Citrus mealybug on succulents & cacti
Cactus and jade are both on UC's list of houseplants that regularly carry mealybugs. A separate group, the ground mealybugs (Rhizoecus), lives in the compost and feeds on roots; it is rarely seen until the plant is knocked out of its pot, and it is harder to control than the species on the stems. Test alcohol, soap or oil on one part of the plant a day or two before treating the whole thing, because some plants scorch.
At a glance
- Damage
- White cottony clusters in leaf axils, sticky honeydew below
- Type
- Sap feeding
- Settings
- Indoors, Under glass, Garden
- Threshold
- Any colony; tip the plant out and check the roots as well
- Release
- Cryptolaemus montrouzieri
- Rate
- 5 beetles per infested plant (Arbico), or 2–10 /m² per release across a bench (Koppert)
How to confirm it
Use a 10× lens. Citrus mealybug has a fringe of short, even wax filaments all round the body and, on many, a darker stripe down the back; two long tail threads instead point to longtailed mealybug. White cottony egg sacs in the colony fit citrus mealybug, which lays eggs — the longtailed species bears live young. A larger waxy insect that walks briskly may be a mealybug destroyer larva, not a pest.
Identification, lifecycle, degree days and every control option are on the full Citrus mealybug profile. Not sure it is this pest? Answer four questions about the damage.
Work it out
How many do I need?
Carries Cryptolaemus montrouzieri and succulents & cacti through so nothing is re-entered. Open the calculator →