Everything about Scale Insect totally explained
The
scale insects are small
insects of the order
Hemiptera, generally classified as the
superfamily Coccoidea. There are about 8,000 species of scale insects.
Most scale insects are
parasites of
plants, feeding on
sap drawn directly from the plant's vascular system. A few species feed on fungal mats and fungi, for example, some species in the genus
Newsteadia in the family Ortheziidae. Scale insects vary dramatically in their appearance from very small organisms (1-2
mm) that occur under wax covers (some look like oyster shells), to shiny pearl-like objects (about 5 mm), to creatures covered with mealy wax. Adult female scales are almost always immobile (aside from
mealybugs) and permanently attached to the plant they've parasitized. They secrete a
waxy coating for defense; this coating causes them to resemble
reptilian scales or fish scales, hence the name.
Scale insects feed on a wide variety of
plants, and many scale species are considered
pests. Some types are economically valuable, such as the
cochineal,
Polish cochineal and
lac scales. Scale insects' waxy covering makes them quite resistant to
pesticides, which are only effective against the first-instar nymph
crawler stage. However, scales are often controlled with
horticultural oils, which
suffocates them, or through
biological control.
Soapy water is also reported to be effective against infestations on
houseplants.
Female scale insects, unusually for Hemiptera, retain the immature external morphology at sexual maturity (
neoteny). Adult males have wings but never feed and die within a day or two. Male scale insects are unusual in possessing only one pair of wings, thus making them resemble true flies (
Diptera), though they lack the
halteres (rudimentary hind wings) seen in flies, and have tail filaments, which don't occur in flies. The specifics of their reproductive systems vary considerably within the group, including
hermaphroditism and at least seven forms of
parthenogenesis.
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