Mealy Bugs Mealy bugs are slender, flat insects covered by a waxy substance. They form a white, cottony-mass. Adult mealybugs inhabit cracks and crevices of buds, stems and branches, weakening the growth of the plant. Mealybugs secrete honeydew. The scale is actually a covering that serves to protect the scale insects.
Females lay eggs under the protective covering.
When the young hatch, they are transparent, oval and flat. The first growth stage is the crawler, susceptible to insecticides. Check for scale along leaf veins and on stems. Infested plants exhibit poor, stunted growth and often you will see the small, raised, brown shells of the scale insects. Whiteflies White flies are tiny, snow-white insects.