Good morning 🙂

I had an unwanted visitor on my Hoya Polyneura, as far as I can tell she is the only one but I have not properly looked.

She was very cool to photograph though, so beautiful and alien like.

Longtailed Mealybug (Pseudococcus longispinus) are unarmored scale insects, found in warm, moist environments. They feed on the juices of house plants (among other plants).

Some interesting facts I learnt when reading about mealy bugs include,

• Adults are up to 3mm long.

• They have a symbiotic relationship with ants, ants will protect them in exchange for being about to feed off the honeydew that they produce.
• Males start off as nymphs but during their lifecycle they build a waxy cocoon and emerge with transparent wings and long white wax tails.
• Female mealybugs exhibit reduced morphology, never develop wings and stay in a nymph like state, have legs and can move but obviously cannot fly.

• It is the female mealy bugs that you find feeding in the roots and crevasses of your plants. They attach themselves to the plant and secrete a waxy/powerdy layer for protection.
• Male mealy bugs do not live long and their only purpose is to fertilise the females.
• Some females of mealy, depending on the species, lay eggs (50-100 eggs in one session). Others, including the long tailed mealy, give birth to live nymphs.
• In Mexico, mealybugs are cultivated, dried and ground up into dust, creating a red dye that is used for cosmetics, paints and dying fabric. Here’s also a great wee Instagram video of someone making lipstick.

As interesting as you are miss mealybug, please stay off my plant!

Thanks for visiting. Have a beautiful day xx.