Banana pests
May 4, 2015 4:02 AM   Subscribe

Can you help me identify these flat white bugs on my bananas? Google gives me a wide range of food pests, but nothing that looks like these critters.

I assume they're harmless, so can I just wash them off with water and go about my banana-eating way? I bought these bananas at a street market, and I'm pretty sure they're South American (as opposed to Canarian) because of their size. I also bought a lot of other fruit that I carried home in the same bag, but it doesn't look like the bugs have tried to move house.

Thank you, amateur (or professional, who knows) entymologists of Mefi!
posted by lollymccatburglar to Food & Drink (3 answers total)
 
Best answer: Mealybugs! Wash REALLY well - they lay a lot of eggs. Clean your pantry, just in case they didn't come from the market - or have had time to go elsewhere.
posted by peagood at 4:14 AM on May 4, 2015


Response by poster: Got it in one! The bananas have been sitting in the kitchen sink since I took them out of the bag this morning, so I think we're ok.
posted by lollymccatburglar at 4:24 AM on May 4, 2015


Ugh, get rid of those, especially if you have a garden.
posted by resurrexit at 7:31 AM on May 4, 2015


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