What's eating my striped begonia (listada)?

Begonia listada is a compact Brazilian species with distinctive striped dark-green leaves, grown indoors. Its shallow roots and love of humidity make it susceptible to both mealybugs at the stem and fungus gnat larvae in the root zone. Its velvety leaf texture also makes spider mite damage easy to miss until advanced.

White cottony fluff tucked at base of stems and undersides of the striped leaves Remove manually with alcohol swab; apply neem oil spray covering all leaf surfaces and stem bases

Dull pale stippling on the velvety dark leaf surface, often first noticed as loss of colour contrast in the stripes Increase humidity, shower plant gently, treat with insecticidal soap; repeat every 7 days

Root damage from larvae in moist, humus-rich mix; wilting unrelated to watering frequency Allow surface to dry between waterings, apply Bti drench, place yellow sticky traps to catch adults