Mealy Bugs

Possibly the most hated of all pests. Most often seen on new growth, hiding on the undersides of leaves, in leaf axils, beneath leaf sheaths (the dead papery bit that often surrounds pseudobulbs) and they also love flowers. They are a type of aphid and are quite persistent.  They are a greyish or pinkish colour and are covered with a powdery substance, so they look white or grey.  They don’t fly, but the females and nymphs do crawl around from plant to plant, and they can be very difficult to control. They are very common and every indoor grower of any type of plant will be very familiar with them. There is even a variety of mealybug that attacks roots but luckily for us, that type doesn’t go for orchids (except maybe terrestrials). You can find mealy bugs on almost any type of orchid, they aren’t fussy. They’ll leave disfigured growths in their wake and seem to appear as if by magic.