Dracaena appears to be the favored host, but most flowering and ornamental foliage plants are susceptible. Longtailed mealybugs feed by sucking out plant sap from leaves and stems. Honeydew and sooty mold further disfigure infested plants, which may eventually be killed. These pests also secrete a fluffy white wax which also detracts from the appearance of infested plants. Although longtailed mealybugs were first described in 1867, not much has been published on their biology.
Females give birth to live young on a shallow pile of white waxy secretions.
Because the females are wingless, they must be brought into proximity of a host plant before it can be infested. A small wasp, Anagyrus nigricornis , parasitizes longtailed mealybugs, and a small, predaceous, brown lacewing insect feeds on them. Ants sometimes protect longtailed mealybugs from parasites and predators and feed upon the honeydew excreted by these mealybugs. Longtailed mealybugs are sometimes difficult to control, even though there is no egg stage protected by a dense ovisac. If many plants are infested, they should be dipped or sprayed thoroughly with a pesticide mixture or the entire greenhouse treated with an aerosol.