Mealybug destroyer for citrus mealybug
The beetle needs mealybug eggs to breed on, so UC advises releasing it when egg sacs are plentiful: there is little point while numbers are low. Females lay among the cottony egg masses, and the larvae that hatch are covered in white wax and look like large mealybugs. Tell them apart by their speed and their legs. Control ants first, because ants tending the honeydew guard the colony. On slow-growing foliage plants Rincon-Vitova warns that results can take two to four months. Clean new growth is the sign it has worked.
Before you order
Released as adult beetles onto breeding mealybug colonies. Adults and larvae both eat mealybugs, and females lay their eggs among the mealybugs' cottony egg sacs. How it works, how to tell it has established and the supplier list are on the full Cryptolaemus montrouzieri profile.
How many do I need?
Area and infestation level in; quantity, cost and a weekly schedule out. Open the calculator →
Other controls for citrus mealybug
- Chrysoperla carneaGreen lacewing larvae · 2–20 /m² per release, weekly
- Anagyrus vladimiriParasitoid wasp · 0.1–0.5 per 10 ft² (1 m²) per release, at least three releases 1–2 weeks apart
- Citrus mealybug parasitoidParasitoid wasp — rarely sold now · Wild — rarely sold now; conserve the ones present