Mealybug Destroyer

Description:

Several mealybug destroyers were working their way through the aphids. There were also some of the very small beetles moving among the aphids on the plant, but I was unable to catch a shot of them.

Habitat:

Frostweed covered in aphids in wildlife habitat yard.

Notes:

The adult mealybug destroyer is small, measuring 3-4 mm (1/6 inch) long and is mostly dark brown or blackish with an orangish head and tail. Larvae grow up to 1.3 cm (1/2 inch) long and are covered with waxy white curls making it difficult to see their legs. Larvae resemble mealybugs except that they are larger and more active. The wax can be scraped off larvae to reveal the pale, alligator-shaped beetle larvae. C. montrouzieri eggs are yellow and are laid among the cottony egg sacks of mealybugs. Pupation occurs in sheltered places on stems or other substrate. The mealybug destroyer undergoes complete metamorphosis and has about 4 generations per year. Both adults and larvae feed on exposed mealybug species and other hompterans such as the green shield scale. Adults tend to quickly move away when disturbed. One reason for the adult stage of the Mealybug Destroyer not being well-known is that they don't have the flashy patterning or coloring that occur in many ladybug species. The resemblance of the larval stage of this predator to its prey is another reason Mealybug Destroyers may be overlooked or misidentified. With their wooly appendages and cigar-shaped body that looks as if it has been rolled in flour, Mealybug Destroyer larvae look very much like the larval and adult stages of the citrus mealybug (a serious insect pest).