you’ll realize how much you’ve overlooked them in the past. Mealybugs are soft oval insects that look similar to aphids. The big difference is that aphids have brighter and more distinctive colors and move faster than mealybugs. But small species of mealybugs are harder to spot because of their cottony-like color and appearance.

Other general features of a mealybug include;

• Oval-shaped soft and flat body
• Surrounded by waxy coating filaments with distinctive parallel segments
• Size range from 1/20 to 1/5 inch long 

Mealybugs are sexually dimorphic, meaning each sex has a distinction. Females lack wings, but they often have legs. On the other hand, male mealybugs are smaller with wings and look more gnat-like. 

Life Cycle of a Mealybug

The life cycle of a mealybug varies depending on the species. The number of eggs depends on the temperature. But generally, the life cycle of a mealybug goes as follows:

• Mealybugs can lay from 6 to 600 eggs
• Nests are either on the stems or leaves of a plant
• Female mealybugs live faster than male mealybugs
• Eggs hatch almost immediately and produce already-alive insects

Female mealybugs die shortly after laying an egg, while males grow wings when fully developed and fly around to mate.

A mealybug’s overall life cycle can take up to two months, depending on the environment and the species. However, breeding happens all year long.

Different Types of Mealybug

There are many species of mealybugs today, and they may target different plants from one another. These are the different types of mealybugs:

Citrus Mealybug

Citrus mealybugs (Planococcus citri) are the most common among the species. Females are oval-shaped and covered in a cotton-like waxy coating, while the males are small and winged. The citrus mealybugs are primarily found in 27 host plant families, particularly ornamental plants, fruits, and vegetables in homes, greenhouses, and gardens. Grapefruit is one of the most targeted by the citrus mealybug. 

Longtailed Mealybug

Longtailed mealybugs (Pseudococcus longispinus) have 17 distinctive waxy filaments around their 1/8 inch long body. An adult longtailed mealybug has tail filaments that are as long or longer than their bodies. Small nymphs are similar, except the filaments on the edges are shorter.

Longtailed mealybugs hatch eggs almost immediately, which means they seem to be born alive. And they have been collected from at least 26 plant families, most prominently in dracaena. 

Madeira Mealybug

Madeira mealybugs (Phenacoccus madeirensis) are grayer in color and have less flair on their surrounding filaments. Female Madeira mealybugs lay only around 38 eggs. The development is also slower for the Madeira mealybug. Females, for instance, take a maximum of two months, depending on the temperature or environment to develop. 

Half of the Madeira mealybug population are females. 

Mexican Mealybug

Mexican mealybugs (Phenacoccus gossypii) are similar to the Madeira mealybug, with a grayish body and thin waxy and short filaments around and at the back of their 3/16 inches-long oval body. 

The Mexican mealybug can lay up to 400 eggs that hatch in six to 14 days. Males have two nymph stages, while females have three. Most Mexican mealybugs are in different species of ornamental plants. 

Miscanthus Mealybug

Miscanthus mealybugs (Miscanthiococcus miscanthi) are notorious for stunting or slowing down plant growth, infesting the roots, causing yellowing and twisting leaves, harming flower production, and restricting the growth of flower stems. The miscanthus mealybug releases sticky honeydew that supports the development of black sooty mold. The colony of the miscanthus mealybug is typically grouped tightly with small amounts of honeydew and powdery wax material. 

The good news is that they leave purple spots on infested stems so that you can spot an infestation. 

Root Mealybugs

Rhizoecus or root mealybugs most likely feed on the roots of ornamental plants. They have a family or sub-group of their own with only a microscopic difference in appearance. Generally, they have a bluish body covered in a more translucent soft scale-like material. They’re often confused with white springtails because of their appearance, but root mealybugs move slower. Females lay only six eggs and can develop for up to 1/8 inch long, with a slightly flat feature. 

Some root mealybugs produce a powdery substance that gives the soil surface a bluish tint, which helps in spotting an infestation. Unfortunately, infestations of root mealybugs are hard to spot because this species of mealybug tends to go underneath the soil. Plus, they can go through drainage systems, like plant irrigation, and infect other plants easily.

Striped Mealybug

Striped mealybugs (Ferrisia virgata) are the mealybug species you can easily spot on your plants, with fluffy filaments surrounding its body and two parallel dark stripes on the back from end to end. Additionally, the striped mealybug has thin waxy filaments on its front and two long white tail filaments at the back. 

Adult females can develop for up to 3/16 inches long and lay up to 700 eggs in about one month. They crawl underneath the soil of their host plants during the colder months, making them harder to spot. While adult males have two wings, legs, and long antennae, and they live for only three to four days. 

The striped mealybug is prominent in plants like ficus, silk trees, cassava, and even cocoa. 

The Damages Caused by Mealybugs

Mealybugs cause discoloring, wilting, or falling of stem or leaves of host plants by sucking their sugary sap content. Some mealybugs inject toxins that can cause leaves and buds to fall from their host plants. And they can infect a wide variety of plant families in different countries worldwide. 

Here are some of the most notable facts about mealybug damages: 

• Mealybugs can infest up to 200 plant species
• They can permanently damage the process of producing fruits
• Citrus mealybugs inject toxins while feeding on plant sap
• Honeydew from mealybugs attracts ant infestation as well
• Sooty mold from honeydew can deprive leaves of getting sunlight

Controlling the Mealybug Population

If you spot mealybugs in your home, these are the quick DIY remedies you can do to remove them: 

Cultural Practices

Female mealybugs can’t fly and move slow. One of the common causes of an infestation is bringing home a mealybug-infested plant. Check your new plants for mealybugs before placing them beside other plants. If you find that mealybugs are hard to remove, dispose or return the plant to its owner. Or contact a professional exterminator to do the job for you. 

Of course, don’t forget to inspect your plants for mealybug infestation regularly. 

Biological Control

You can place natural predators on your plants to eliminate mealybugs. Lady beetles eat mealybug eggs for reproduction, making them one of the best natural enemies for exterminating mealybugs. Plus, they can tolerate different temperatures, so they can do the job whether it’s summer or winter.

Chemical Treatment

The waxy coating on a mealybug’s body protects them from insecticides, and they’re generally hard to reach. Spot treatment can help suppress or control and reduce mealybugs on plants. Use isopropyl alcohol with a 70% solution or less and dab it directly on the mealybugs.

There are many strong insecticides, like horticultural oil or neem oil, which are excellent options. Just remember to follow the right pesticide precautions when using any chemical solution against mealybugs.