Mealy Bug Description
Mealy bugs, also known as wooly aphids, are soft-bodied insects that feed on a wide range of plants. Mealy bugs are typically considered pests, both because they feed on plants and because they leave a trail of sweet honeydew that provides the perfect growth medium for sooty mold fungi. While most mealy bug infestations are obvious to the naked eye, some occur within the stem of the plant and are not readily obvious, according to entomologists at the University of Florida. Does this Spark an idea?
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Body
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Male mealy bugs have wings, but there are many more females than males. Wingless females have flat, oval bodies and are pinkish in color but are covered in a waxy powder that makes them appear white. They grow to about four millimeters in length. Mealy bugs have piercing and sucking mouthparts they use to feed on the stems of plants, according to the BBC.
Life Cycle
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Mealy bugs are parthenogenetic, meaning they produce asexually without the need for fertilization. Females lay 150 to 600 eggs in ovisacs. The eggs hatch in three to nine days into nymphs. The nymphs mature in 22 to 25 days at which point they are able to lay their own eggs, according to the National Centre for Integrated Pest Management.
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Transport
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Mealy bug nymphs, also called crawlers, crawl (true to their name) from their hatching plant to a nearby plant and begin to feed. Crawlers are also transported by birds, wind and rain. This method of travel is called passive transport and it is facilitated by the sticky coating of wax excretions that covers the crawlers. Ants feed on the mealy bug's sweet honeydew, and also sometimes act as crawler transportation.
Habitat
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Mealy bugs are found in North America, South America, Canada, Asia, Africa Europe and Australia. Different species of mealy bugs feed on different plants, making them successful colonizers of many different climates around the world, according to the Center for Invasive Species Research. In North America, the vine mealy bug is an invasive species that feeds on grapevines and has resulted in the loss of hundreds of acres of wine crops.
Control
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Small mealy bug infestations typically don't damage a plant too extensively and, in environments where they have natural predators, mealy bugs are not typically a cause for concern. However, when mealy bugs are invasive and are not controlled by natural predators, they can kill plants quickly. Rubbing the underside of leaves with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol will kill mealy bugs that try to feed on those leaves. For extreme infestations, spray pesticides can be effective but should be used with caution, according to the BBC.
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