PEST 411
Wax scale insects
Look for white, waxy, oyster-like globs on twigs by Shimat V. Joseph, Department of Entomology, University of Georgia
Scale insects are very common pests of landscape trees and shrubs yet are often overlooked when scouting. They can, however, be responsible for chlorosis, branch dieback, or ultimately the death of the plant. Wax scales are grouped into soft scales as they produce soft, cottony, powdery, or waxy substances that cannot be separated from the scale body.
United States National Collection of Scale Insects Photographs, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Bugwood.org
Fig. 1. Females of Indian wax scale.
General description and biology
Females of wax scale insects are brownish-purple or reddish-brown with a white or pinkish-white wax covering the body. Males are not present. Adult females are about 1/4 inch long. The wax produced by females is often sticky. The females lay pale-purple, ovoidshaped eggs under female scales (Fig. 3). Females of the Indian wax scale lay from 1,200 to 2,000 eggs. The eggs are laid during late winter and early spring. The eggs hatch into the first nymphal stage, often referred to as crawlers. Egg hatch occurs beginning mid to late
Joseph LaForest, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org
Fig. 2. Adults & nymphal stages of Florida wax scale.
18 | UAC MAGAZINE
Indian wax scale (Ceroplastes ceriferus) (Fig. 1) and Florida wax scale (Ceroplastes floridensis) (Fig. 2) are the common wax scale insect species that occur in Georgia. The Indian wax scale is prevalent in the eastern U.S. from Florida to Maryland, whereas the Florida wax scale is found from New York to Florida and up to New Mexico in the west. May to early June in Georgia. Crawlers are the only mobile stage of the wax scale insect. The crawlers are pinkish-red or red and flat, and they have functional legs. Once the crawlers settle on the stem, they molt into the second instars by inserting their piercing and sucking tube-like mouthparts. Once the mouthparts are inserted into plant tissue, they lose their legs and hardly move from that spot. The second instars subsequently molt into third instars. Both the second and third instars secrete waxy material, covering their body. The second instars have a tiny star-shaped
Chazz Hesselein, Alabama Cooperative Ext. System, Bugwood.org
Fig. 3. Eggs of Florida wax scale.
