LOOK FOR

Look for in leaves
• Young mealybugs on undersides of basal leaves inside the canopy from late spring (later in cooler regions). Use a hand lens
• Sticky leaves and ant activity in dense canopies or where mealybugs have occurred previously
  

   CONDITIONS

• Build up during mild summers
• Mealybuts have soft bodies covered with a white powdery wax and are fringed by white filaments.
• Young mealybugs survive over winter beneath vine bark and in cracks in trellis posts. At budburst, they move onto leaves. There are often three generations each season. Expect to find infestations in small patches within the vineyard.
  

   NOTES

When you find infested vines, tag them, then monitor those vines next spring to find young mealybugs.
Look carefully for beneficial insects feeding on mealybugs e.g. ladybirds or lacewing larvae, and mealybugs parasitised by wasps.