Striped Mealybug

Description:

Mealybugs are insects in the family Pseudococcidae, Heymons, 1915, unarmored scale insects found in moist, warm climates. 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. The Striped Mealybug (Ferrisia virgata, Cockerell, 1893) is a whitish mealybug with two longitudinal dark stripes, long glassy wax threads and two long tails. It attains a length of 4 mm. The striped mealybug occurs on the underside of leaves near the petioles and on the stems. It sucks sap but does not inject any toxin into plants. Severely attacked plants show general symptoms of weakening but do not show distortion. It is a minor pest of cassava, and no control is usually required as is controlled naturally by natural enemies.

Habitat:

Backyard garden.

Notes:

Reference: http://www.infonet-biovision.org/default.... http://www.padil.gov.au/thai-bio/Pest/Ma.... http://mrec.ifas.ufl.edu/lso/mealybugs.h.... http://www.sel.barc.usda.gov/scalekeys/m....