Mealybug Destroyer

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.
The resemblance of the larval stage of this predator to its prey is one reason Mealybug Destroyers maybe overlooked or misidentified. With their wooly appendages and cigar-shaped body that looks as if it has been rolled in flour, Mealybug Destroyer larvae look very much like the larval and adult stages of the citrus mealybug (a serious insect pest). The important difference is size: full grown Mealybug Destroyer larvae are at least twice as large as adult mealybugs.