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[[Image:Pink hibiscus mealybug.jpg||thumb|200px|right|A pink hibiscus mealybug.]]
[[Image:Pink hibiscus mealybug.jpg||thumb|200px|right|A pink hibiscus mealybug.]]
Mealybugs have oval bodies with overlapping soft plates and a cottony white covering. They are related closely to scale insects, but do not attach to a plant and can moved around very slowly. They can stunt a plant or kill it by sucking its juices. They excrete a honeydew which can cause a black, sooty mold.
'''Mealybug''' is the common name of insects in '''Pseudococcidae''', a [[family (biology)|family]] of unarmored [[scale insect]]s found in moist, warm climates. They are considered [[pest (animal)|pest]]s as they feed on plant juices of [[greenhouse]] plants, house plants and subtropical trees.
'''Mealybug''' is the common name of insects in '''Pseudococcidae''', a [[family (biology)|family]] of unarmored [[scale insect]]s found in moist, warm climates. They are considered [[pest (animal)|pest]]s as they feed on plant juices of [[greenhouse]] plants, house plants and subtropical trees.
The most serious pests are mealybugs that feed on [[citrus]]; other species damage [[sugarcane]], [[grapes]], [[pineapple]] (Jahn et al. 2003), [[coffee|coffee trees]], [[cassava]], [[fern]]s, [[cacti]], [[gardenia]]s and [[orchid]]s. Mealybugs only tend to be serious pests in the presence of ants because the ants protect them from predators and parasites. Mealybugs also infest some species of [[carnivorous plant]] such as ''[[Sarracenia]]'' (pitcher plants), in such cases it is difficult to eradicate them without repeated applications of [[insecticide]] such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diazinon diazinon]. Small infestations may not inflict significant damage. In larger amounts though, they can induce leaf drop.
The most serious pests are mealybugs that feed on [[citrus]]; other species damage [[sugarcane]], [[grapes]], [[pineapple]] (Jahn et al. 2003), [[coffee|coffee trees]], [[cassava]], [[fern]]s, [[cacti]], [[gardenia]]s and [[orchid]]s. Mealybugs only tend to be serious pests in the presence of ants because the ants protect them from predators and parasites. Mealybugs also infest some species of [[carnivorous plant]] such as ''[[Sarracenia]]'' (pitcher plants), in such cases it is difficult to eradicate them without repeated applications of [[insecticide]] such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diazinon diazinon]. Small infestations may not inflict significant damage. In larger amounts though, they can induce leaf drop.
==Treatment==
==Control==
Note that mealybugs have a symbiotic relationship with [[ants]], which may need to be addressed to clear your mealybug infestation.
===By hand===
Mealybugs are serious [[houseplant]] pests around the world, and outdoors they are troublesome pests wherever winters are mild. When you spot an infestation, indoor or out, you can just dip a cotton swab in rubbing alcohol and dab the mealybugs directly with it by hand.
===By hose===
You can hose off plants every 2 weeks with jets of water (or [[insecticidal soap]]) in order to blast away as many of the mealybugs and their eggs as possible, as well as the [[black soot]] which deters natural predators.
===Natural predators===
[[Ladybugs]] (Ladybird beetles), [[cryptolaemus beetles]] and [[lacewings]] all are natural predators of mealybugs. They can be bought commercially and released to help control the population.
===Chemical control===
Chemical pesticides known to be effective against mealybugs include malathion, diazinon, acephate, or [[horticultural oil]].
==Species include==
==Species include==
==References==
==References==
*Sunset National Garden Book. Sunset Books, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0376038608
*Jahn, G. C. and J.W. Beardsley 1994. Big-headed ants, Pheidole megacephala: Interference with the biological control of gray pineapple mealybugs. In D.F. Williams [ed.] "Exotic Ants: Biology, Impact and Control of Introduced Species." Westview Press, Oxford, 199-205.
*Jahn, G. C. and J.W. Beardsley 1994. Big-headed ants, Pheidole megacephala: Interference with the biological control of gray pineapple mealybugs. In D.F. Williams [ed.] "Exotic Ants: Biology, Impact and Control of Introduced Species." Westview Press, Oxford, 199-205.
* Jahn, G. C. and J.W. Beardsley 1998. Presence / absence sampling of mealybugs, ants, and major predators in pineapple. J. Plant Protection in the Tropics 11(1):73-79.
* Jahn, G. C. and J.W. Beardsley 1998. Presence / absence sampling of mealybugs, ants, and major predators in pineapple. J. Plant Protection in the Tropics 11(1):73-79.