Cactus ID and help

[Amym]

I got this little guy a few months ago and was told that because of some fertilizer that was given to him I did not need to water until April. There is one pup (?) that looks sad though- any thoughts on care and possibly type of cactus?

Thanks!

[cactushobbyman]

Don't water? Your plant may not need any water until April. Depends upon you location and how you are growing your plant i.e., greenhouse. From what I see, your plant looks fine, not sure about the white specks.

[stefan m.]

White specs are meallybug or scale.

[Amym]

Would a spray of alcohol or soapy water be the answer for the bugs?

[stefan m.]

Dont know where you live, but use a systematic insecticide , and try to scrape off as much of the pests as possible
with a brush if meally bug
with some kind dull tip knife if scale.

[WayneByerly]

Amyn:

in order to assist you in identifying your cacti's problems (you can look at it UP CLOSE way better that we can) i'm putting a couple of pictures of scale and mealy bugs here. I think that THAT is the best that I can do for you.

mealybugs on the crest of a catus:

mealy1.jpg (9.34 KiB) Viewed 370 times

not only will you see the white LCT's (Little Crawly Things) but you may also see little small white cotton looking spots like those seen below. I believe those are nest/egg masses.

mealy2.jpg (8.13 KiB) Viewed 370 times

and this is how bad mealybug infestations can get if left on their own to grow. AND, they can get worse than this!

mealy3.jpg (11.88 KiB) Viewed 370 times

one single picture of scale ... small offwhite ROUND spots with a tan/brown spot right in the middle.

scale1.jpg (8.47 KiB) Viewed 370 times