Citrus Mealybug

[Planococcus citri (Rissa), family Pseudococcidae] and related species tend to favor the stems and buttons of trees, especially grapefruit. They may also congregate where fruits touch one another. Attacked fruit change color earlier in the season, fruit may drop and productivity is lowered. They copiously excrete honeydew. The insect body is distinctly segmented, about 1/4 inch (0.64 cm) in length, covered with powdery wax, with the appearance of "having been rolled in flour". The females have antennae and legs, and are active throughout the linesman. They form an ovisac consisting of interwoven waxy fibers and resembling a light cottony mass, into which they deposit several hundred eggs (oviparous species) or first instar larvae (ovoviviparous species). The males form a whitish cottony cocoon.
 
 
 

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