Tuliptree Scale

Convex, multicolored (ranging from red to gray to brown) adult, female scales which have infested a tulip poplar tree. They are dripping with honeydew which ants are feasting upon. Female scales develop their hemispherical shape around the same time that males pupate. They are covered in a waxy substance and can carry up to 3000 eggs inside their bodies. They give live birth to a generation crawlers every year. Scale infestations can lead to tree weakness or even death.