Mealybugs on turnip and parsnip leaves?

**sanderson** 7/4/2013, 7:54 pm

I don't have any photos, wish I had taken some before I pulled and threw them in the trash can. The leaves were covered with what I would describe as fuzzy little aphids. I can see individual aphids, but I needed a magnifying glass to see these individuals. I Googled mealybug photos and the mess looked like the professional photos plus I think I had a rare male mealybug! I covered the square with black plastic to steam kill anything left. This morning, there were sow bugs (roly poly) diving in and out of the MM. PS I've used Sluffo Plus and eliminated most of the sow bugs and snails/slugs so I'm not worried about getting rid of the new colony of sow bugs.

All I'm asking from the Forum is: does my description sound like mealybugs? And, do sow bugs prey on mealy bugs?

Triciasgarden 7/5/2013, 9:33 pm

From what I have read, sow bugs eat decaying matter and I know sometimes they also eat some live plants. They do not eat other insects.

I don't know anything about mealybugs. Here is an article I found about mealy bugs: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/GARDEN/PLANTS/INVERT/mealybugs.html

I found a good site that shows the larvae of lady bugs that eat mealy bugs and sometimes they can be mistaken for mealybugs. Go down a little more than half-way in the article as the first part is something else. http://www.plantcreations.com/mealybug_destroyers.html. It's hard to know without a picture what it was that you had.

**sanderson** 7/5/2013, 11:38 pm

Thank you , Tricia

In hind sight, I couldn't have taken a photo with my camera that would have been close enough to see the individual bugs. With my magnifying glass, they looked like teeny white aphids with lots of fluffy stuff sticking out. Plus, one male that looked like the photos I Searched. And, thank you for the links. I will use the Sluggo Plus in teeny trays to kill the sow bugs.

Triciasgarden 7/6/2013, 2:03 am

I understand about the camera. If I can get my camera and me close enough and stand on my head while doing it I can get a picture, but it would be blurry. I hate bad bugs!

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Mealybugs on turnip and parsnip leaves?

Mealybugs on turnip and parsnip leaves?

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