I dunno. Mealys are bad enough that I think you're going to need more than soap. Yes, leaving water on fuzzy leaves can make permanent marks on them, especially if the plants are in sun when you get them wet. But, you know, leaving mealybugs on fuzzy leaves is going to kill your plant, and possibly any other plants in the vicinity too (in fact, you should inspect any nearby plants very carefully, I think, because where there's one infestation, there are likely others). So it's kind of a question about whether you want an ugly plant or a dead plant. If it were me, I'd probably be inclined to take a few cuttings and chuck the rest of the plant in the trash: it's not worth fighting mealybugs, to me, just to have a plant that's as easily propagated as Gynura aurantiaca is. (Granted, the cuttings might have mealys too. But if you taken enough cuttings fast enough, you should be able to outrun them.) If you have sentimental attachment to the plant that makes you want to save it, I'd go with some kind of spray containing imidacloprid, follow the label directions (which usually allow for you to spray the plant weekly), and move the plant out of direct sun until the crisis has passed. The safest bet of all is to do both: cuttings and spray. If the spray works, you have multiple plants; if the spray fails, you at least have the cuttings as back-up.

Doing a search I found this...sounds familiar? (see link) soo...besides the coinsidence of the question and answer: I think this is what you have: Interior Live Oak Mealybug BUT I can't find any real information on it. The reason that I think it is this mealybug is through process of elimanation. Nothing else seemed to fit. I couldn't find out how harmful it is or anything else. I am going to assume that since there is very little information that it isn't much of a problem. You can try doing a search and maybe find something I didn't. If no one else steps up to the plate to help you on this forum then you can call the extension office @ 744-5519 Here is a link that might be useful: white stuff

Hi...I have found that if you get mealy bugs they are everywhere... I had them on my hoya hindu rope....and I could not get rid of them so I took everything apart and they were on the underside of plant stand, in the rope hanger the plant was in, under the rim of the pot...and the pot had a tray and they were in that....I read some where that mealy bugs don't stay on the plant they go off the plant...and that is why its hard to get rid of them, you treat the plant and then the bugs off the plant come back on, and on and on...so I bought some, 'Bug Max', bug spray and I sprayed the whole plant and washed every thing and waited a week and sprayed the plant again, waited a week and sprayed again....I waited a month and there was no bugs and so I rinsed the plant down with plain water.. and cross my fingers and knock on wood they are gone finally.....linda

could we see a pic of the whole ... palms shed leaves .. fronds i suppose.. yearly ... it is the oldest ones.. outer most ... and usually in winter .... or shortly thereafter ... and not unlike deciduous trees.. the dead leaves can get pretty funky before removal or shedding ... that is not to say.. something else isnt going on ... but perhaps there is more than one thing going on ... how does the new center growth look??? ... is it affected... or looking good.. hence the further pic ... [on rereading i see its not great either...] finally.. many of the problem bugs exude honeydew ... a sugary substance.. and often the ants harvest such ... the ants are usually what catches our eye.. to find the real culprit ... but the ants are really not a problem at all .. in regard the plant ...but yikes... we dont want them in the house ... more finally ... lol ... if you are in a warm enough area.. you might want to isolate this outside... in full shade.. until we figure this out.. and what to do about it ... sometimes.. its just easier to get rid of the whole mess .. if its not some treasured plant.. like grandmas.. or something like that.. otherwise... palms shouldnt be that rare that you need to spend a hundred bucks trying to cure and save a $20 plant.. if you get my drift ... ken ps: also. what 'soap' did you use ... when such is suggested.. they mean horticultural soap.. not you common dish DETERGENT ... which can severely harm tender leaves .. of which i never thought of palm as being tender ... but thats another episode ...