Mealybug ladybird
Villa Olga, Santiago De Los Caballeros, Dominican Republic.
| Species | Genus | Family |
|---|---|---|
| Cryptolaemus montrouzieri | Cryptolaemus | Coccinellidae |
| Order | Class | Phylum |
| Coleoptera | Insecta | Arthopoda |
The adults and larvae of these insects eat scale insects, especially mealybugs. Female ladybirds lay small groups of eggs among the cottony egg masses of mealybugs and by scale insects. A larva hatches from each egg. It is covered with white flocculent wax and looks like a woolly mealybug, camouflaging themselves like a wolf in sheep's clothing.[1]
