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tiny white hairy caterpillar - friend or foe?

kate.phillipskate.phillips Posts: 7
in Problem solving
Hi there

I've seen a few of these tiny white caterpillars. I have a few holes on rose bushes, but its my rhododendron that has been severely munched! Could these be the culprit? What are they?

They're tiny - less than a centimetre, have a thin green body underneath a fluffy/hairy white back where the hairs go mostly out horizontally. They move really quickly for their size too. Im pretty sure theyre caterpillar vs centipede.

Thanks very much!

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Posts

  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    Some kind of scale insect maybe. I think they attack rhododendrons,  but hopefully someone with more knowledge can advise  :)
  • Magical MeerkatMagical Meerkat Posts: 311
    That's a ladybird larvae. Won't be that munching your plants
  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 37,906
    edited June 2020
    Sorry Magical Meerkat, that is definitely not a ladybird larva. It looks more like a mealy bug. A foe Kate.
    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • debs64debs64 Posts: 5,184
    Doesn’t look like ladybird larvae to me either. They are usually dark? 
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    From the Field Studies Council website 

    It does look like a mealy bug as Ladybird 4 (!) says.
  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,318
    edited June 2020
    I believe that is an adaptation so the ladybird larva is not 'spotted' by its food.

    check this out for reference
    https://ladybirdplantcare.co.uk/products/mealybug-control

    not one of the common ladybirds I guess.

    Edited to say:  usually sold as mealybug control and quite expensive, "Cryptolaemus montrouzieri", so maybe an escapee?
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • PoppypussPoppypuss Posts: 143
    herbaceous said:
    I believe that is an adaptation so the ladybird larva is not 'spotted' by its food.

    check this out for reference
    https://ladybirdplantcare.co.uk/products/mealybug-control

    not one of the common ladybirds I guess.

    Edited to say:  usually sold as mealybug control and quite expensive, "Cryptolaemus montrouzieri", so maybe an escapee?
    Just looked at the reference, fascinating!
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    @kate.phillips It is indeed a type of ladybird larva - species is Hyperaspis - see this older post:


    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    You learn something new every day !  
  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    Look out for vine weevils munching your rhododendron.
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