Your destroyers
are here.
They look bare, gray, and half-asleep — which is exactly how a good shipment of larvae should look. They’re healthy, they’re hungry, and they’re ready to get to work. Here’s how to set them up.
What do I do first? ↓They made it.
Thank you.
A tiny crew of mealybug specialists just shipped its way to your door to move into your plants — and you picked living predators over a bottle of something nasty. That’s genuinely the good choice, and we’re glad you made it.
Now let’s get them settled. It takes about five minutes, and it’s mostly “put the bugs near the bugs.”
You won’t see
all of them.
And that’s a feature, not a shortage — these little hunters are world-class at vanishing the instant the lid lifts. So save yourself the paper-towel head-count and trust they’re in there. Here’s why you won’t spot them all.
They run from light. Montrouzieri larvae are negatively phototactic — the second the lid comes off, they bolt away from daylight and wedge into folds, corners, and carrier. The ones you can see are the slow ones.
They hide by instinct. They’re thigmotactic too — hardwired to cram into tight crevices and press against surfaces. In a shipping container that means tucked into seams and under the carrier material, out of sight.
They’re camouflaged right now. Bare, gray, and a few millimetres long, against a similar-colored carrier. Without their white fluff they’re even harder to pick out than usual.
The sooner they’re on the plant, the sooner they’re eating — so tip the whole container onto the mealybugs and let them disappear into the leaves. Disappearing is the whole point. That’s them getting to work.
Get them on
the mealybugs.
That’s the whole job. They’ll forage once they’re out, but the closer you start them to the mealybugs, the sooner they get to work.
-
Find the cottony clustersMealybugs hide in leaf axils, stem joints, and leaf undersides — the white fuzzy masses. That’s where the larvae need to go.
-
Set the carrier on or near the clustersNestle the whole tub of buckwheat right against the infested spots — tucked into a leaf axil, balanced on a stem joint, or set on the soil at the base. No need to pour anything out. The larvae will climb out on their own and find the mealybugs.
-
Spread across the worst spots, todaySeveral infested plants? Share the larvae among the heaviest clusters so everyone gets a hunter. Release them the day they arrive — they’re freshest now, and the sooner they start, the sooner you’ll see the colony shrink.
Looks wrong?
It’s right.
Fresh Montrouzieri larvae look nothing like the tidy spotted beetles people picture. Here’s the quick translation between what you see and what’s actually going on.
The carrier
can stay a while.
Your larvae ship in a little bed of buckwheat hulls — it cushions them in transit and gives the stragglers something to grip while they wake up and climb out. You don’t need to dig anyone out of it.
Leave the carrier tucked against the plant for about a week. That gives every last larva time to crawl out and get to work — the slow ones often linger in the hulls for a few days. Once the week’s up and it’s clearly empty, just lift it out and toss it. The buckwheat itself is harmless to your plant and your soil, so there’s no rush and no mess to worry about.
What happens
over the next few weeks.
This is slow-motion pest control, not a knockout punch. Here’s the progression week by week, including the stage that throws people off.
Larvae burrow into the cottony masses and begin feeding on eggs and young mealybugs. You probably won’t see much yet — they’re small, busy, and working from the inside out.
This is when it gets satisfying. The white fuzz thins, clusters look ragged and picked-over, and you’ll spot fewer live mealybugs. The larvae themselves get noticeably bigger and may grow back a waxy coat — which is why people suddenly think their pests are multiplying. They’re not. That’s your good guys, in disguise.
Here’s the happy ending: a well-fed larva stops moving and tucks into a fuzzy little cocoon in a crevice or under a leaf. It can look like a goner or a fresh mealybug cluster — but it’s neither. It’s a pupa, and it means they ate their fill. Leave it be, and adults will emerge to mop up any stragglers.
If you’re three weeks in and the mealybugs still have the upper hand, just send us a note — a stubborn infestation sometimes likes a second wave, and we’re happy to help you finish strong.
The numbers,
at a glance.
If shipping
goes sideways.
Live shipments mostly arrive happy, but transit isn’t always smooth. Here’s what to do in each case.
Totally fine. Everything we ship is built to ride out a few extra days in transit — a slightly slow package is not a damaged one. Follow the care steps above and they’ll be ready to go.
If you added AfterShip Protection at checkout, that’s the fastest path: file your claim directly through AfterShip and they’ll take care of you right away.
No protection? Email us at info@fgmnnursery.com and we’ll file a claim with the carrier on your behalf. Heads-up: carrier claims can take up to four weeks to process, and approval is at the carrier’s discretion — we’ll push for you, but we can’t guarantee the outcome.
good guys coming.
A follow-up release a few weeks out catches any late hatchlings and keeps your plants in the clear for good.
Tell us how
it’s going.
Questions, photos, a proud update when the mealybugs are gone — we’re always happy to talk bugs. Drop us a line and we’ll write back.
Message sent!
Thanks for reaching out — we’ll get back to you soon. Keep an eye on your inbox.