Mealybug
White cottony insects that coat stems and leaf junctions and slowly drain ornamentals.
Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author (Public domain) · public domain/CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Soft, oval, 3–6 mm insects coated in white waxy filaments that give them a cottony or powdery appearance. They cluster in sheltered locations — leaf axils, under leaf bases and on root crowns — and move very slowly or appear immobile.
Hibiscus, plumeria, citrus, gardenias, succulents and many tropical ornamentals. They're common in Florida landscapes and houseplants year-round.
- White cottony masses in leaf axils, at stem junctions and on stems
- Sticky honeydew and sooty mold on leaves below the infestation
- Yellowing, wilting and dropping leaves
- Ants attending the mealybug colonies
Mealybugs drain a plant's sap, inject toxins and spread plant pathogens. Heavy infestations can kill ornamentals and citrus, and they're notoriously difficult to reach with contact sprays because of their waxy coating.
Rhino uses systemic treatments that the plant absorbs and delivers into the feeding insects, bypassing their protective wax coating — far more effective than contact sprays alone.
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