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How to Manage Pests:
Pest Management and Identification
Mealybug destroyer
Scientific name: Cryptolaemus montrouzieri
Click on image to enlarge
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Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Coccinellidae
Common prey: Predaceous on a wide variety of mealybugs and
other soft bodied homopterans including the citrus mealybug and the
green shield scale. Used in citrus and greenhouses.
Commercially available: Yes
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DESCRIPTION
Lady beetles are easily recognized by their shiny,
convex, half-dome shape and short, clubbed antennae. Most lady
beetles, including this species, are predaceous as both larvae
and adults. Young lady beetle larvae usually pierce and suck the
contents from their prey. Older larvae and adults chew and consume
their entire prey. Larvae are active, elongate, have long legs,
and resemble tiny alligators. Many lady beetles look alike and
accurate
identification requires a specialist.
The adult mealybug destroyer is small, measuring 3-4 mm (1/6
inch) long and is mostly dark brown or blackish with an orangish
head and tail. Larvae grow up to 1.3 cm (1/2 inch) long and are
covered with waxy white curls making it difficult to see their
legs. Larvae resemble mealybugs except that they are larger and
more active. The wax can be scraped off larvae to reveal the pale,
alligator-shaped beetle larvae. C. montrouzieri eggs are
yellow and are laid among the cottony egg sacks of mealybugs. Pupation
occurs in sheltered places on stems or other substrate. The mealybug
destroyer undergoes complete metamorphosis and has about 4 generations
per year. Both adults and larvae feed on exposed mealybug species
and other hompterans such as the green shield scale. C. montrouzieri are
most effective at controlling mealybugs when the mealybug population
is high. Eggs and larvae are the preferred food for both adults
and larvae. C. montrouzieri does not survive very well in
cold weather and in some situations (citrus orchards and greenhouses)
adults are bought and released in the spring in order to establish
populations. When purchasing beetles, be sure you have an adequate
ratio of females to males. Females have dark brown forelegs; males'
forelegs are light brown.
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