Mealybugs on Drosera

Mealybugs are small piercing-sucking insects that are feared by gardeners, as they attack the very heart of plants and are particularly hardy. An infested plant must be treated quickly, as they deplete the plant’s resources much faster than aphids, for example.

Here, the mealybugs have covered the plant’s ‘bud’, from which all its leaves emerge, and for good reason: this is the part that contains the most energy. Drosera, however, are far from being the carnivorous plants most frequently attacked by scale insects (the Sarraceniaceae take the crown in this respect).
More details on scale insects can be found in our article on carnivorous plant pests.