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Adult females are about 1/4 inch
long and reddish. They are covered with a gummy, white wax that look like a dunce
cap. Immatures resemble cameos with the developing areas of white was not yet
completely covering the reddish body. There is one generation a year. Adult females
overwinter on bark.
Wax scales feed on many shrubs and trees, but Japanese holly,
Chinese holly, euonymus, boxwood, firethorn, spirea, barberry, and flowering
quince are preferred.
Large numbers of foraging bees, wasps, hornets, and ants on dense shrubs
may indicate wax scale. Look for honeydew and sooty mold. Look on twigs and small
branches for all wax scale stages. Crawlers begin hatching in early summer in
Georgia.
Beginning in May, examine female wax scales on leaves and branches every
one to two weeks and determine when eggs begin to hatch. Remove heavily infested
twigs or branches. Infested twigs and branches must be sprayed thoroughly with
horticultural oil, insecticidal soap, or a contact or systemic insecticide after
egg hatch and when crawlers are present on the plant to achieve effective control. |
