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What is the pink mealybug?

By Chelsie Vandaveer

January 29, 2003

Killer Savings: Gurney's Seed and Nursery -$20 off—>Click here.

Henry Fields Seed and Nursery -$20 off—>Click here.

Spring Hill Nursery -$20 off—>Click here.

Gardens Alive! -$20 off—>Click here.

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Suggested Reading—>Click here.

Killer Picks: Lady Beetles, Hibiscus, 'Galaxy' Mix, 'Kopper King', & more—>Click here.

The pink or hibiscus mealybug (Maconellicoccus hirsutus Green) is native to the tropics and subtropics of Africa, Asia, and northern Australia. This insect was accidentally introduced to the Caribbean in 1994 and to southern Florida in 2002. Although it prefers to feed on plants in the hibiscus family, the mealybug is willing to attack many other species--grapes, plums, citrus--it has been found on 125 different fruit and ornamental plants.

Plant of the Week 07/08/2002

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Linnaeus
Plant of the Week 07/08/2002
Hibiscus Desktop

The pink mealybug begins life as an orange egg which turns pink before hatching. The first instar or crawler stage may disperse by crawling, but generally these tiny creatures are blown on the wind to other plants.

The larval stage is the damaging stage--the insect inserts its mouthparts into young stems and sucks the sap reducing the plant's vigor. But the pink mealybug also injects saliva into the plant. The saliva further damages the plant by interfering with normal plant growth.

The meristematic tissues (actively dividing cells) fail to expand. The internodes (length of stem between leaves) are shortened and twisted and leaves stay small and crinkly. Infected plants fail to flower and set fruit.

The male pink mealybug matures as a winged creature with two waxy tails. The female remains a crawling insect. She will lay about six hundred eggs before dying. These mealybugs go through nineteen generations in one year. If only 300 are female in each generation, nineteen generations can produce 1.162261467 times 10 to the 47th mealybugs. Where the mealybug has no natural enemies, a single fertilized female can spell disaster.

Invasive Species, an information website produced in cooperation with federal and state agencies, has posted a page about the pink hibiscus mealybug. To view a photograph of these insects taken by Dale Meyerdirk with Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the USDA, click on the link:

http://www.invasivespecies.gov/profiles/phm.shtml

If you wish to learn more about this pest, this page has numerous links to other agencies.

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Sta-Home™ Lady Beetles

Gardens Alive!®

They stay longer in your garden, cleaning up aphids and other pests!

Adult lady beetles and their larvae are an excellent, non-chemical way to control aphids, Colorado potato beetles (egg stage) and other insect pests in your garden. But unlike the lady beetles sold by most other companies, ours are:

screened to remove patasitoid-infested beetles
ready to lay eggs the day you release them
hungry for pests!

Up to 20% of the lady beetles shipped by other companies are parasitized. So, not only will their lady beetles die shortly after you receive them, but they'll also release parasitoids that will kill any lady beetles previously in your garden.

Our Sta-Home lady beetles arrive healthy and ready to feed on pests! Females immediately lay eggs, which provide a second wave of pest-eaters within a week. And these larvae, which can't fly, have an even bigger appetite than the adults!

We precondition our lady beetles by feeding them a healthy diet to encourage egg laying. We also remove all parasitoid-infesting beetles so they don't attack your purchased or existing beetles.

One package of about 900 Sta-Home adults will produce more than 10,000 pest-eating larvae in your garden within 30 days! We ship at the proper time for your area or on the date you specify.

Click here - $20 FREE off your first order at Gardens Alive! [More Insect Pest Control]

Note: We take great care to ensure that your insects arrive safely and in good health, ready for your garden. We normally ship them on Monday or Tuesday so they arrive before the weekend.

Hibiscus, 'Galaxy' Mix

Springhill Nursery®

Brightly colored mix of winter hardy hibiscus grows to 4’ or more in height, making a spectacular display at the back of a border or in a large pot. 'Galaxy' Hibiscus Mix produces enormous flowers, up to 10" across, in shades of red, pink and white. Blooms keep coming all summer long, attracting butterflies all the while. Space plants 36-40" apart.

Shipped in 3" pot. Deer tend to avoid.

Hibiscus moscheutos hybrids 'Galaxy' Hardiness Zone: 5 - 10 (-10 degrees F)

Winter hardy hibiscus in a mix of bright colors. Large blossoms up to 10" across make a spectacular display especially planted in a mass planting at the back of a border. Can even be used as a specimen planting in a large pot to accent a patio setting. Click here - $20 off your first order at Spring Hill Nursery! [More Hibiscus!]

