Lounge gardeners, what plant pest (animals?) are these gunk?

[UTUSN]

The plants that seem to be favored by the gunk are something various "jatropha". So my introduction to the gunk was a couple of years ago, when *only one* of the bushes was infected. I only noticed it when about half of the bush was loaded. A nursery worker steered me to some (fungicide?) liquid that had to be mixed and sprayed, then repeat a couple of weeks later. I was worried about the gunk spreading. They told me these were some kind of animals that were tended by ants, that the gunk would feed and fatten up until the ants were ready to - what, *eat* them?!1 I never saw any ants.

Well, if anybody remembers my epic about garden snails, I have no investment in cultivating whatever for weeks patiently and following steps. So after buying the product and spraying once, I didn't want to wait more and spray more, and wondered whether pruning off all the infested branches would harm the plant or do actual riddance. I figured that if the plant died I could just dig it up and replace it with another one from the flea market. So I did the deed of pruning off, and the plant kept on keeping on and now is like nothing happened, still a little smaller than the other bushes.

Oddly, the gunk didn't spread to the neighboring jatrophas, but a year after has popped up a little, but I've caught it early. So now, this gunk in the picture is on a jatropha in a different location and is only what is in the picture, not all over the plant.

So, Lounge master gardeners, it's a fungus? Animal, yes?


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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jatropha_podagrica
Jatropha podagrica is a succulent plant in the family Euphorbiaceae.[1][2] It is native to the tropical Americas but is grown as an ornamental plant in many parts of the world due to its unusual appearance. Common names include Gout Plant, Gout Stalk, Guatemalan Rhubarb, Coral Plant, Buddha Belly Plant, Purging-Nut, Physic Nut, Goutystalk Nettlespurge, Australian Bottle Plant, and Tartogo.[3][4][5][6]

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[LuvLoogie]

1. Mealy bugs?

https://www.google.com/search?q=mealy+bugs&rlz=1C1GGRV_enUS751US752&sxsrf=ALeKk0048V3v2w8ZjD46e_tgwEkut9Gf3A:1591937983391&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjBnISQv_vpAhUvRDABHX3_DUAQ_AUoAXoECBcQAw&biw=1302&bih=714#imgrc=YTLTGbsUjL2EgM

[UTUSN]

2. Sounds like it, from your link. Thanks! Ain't nature amazing, gross and other things?!1

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Found in warmer growing climates, mealybugs are soft-bodied, wingless insects that often appear as white cottony masses on the leaves, stems and fruit of plants. They feed by inserting long sucking mouthparts, called stylets, into plants and drawing sap out of the tissue. Damage is not often significant at low pest levels. However, at higher numbers they can cause leaf yellowing and curling as the plant weakens. Feeding is usually accompanied by honeydew, which makes the plant sticky and encourages the growth of sooty moulds. Mealybugs are a common greenhouse pest that affect ornamentals, houseplants, avocados and fruits.

Identification
Adults (1/10 — 1/4 inch long) are soft, oval distinctly segmented insects that are usually covered with a white or gray mealy wax. Small nymphs, called crawlers, are light yellow and free of wax. They are active early on, but move little once a suitable feeding site is found.

Note: There are approximately 275 species of mealybugs known to occur throughout the United States.

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[LuvLoogie]

6. Indigenous peoples have used a related species to make dye.

[Warpy]

7. If it looks like somebody spit all over the plants, it's mealy bugs

Control is easier than you think, just use a garden hose to spray those bastards far away. Ten feet to a mealy bug is like trying to fly to the Moon. This also works for spider mites and aphids.

[UTUSN]

9. The picture is what I have. That it?

Dunno, seems like these are really stuck on for just washing off.

[Warpy]

11. It takes a really hard spray to dislodge them

but they will go. I got those on house plants from time to time, blamed the cats for bringing them in after they'd been walkabout.

I can't really see the picture, my vision is very poor these days.

ETA: Just be glad they're not tent caterpillars. Brrrrr.

[Phoenix61]

3. Spider mites! Pain in the tail. Neem oil works

but the little sap suckers live in the dirt and can hide under the rim of planters. So, spray neem oil on the plants, scoop out an inch or so of soil and spray the inside edge of the planter and replace soil. Don’t use neem oil in sunlight as it can burn the leaves. I, sadly, torched a favorite philodendron.

[UTUSN]

4. Ugh, anything "spider" creeps me out, will consider, but the pruning off has seemed to work. Thnx!

[Phoenix61]

5. They are really, really tiny. What you see is their

webbing. If you catch them early, that should work or just rinsing them off. Mine got burrowed down into the dirt. Finally pulled everything out and am growing it in water. Tossed the dirt and am letting the planter bake in the Florida sun for awhile.

[Warpy]

8. Spider mites are tiny, like grains of cayenne pepper

You have to get a microscope if you want to be creeped out by them.

[sprinkleeninow]

10. Hay y'all.😊 Budda Belly? Purging Nut? Goutystalk Nettlespooge

What they said they're mealybugs.

Whattabout a solution of dish detergent or shampoo and spray them away.

I had them once somewhere but dont remember what I used to get them banished.