Interesting thought, which I had entertained. But I don't think that
mealy bugs like this are native to the desert.
In my long tenure as a CP grower (ahem!)... :) ...I have noticed that
the lowly aphid and mealy bug can be a devious critter. I am convinced
that different strains of the same bug can have different habits. The
mealy bugs I have look exactly like any other mealy bug, but I have
discovered that these have the habit of colonizing the rhizome before
moving towards the leaves. This has allowed them to explode in numbers
before I even suspected they were there. In the past I have found that
they attack the leaves first, and then move towards the rhizome as
populations become enormous.
This habits suggests a horticultural origin for the pest. A mealy bug
that hides in the rhizome has a greater chance of going undetected by
a grower, and getting traded unknowingly. Just a case of unnatural
selection. So far it seems this infestation is limited to a single
tray of _Sarracenia_, and looks like it is controllable, although some
of my plants will be set back a few years because of my draconic
control measures---with mealy bugs I don't mess around. I spent three
years fighting a dreadful infestation in a friend's greenhouse when I
got started in CP.
Seeing as I have started a thread on rattlesnakes, here's a question.
I know you want to keep the patient quiet and all. But what do you
do if you are out on a trail an aerobic hour or two from the car?
And it may take three hours of heavy exertion if you are limping on
a rough trail with a bum leg... Do you lay
there and have someone go back? Isn't a helicopter kind of overkill?
And what if you're alone? I often hike alone or with dog only. I know
this isn't the wisest thing, but given that I do, what is my best option?
B