Pulvinaria innumerabilis
Pest description and damage Scale insects are small (less than 0.125 inch in length) soft insects that live beneath waxy scales. These insects are often identified by the shape and size of their scales, the description of adult males and females, immature crawler stage, color of eggs, and host plant preferences. Mature cottony maple scale insects are relatively large, flat, oval, brown scales 0.25 to 0.375 inch in diameter. The "cotton" is waxy threads covering as many as 1,500 eggs. The developing females and nymphs produce copious amounts of honeydew that can collect on foliage and branches and cause growth of sooty mold. Honeydew is also a nuisance when it falls on nearby cars and sidewalks, and it attracts bees, wasps, and ants. Occasionally, heavy outbreaks of this scale occur, usually on weakened or stressed trees. Cottony maple scale reaches epidemic numbers on silver maple, but noticeable populations can occur on red maple. It survives on other species of maple, honey and black locust, white ash, euonymus, oak, boxelder, dogwood, hackberry, sycamore, beech, elm, willow, basswood, and poplar.
For biology, life history, monitoring and management
See "Scale insect" in:
Management-chemical control
See Table 1 in: