Plant pests of the Australasian-Pacific region: Scale insects

Scale insects are parasites of plants, feeding on sap from the plant's vascular system. Many scale insects secrete a wax coating for defence; causing them to resemble fish or lizard scales, hence their common name. Some scale insect species are serious crop pests because of the damage they cause to plants. However, their waxy covering also protects them from contact insecticides, making them very difficult to control. For example, the cottony cushion scale (Icerya purchasi) is a scale insect that feeds on a wide range of woody plants, but most notably on citrus crops. Although originally described from specimens collected in New Zealand it actually originates from Australia, and is now found worldwide. We invite you to join our Icerya expedition and help us transcribe important information on these pests throughout the Ausralasian-Pacific region.This expedition of 191 tasks is fully transcribed and validated. This data resource is harvested periodically into the main occurrence index.