How to identify it
- Adult females are about 1/8 inch (3 mm) long, pink-bodied but hidden under white, mealy wax; crushed, their body fluid is pink or reddish.[1][2]
- Males are smaller, reddish brown, with one pair of wings and two long waxy tails.[1][2]
- Eggs sit inside a white, cottony egg sac; teased open, it shows pink eggs and crawlers.[1][2]
Look-alikes
| Look-alike | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| Mealybug destroyer larvae | These beneficial lady beetle larvae are also covered in white, fluffy wax, but they are predators of the mealybug and should be left alone.[1] |
Where it lives
It is established in tropical and subtropical Africa, southern Asia and northern Australia, spread through the Caribbean after 1994, and was found in Broward County, Florida, in June 2002.[1][2]
Biology and life cycle
Females die after laying up to 600 eggs in an egg sac; the life cycle takes about a month, so populations can build very fast.[1][2]
Crawlers spread by walking and on the wind.[1]
Eggs can survive the winter in bark crevices, leaf scars, soil and crumpled leaves.[1]
Damage and signs
- Its toxic saliva causes curled, contorted leaves, twisted stems with shortened internodes, bushy shoot tips, buds that don't flower and deformed fruit; very heavy infestations can kill plants.[1]
- On hibiscus it infests young twigs, deforming the new growth; it also produces honeydew that supports black sooty mold.[1]
Health risk
It feeds on plants; UF/IFAS mentions no risk to people.[1]
Control
Prevention
Don't destroy the white, waxy mealybug destroyer larvae when cleaning up infested plants; they look like mealybugs but are predators.[1]
Biological control
The mealybug destroyer lady beetle feeds on all its stages and helps against heavy infestations, and the parasitic wasp Anagyrus kamali has given substantial control where it has been released.[1]
Common questions
- Why are my hibiscus shoots bunched and twisted?
- Pink hibiscus mealybug feeding causes shortened, twisted shoots with bunches of small, curled leaves at the tips.[1]
- Is the white fluffy insect on my hibiscus a mealybug?
- It may be, or it may be a mealybug destroyer larva, a beneficial predator that is also covered in white wax.[1]
- How fast does pink hibiscus mealybug spread?
- Quickly: each female can lay up to 600 eggs, a generation takes about a month, and crawlers are carried by wind.[1][2]
Sources
- University of Florida IFAS Extension (Featured Creatures), “Pink Hibiscus Mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green) (EENY-029/IN156).” ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN156 (accessed 2026-10-06)
- EDDMapS, University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health, “Pink hibiscus mealybug (Maconellicoccus hirsutus).” www.eddmaps.org/species/subject.cfm?sub=9222 (accessed 2026-10-06)
- iNaturalist, “Maconellicoccus hirsutus taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/199372 (accessed 2026-10-06)