Hibiscus, Hardy Crimson Wonder

Springhill Nursery®

Exotic beauty year after year. Large, shrub like plants make excellent accents for mixed borders or as potted specimens.

Eye-catching, 6-12" blooms in crimson red dazzle from mid-summer to frost. 3-5' tall with a similar spread. Crimson Wonder are hardy despite their tropical flair.

#1 field grown plant. Deer tend to avoid.

Hibiscus moscheutos Zone 4 to 9

An outstanding, showy plant that covers itself with vibrant flowers for months. The huge blooms bring an exotic look to the garden and a bold mound of color. The foliage compliments the flowers, providing a good stage for them. Requires little care. Click here - $20 off your first order at Spring Hill Nursery! [More Hibiscus!]

Hibiscus, Hardy Super Rose

Springhill Nursery®

Super Rose has exotic beauty year after year. Large, shrub like plants make excellent accents for mixed borders or as potted specimens.

Eye-catching 6-12" blooms in rose-pink dazzle from midsummer to frost. 3-5' tall with a similar spread. Hardy despite their tropical flair.

#1 field grown plant. Deer tend to avoid.

Hibiscus moscheutos Zone 4 to 9

Perennial Hibiscus, 'Kopper King'

Springhill Nursery®

Brilliant coppery-red foliage provides thrilling contrast to the bold, flared flowers that cover the shrublike plants from midsummer until frost. Kopper King has enormous blooms-up to 12" across that are sparkling white with bright red eyes! Compact, bushy growth 3 to 3 1/2 feet high and 2 1/2 to 3 feet wide is ideal for screens, hedges and smaller gardens.

Shipped in 3" pot.

Hibiscus 'Kopper King' Zone 4 to 9

A very unique variety, having brilliantly colored foliage of copper red when all others are dark green. This coloring makes a wonderful combination to the sparkling white and red flowers. Kopper King is one of a series of new hybrids from the Fleming Brothers that have unique characteristics that include a compact growth habit, making them suitable for today's smaller gardens, more foliage making them ideal for screens and hedges, shorter internodes and stouter stems. The texture of the petals is thicker and they overlap each other. All in all an outstanding new garden plant with many desirable characteristics for the modern garden. Click here - $20 off your first order at Spring Hill Nursery! [More Hibiscus!]

Perennial Hibiscus, 'Plum Crazy'

Springhill Nursery®

Startlingly beautiful! Dark, purple foliage handsomely complements plum-colored flowers marked with subtle purple veins. Cup-shaped blooms, 7-8" across, appear midsummer to frost. The Hibiscus Plum Crazy is excellent for borders or as a prized specimen plant. Shrub-like plants grow 3 to 4 feet tall with a 2 1/2 to 3 feet spread.

Shipped in 3" pot.

Hibiscus 'Plum Crazy' Zone 4 to 9

A startling beauty in the garden with its rich dark purple colored foliage that is handsomely matched with the plum colored flowers, that are dramatically marked with purple veins - a new and unique color for a hardy hibiscus Although this is a herbaceous perennials, because of its size, it can be used in the same way a shrub would be and makes a wonderful focal point in either a border or as a specimen plant. Wonderful with greys, pinks and white. Because it is more compact that most other varieties it provides the gardener with the opportunity of having this flamboyant plant in a smaller garden area Click here - $20 off your first order at Spring Hill Nursery! [More Hibiscus!]

Hibiscus Collection

Springhill Nursery®

Two stunning accent plants for your border, one of each hibiscus listed below.

Receive both plants at one great price!

This collection includes:

Perennial Hibiscus 'Kopper King': Brilliant coppery-red foliage provides thrilling contrast to the bold, flared flowers that cover the shrub-like plants from midsummer until frost. Enormous blooms--up to 12" across--are sparkling white with bright red eyes! Compact, bushy growth 3 to 3 1/2' high and 2 1/2 to 3' wide is ideal for screens, hedges and smaller gardens.

Perennial Hibiscus 'Plum Crazy': Startlingly beautiful! Dark, purple foliage handsomely complements plum-colored flowers marked with subtle purple veins. Cup-shaped blooms, 7-8" across, appear midsummer to frost. Excellent for borders or as a prized specimen plant. Shrub-like plants grow 3 to 4 ' tall with a 2 1/2 to 3' spread.

Shipped in 3" pots. Zone 4 to 9 Click here - $20 off your first order at Spring Hill Nursery!
[More Hibiscus!]