Mealy Bug:

Mealy bugs (Pseudococcidae) are soft, unarmored scale insects predominantly found in warm and humid climates. They do dislike hot and dry weather and to protect themselves (protect their soft body), the bugs cover themselves with a whitish ‘mealy’ wax to reduce their body loss of water. The "wax" also offers some protection from insecticides.

Males exist only to fertilize the females and die. They have wings but have a short life and change numerous times.

Females are wingless but can move easily. Normally, attach themselves to the plant, secrete a powdery wax layer for protection and suck the plant juices uninterrupted. Mealy bugs, constantly excrete a sticky substance called "honey dew" - waste product of the mealy bug feeding process - which ants like to feed on. Ants offer full protection from predators and parasites in exchange for "honey dew", mealy bugs are "farmed" by the ants. In the presence of ants, mealy bugs can be a very serious problem.

Honeydew is also the perfect growth medium for the "sooty mold" fungi.

When the conditions are right to breed, female mealy bugs never stop. New eggs hatch every 2-3 weeks. The juveniles, ‘crawlers’, are independent and search and find their own suitable feeding site.

Mealy bugs can act as vectors for several plant diseases.

When I find them, in small numbers, I used methylated spirit to "kill" them.

Releasing parasitic wasps such as "Leptomastix dactylopii" or "Anagyrus fusciventris" into the infested area can achieve good control of mealy bugs. The wasps lay their eggs into "crawlers" and on hatching the wasp larvae feed on the internal fluids of the mealy bugs.

Predatory "ladybird" beetles also attack mealy bugs but are slow.

The last option is to spray. There are numerous good systemic insecticides that could be used like Confidor, Folimat, Maldison, Procide, Natrasoap.