University of California Cooperative Extension

Longtailed Mealybug

Site developed and maintained by the Kearney Agricultural Center, June 2003, © The Regents of the University of California    Last edited: 06/10/2003

Seasonal abundance & distribution

Monitoring

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Distribution
The longtailed mealybug is found throughout North America and in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, New Zealand, and Australia.  Like the obscure mealybug, it has a relatively narrow temperature tolerance but a wide host range.  

For this reason, the longtailed mealybug is a far more important pest in glasshouse and indoor plantscapes than in vineyards.  In California, infestations in vineyards have been isolated to a small number in the Central Coast region.   (Return to top)

Seasonal abundance & distribution
The longtailed mealybug has multiple, often overlapping generations.  Unlike the other mealybugs, the longtailed mealybug adult deposits active crawlers rather than eggs although a cottony ovisac is still produced to protect the crawlers.  This ovisac is made of wax secretions just like the marginal filaments and tails.    (Return to top)