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Pseudococcidae sp.
Mealybugs only tend to be serious pests in the presence of ants because the ants protect them from predators and parasites, this fact was unknown to me I had previously spotted ants in presence of mealy bugs, this explains why. Even in the first pic the bugs are with ants. They are considered pests as they feed on plant juices of greenhouse plants, house plants and subtropical trees and also acts as a vector for several plant diseases. Mealybug females feed on plant sap, normally in roots or other crevices. They attach themselves to the plant and secrete a powdery wax layer (therefore the name mealybug) used for protection while they suck the plant juices. The males on the other hand, are short-lived as they do not feed at all as adults and only live to fertilize the females.
Mealybugs are insects in the family Pseudococcidae, unarmored scale insects found in moist, warm climates.
Details from wiki.
Spotted on Jan 13, 2012
Submitted on Jan 15, 2012
14 Comments
Thanks for the info pamsai. I will have to find out if my plants could bear the spray. I do not intend to become the reason for killing them. I know about the ants too, and as I stated earlier, they save the bugs from predators too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mealybug
Little b******'s killed all my papaya trees while I was away for the summer. Sucked the life out of them! The gardiner just couldn't get rid of them, they were up too high.
A mix of Neem, chewing tobacco, garlic, ginger, chili powder and a little soap sprayed onto the leaves, worked for a while, but it needs to be sprayed fairly often - which is OK for a few plants, but I have a big garden.
Can't get the predators in India either.
I heard that the ants actually farm the mealy bugs. They love to eat some excretion that the mealy bugs produce - the cows of the ant world!
Thank you very much Yogesh, Emma and Cindy. Yogesh, can you suggest some place where we might find these lady beetle bugs? I hope the ants will not be a problem. I have read that the ants are a protection against other predators.
Satyen I think lady bird bittle is the best eco frndly solution for mealybugs.
Congratulations!
Congrats Sir!!
Cong'ons Ranger Satyen sir.
Thanks Alice, I will look into some eco-friendly measures. Yogesh, is neem leaf water effective against Mealy bugs?
You need some Meal bug destroyers!
I guess it does.
This climate suits them very much......
Yes Yogesh, it is throughout the colony.
Serious attack of mealybug on your Hibiscus plant.....