Animals Kingdom (Animalia)

• Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

• Hexapods (Subphylum Hexapoda)

• Insects (Class Insecta)

• Winged and Once-winged Insects (Subclass Pterygota)

• True Bugs, Hoppers, Aphids, and Allies (Order Hemiptera)

• True Bugs (Subrder Heteroptera)

Adult females are often characterized by a white, mealy or powdery secretion that covers the body. These insects usually feed on the underside of leaves, where leaves attach to stems, or at the base of whorled leaves as well as on plant roots. When the mealybugs congregate in masses, they cause the plant to look "cottony" in spots. In addition some of the "cottony" masses may be egg clusters.