This lady beetle attacks many species of mealybugs. It will also feed on aphids and immature scale insects when mealybugs are in low numbers. It may sometimes be less effective against longtailed mealybug being a high density feeder, but will reproduce when mealybug are present Both adult and larval stages are predatory, but don't mistake "crypt" larvae for mealy-bugs since both have a white, waxy coating. Two releases of approximately 1 beetle per square foot of planted area or 2 to 5 per infested plant is a guideline when mealybug populations are small. Subsequent monthly releases may be needed.

Care and Distribution: Do not refrigerate these tropical beetles! "Crypts" are shipped as adults ready for release by sprinkling on infestation sites.

Shipped Wednesday, order by previous Wednesday.

Eggs packaged in cups or bags of 1,000, 5,000 or 10,000 eggs per unit. Cups contain only the eggs. Tiny larvae eat mites, mite eggs and insect eggs. Within about a week they start eating aphids. Release 2,000-3,000 eggs per acre every 2 weeks, 2-4 times OR 1 per 20 pests OR 2 per sq ft in greenhouses. Release when hatching begins: incubate cups or bags (ideal conditions 80º F, 60% RH), check each morning until tiny larvae appear in 1-4 days, sprinkle on plants directly or into paper cups placed in foliage.

Lacewing on cards are shipped with 2,500, 5,000 or 10,000 lacewing eggs glued on each card; cards are perforated to guide cutting or tearing into 30 of ¾ X 2 inch tabs with a hook on one end and containing about 86, 170 or 332 eggs. Cut and place tabs into vines, shrubs or trees when larvae begin to hatch. Tabs can also be placed inside small paper cups and either stapled to plants or hung by a knotted string (through bottom of cup). The cards can be further cut into smaller pieces for wider distribution.

Cardboard vertical honeycomb holds 400 larvae ready to feed on pests as soon as they hit the plant. Honeycomb unit has paper on one side, organdy mesh on the other, with one larva in each cell. Larvae can walk as far as 7 miles, ranging up to 100 feet while looking for pests. During 2-3 weeks of life, one lone lacewing larva can consume 250 leafhopper nymphs , 300-400 aphids, 11,200 spider mites, 3,780 coccid scale crawlers or 6,500 scale eggs. Interfering ants, waxy coatings or hard shells on pests and low temperatures deter lacewings from dining on and destroying pests. Remove organdy mesh from a few cells at a time, turn over, tap larvae onto plants near pest hotspots. Release ~20 larvae per plant.