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Soft scale

Coccidae

Published on Project Noah
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33.1468, -117.009

Field Notes

Description:

Very small insect ranging from black to yellow with rough shell that's clinging to a plant. No visible movement.

Habitat:

Unknown tree next to avocado and orange trees.

Reference Links:

Coccidae

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (6)
CindyBinghamKeiser
MiguelDelSol, I found a cluster of scales on a branch of an unknown tree. They were hiding under a leaf. The ants seem to be attracted to the honeydew the scales excrete. The colors range from black to brown to yellow (very small one). I uploaded a couple more pics.
MiguelDelSol
Im not sure. I know the males look different than the females, but dont recall how so.
CindyBinghamKeiser
Different I believe although until today, I didn't even know they existed. I'll try and post them this week. Does it look like my spotting is of two different species/ssp?
MiguelDelSol
I used to be a nurseryman in northern CA and scale were one if the most prolific pests we had to control. Are your scales all the same or do you have many different species?
CindyBinghamKeiser
Thank you MiguelDelSol for your help. Now that I have looked into Scales, I realize we have a lot of them on our property!
MiguelDelSol
scale insect, dozens of species exist in your part of CA. not sure which species, but i think the order is homoptera.

Spotted for Missions

Mission
Southern California Wildlife

Tags

Photographed
PublishedAugust 30, 2011

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