Mealybug

Mealybugs are 1/5 - 1/3 inch long, oval, flattened, covered with white waxy powder and adorned with short, soft spines around their margins. They feed on stems, branches and leaves, often in axils and other protected sites. They also excrete honeydew that can attract ants to the plant. They disperse in a tiny crawler stage upon hatching. The diagnostic cottony tufts on leaves are their egg sacks. Mealybugs tend to congregate, resulting in a cottony appearance. They are found mostly in the east.