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Cryptolaemus montrouzieri
Mealybug Destroyer
Mealybug Ladybird
Not native to Florida
Native to Australia now worldwide in the middle latitudes.
Adults are mostly black or dark brown, with orangish-tan head and rear end. Legs are dark although females have light-brown forelegs. The larvae of Cryptolaemus montrouzieri resemble large mealybugs.
Mealybug destroyers were imported into the US as a mealybug control, particularly in citrus groves.
The species is named for Xavier Montrouzier, a french priest who was also an explorer, botanist, zoologist and entomologist. Jean Xavier Hyacinthe Montrouzier (1820-1897) studied the flora and fauna of New Caledonia and other islands of Melaneasia northeast of Australia.
Cryptolaemus montrouzieri is a member of the Coccinellidae - Ladybugs, Ladybirds, Lady Beetles family.
For more information on this species, visit the following link:
Bugguide.net page for this species
Date record last modified: Nov 24, 2022
