Comstock Mealybug Adult females of this insect can be found now in the foliage of pear, apple, and even some peaches, so it follows that their invasive crawler offspring should be showing up before too long, perhaps as soon as the middle of July, especially in the Hudson Valley. This is a localized problem, but calyx infestations of mealybug crawlers can be an unpleasant and costly surprise when fruits are inspected for processing or even fresh use. The crawlers are the most susceptible stage for chemical control, which we expect sometime during the next couple of weeks. The following information is taken from the Comstock Mealybug IPM Fact Sheet, No. 22. Adult females are present for a total of 4-6 weeks, and oviposit for about one week after mating.
Males survive for only a few days after emerging.
The elongate, orange-yellow eggs are laid in jumbled masses along with waxy filamentous secretions in protected places such as under bark crevices, near pruning cuts, and occasionally in the calyx of fruit. Later instars are similar in appearance, but become progressively browner and redder. Comstock mealybug nymphs on young tissue. Nymphs that hatch from the overwintered eggs are active from roughly early May to early July. As the nymphs approach the adult stage, they tend to congregate on older branches at a pruning scar, a node, or at a branch base, as well as inside the calyx of pears.