Pest profile

Striped Mealybug

Ferrisia virgata · Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae[3]

The striped mealybug is a sap-feeding mealybug covered in fluffy white wax with two dark stripes down its back; it feeds on hundreds of plants, in North Carolina mostly landscape azaleas and yaupon holly.[1][2]

Striped mealybugs, white and waxy with long filaments, on a stem
Striped mealybugs, white and waxy with long filaments, on a stem. (c) aubrey_moore, some rights reserved (CC BY) — via iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0

How to identify it

  • Females are up to about 3/16 inch long, covered with fluffy white wax except for two dark lengthwise stripes, with glassy hairlike threads and two white tail filaments.[1][2]
  • Young nymphs are light yellow; males are tiny, winged, without mouthparts, and live only three or four days.[1][2]

Look-alikes

Look-alikeHow to tell them apart
MealybugsThe general mealybug page covers other common species.[2]

Where it lives

It has spread worldwide through trade and occurs in tropical and temperate climates; UF notes it may be a complex of similar species.[2]

Biology and life cycle

Each female lays 64 to 737 eggs over 20 to 29 days on a pad of fluffy filaments beneath her, and eggs hatch within hours.[1]

Mealybugs may retreat into the soil in winter.[1]

Damage and signs

  • It has been reported from more than 200 plant genera, including field, vegetable, fruit and ornamental crops.[1][2]
  • Heavy infestations yellow, wither and kill back plants and cause early leaf drop; honeydew can grow dense sooty mold.[1][2]

Health risk

None to people or pets.[1][2]

Control

Biological control

Parasitic wasps, lady beetles and other predators attack it, though infestations sometimes escape them.[1]

Pesticides

It is susceptible to most residential landscape insecticides, but two or three applications may be needed because it retreats into the soil in winter.[1]

Common questions

What are the white fuzzy bugs with two dark stripes on my azalea?
Likely striped mealybugs.[1][2]
Why did my mealybugs come back after spraying?
Several treatments may be needed; they can retreat into the soil over winter.[1]
What damage do striped mealybugs do?
Yellowing, wilting, dieback, early leaf drop and sooty mold.[1][2]

Sources

  1. NC State Extension, “Striped Mealybug.” content.ces.ncsu.edu/striped-mealybug (accessed 2026-10-15)
  2. University of Florida IFAS Extension (Featured Creatures), “Striped Mealybug, Ferrisia virgata (EENY-674).” ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN1164 (accessed 2026-10-15)
  3. iNaturalist, “Ferrisia virgata taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/330242 (accessed 2026-10-06)

Updated 2026-10-15. Built from sourced records. Spot an error? Tell us.