What's eating my dinteranthus puberulus?

Dinteranthus puberulus is kept as a specialist houseplant where mealybugs, seeking shelter in the cleft of its leaf bodies, pose the greatest risk. Root mealybugs can lurk in the thin root zone. Maintaining very lean, fast-draining compost and allowing complete dry-down between waterings minimises all pest pressure on this delicate mesemb.

Cottony white deposits lodged in the central fissure; honeydew stickiness and slow decline Manually remove with alcohol swabs; treat base and soil surface with diluted neem oil; repeat after two weeks to break the life cycle

Gradual wilting unresponsive to correct watering; white powdery colonies on roots when inspected Unpot the plant, rinse roots under water, apply an imidacloprid soil soak, and replant in sterile gritty medium

Larvae chew roots in moist compost; adults emerge from soil surface Let the substrate dry fully between waterings; apply a coarse grit top-dressing; use yellow sticky traps to monitor infestation level