The citrus mealybug has increased to damaging levels in some groves and these increases appear to be related to disruption of beneficials. Mealybugs are recognized by a distinctly segmented body that has lateral filaments covered with a white wax. They average 3 mm in length and tend to situate themselves on the bottom of fruit or on areas where adjacent fruit are in contact.
Citrus mealybugs tend to prefer grapefruit over oranges.
Large infestations cause fruit drop and reduced yields, but their greatest damage is caused by honeydew on fruit and leaves. Whiteflies differ from scales in that both sexes are winged and motile as adults and they restrict their feeding to foliage. Population increases generally coincide with a new flush of foliage on trees. Whiteflies damage citrus by removing sap from leaves during feeding and by secreting large amounts of honeydew upon which black sooty mold grows. Photosynthesis can be substantially reduced in trees with extensive amounts of sooty mold.