Was there a question buried in there somewhere? What kind of pests and how did you treat them? And how was the Ilex repotted (what kind of soil)? How have you cared for it? How long have you had it?

Only some answers to these questions and a photo of the plant can determine if it is dead or dying.

i've had it for two months and i repotted it like i was suppose to in bonsai soil it was originally in normal potting soil. as for the pests i saw mealybugs and scale inscects on them and i used a homemade solution i saw from another bonsai site to get rid of them of water dish soap and rubbing alcohol and sprayed it onto the tree. the mealybugs i learned had burrowed and made a nest inside the tree recently and managed to get rid of them for good but after that it wont stop staying shriveled up like in the photo and looks spotty and dead already. i just scraped part of the bark and its brown in most areas but the base of the tree...do i give up on it or do i keep trying to save it?

Probably dead.
I doubt you can grow a Japanese Illex in Wyoming, indoors or out.
Have you grown bonsai before?
You live in a beautiful state. I'm familiar with a lot of it.
Mike

i noticed when i was taking it out of the pot that there was a lot of healthy white roots and that a majority of it did die from the mealybugs and scale inscects on it...i live in cheyenne and this is my first one that i've tried raising and when i got it from this roadside vendor it was already infested with them when i got it and i couldnt take it back since the vendor was gone. so for a couple of months i've been trying to save it only for it to be butchered down really bad

Is it possible that there is a chance that it will survive at all then?

I doubt you can save it if you keep it indoors, or suddenly put it outside during a Cheyenne winter. It's rated Zone 3, so if outside in the Fall it probably can handle your winter with a little time to acclimatize.
Mike

I see a dead stick in the above photo. Even if actually hardy there - for a time at least - Ilex crenata probably won't like the Wyoming aridity and alkalinity (in the valley areas where most people live).

In Hokkaido this can be seen growing in bogs with Magnolia stellata. I've seen a Japanese holly that came up on its own on what is probably a floating peat mat in a lake near here.

Thanks bboy! That explains something that has been bothering me for years.
When I worked at a nursery years ago we planted some Ilex cuttings in a wet spot in the field and they didn't do well at all, so I assumed they didn't like a lot of water.
I have a topiary 'Crocagator' of Ilex crenata, 'Convexa' planted on a slightly raised berm next to a small pond. The other side of the berm is lower than the pond and water seeps out from under the Ilex and yet the Ilex is going great guns and has for over 25 years.
Drainage! The wet spot in the nursery was stagnant and had no drainage. Mine does. Now I can make sense of it and am no longer bothered. I'm feelin' kinda stoopid. :-)
Thank you, again.

{{gwi:353966}}
He's gonna be cut to the quick in the spring and I'm going to start over. He hasn't 'matured' well and needs a complete makeover. The stumps will sprout with vigor. Been there, done that.
Mike

well that does explain why it did die and such but i restarted and have two beautiful new bonsai tho i am not sure what they are as well. any way that i can get an idea of what they may be?

Posting a picture of them might help.
Mike