Mealybugs in Colorado

General Biology, Reproduction, and Behavior
White cottony, fluffy masses on the stems of your houseplants are most likely mealybugs. Mealybugs are soft-bodied wingless insects that suck sap out of the plant. Their feeding may cause leaves to yellow as the plant weakens. Immediately isolate a plant infested with mealybugs. If the infestation is light and only on one or two plants, the pests can be handpicked or removed with rubbing alcohol. Take a cotton swab, dip it in the alcohol and touch it to the mealybugs. Washing foliage regularly will help discourage future infestations.
Mealybugs belong to the insect families collectively known as scale insects. Mealybugs are in the Family Pseudococcidae, and are the least scale-like of the group, mainly because they are soft-bodied, without the outer shell associated with insects in the other scale insect families (Diaspididae, the armored scales, and Coccidae, the soft scales). Instead, mealybugs are usually covered with a white waxy powder, and have filamentous projections around the perimeter. Some of these projections can be quite long. In addition, mealybugs retain their legs and are able to move around throughout much of their lives.

Damage Prevention and Control Methods Exclusion

The citrus mealybug female can produce about 600 eggs, which are produced in cottony structures called ovisacs . Eggs may be produced with or without males. The eggs hatch in less than 10 days into small nymphs called crawlers. The crawlers move about the plants and locate feeding sites. Once the insects settle, there is not much movement. Under favorable conditions, there may be six generations per year. In reality, generations overlap, so all developmental stages will be present.

Longtailed mealybugs have a different life cycle. Fewer eggs (about 200) are produced, and females need to mate in order to produce eggs (i.e. males are necessary). Females either produce live young, or the eggs hatch into crawlers very quickly. There are no cottony ovisacs. Longtailed mealybug generation time is longer than the citrus mealybug. As with citrus mealybugs, well-established infestations will have all developmental stages present.

The pink hibiscus mealybug (so-called because when crushed a red fluid comes out) is found now on many of the Caribbean Islands, and is not yet established in Colorado. In contrast with other mealybugs, the body of the pink hibiscus mealybug is smooth and waxy, and only has two short projections at the rear of the body.