Cryptolaemus is a small Coccinellid species. Adults are about. They have a black body and a reddish head, abdomen and tail segment. The larvae are covered with thick, white, filaments and grow as large as .4 in. Cryptolaemus prefer to feed on Mealybugs and a few other closely related species.
Females deposit their eggs in the cottony eggmass produced by female mealybugs.
Cryptolaemus is not as effective on mealybugs that do not produce eggmass such as Longtail Mealybug. At a constant temperature of 70 degrees, the life cycle takes 45 days. Larvae will hatch in about 2 weeks when daytime temperatures are in the 80 degree range. Once they hatch, the larvae feed voraciously on all stages of Mealybugs including crawlers, adult females, and eggmass. Quite frequently, larvae will exhaust their immediate food source and can be seen frantically searching for more food.