Pink hibiscus mealybug

Body Design
The Maconellicoccus hirsutus or the Pink Hibiscus Mealybug, when they are adults, are small and are usually 3 mm long. They are pink in body color and are covered in a waxy layer. The females are wingless and are oval shaped covered by mass that is white. But they males have wings and two long waxy tails. The crawlers have well developed legs and have 6 jointed antennae. They also have a more prominent anal lobe. As adults, they have 10 antennae.

The females can lay up to 500 eggs that are usually orange.

Life Cycle
The entire life cycle of Maconellicoccus hirsutus takes anywhere from twenty-three to thirty days. The adult female dies soon after laying her orange eggs that turn to pink before they hatch, earning the species' common name. These eggs are found in sacs. The pink hibiscus mealybug has a very high reproduction rate and can produce up to fifteen generations per year. This is one of the main reasons why it is such a nuisance to farmers and gardeners.

Movement in the pink hibiscus mealybug begins in the instar stage. These crawlers are capable of moving a short distance by themselves but usually are moved by external sources such as water, wind, or animals. The male and female nymphs appear very similar, but the male nymphs have four instars, while the females have only three. Adult unmated females excrete pheromones to attract males. When the eggs are fully developed, the female produces a fluffy white mass that contains up to six hundred eggs. In cold areas, the pink hibiscus mealybug overwinters in holes or crevices, but in warmer tropical areas it can remain active all year long.

Ecology
The bug lives on moist plants. The main host for the pink hibiscus mealybug is the Hibiscus rosa-sinensis. It can also live on woody plants but it has its preferences. When they're in the topics they finish their life cycle rapidly. They live in places like agricultural fields or planted forests.

The bug eats on fruits veggies and fiber crops. For example they like coffee crops maize sugar cane and ect. The pink hibiscus mealybug is a primary consumer that attacks plants such as roses and hibiscus plants.The girl versions feed on soft healthy tissues in groups. The way they eat is buy injecting salivary toxins at the growing points of the phloem tissues.

Location and Method of Introduction
The pink hibiscus mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus, is a serious pest of many plants in tropical and subtropical regions, including Africa, southeast Asia, and northern Australia. It was found in the Caribbean in 1994 for the first time. It was discovered in Broward County, Florida on 13 June, 2002, then in Dade County, and has continued to spread. . Also, in the 1990s, Maconellicoccus hirsutus invaded several islands in the Caribbean: Grenada, St. Kitts, Nevis, Trinidad, Tobago, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Pink hibiscus mealybug is expected to colonize all of Florida and spread north into southern Georgia. Because pink hibiscus mealybug attacks so many crop and ornamental plants, populations could become common on many plant species in Florida. .

Environmental Impact
When the mealybug attacks it causes the plant's terminal growth to become deformed, which permanently injures the plant. This leads to the host plant's death. It has reportedly negatively impacted Egypt's citrus industry. When it was introduced to Trinidad and Tobago it caused them to lose 125 million a year.

Control Methods
The use of chemical pesticides are largely an ineffective control method of M. hirstus as its waxy covering and tendency to hide in crevasses in the plant. A more effective way has been put into practice. The use of predatory wasps, Anagyrus kamali and Gyranusoidea indica, and beetles, Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, has been instituted to control the populations in many places. The wasps lay eggs inside an adult M. hirstus and uses it as protection until the eggs hatch.

Video
A pest alert from the Jamaica Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. EVQ54hsERUs