Bug ID- Scale?

[Eric Group]

Found these guys on a Trident planting I received earlier this Spring. The tree is not showing signs of stress, and I was not able to find any more on the it after I removed these but it is a big planting with multiple trees and a huge crown, so I could easily be missing them if there are more...

Regardless, they LOOK like scale, but are big and soft bodied. Scale in my experience is normally smaller than this, a uniform light green color when young turning grey/ brown as they get older with hard bodies... They we represent on a branch I pruned, then I found these on leaves. They pop off really easy and if I poke them with my scissors they are real soft and ooze a light green liquid. I also saw some ants scaling one of the trunks, and a little black insect that hops/ flies off very quickly if I get close which lead me to believe they could be some kind of aphid maybe? Except these things are sort a greenish brown with stripes, and no legs where as aphids in my experience usually are thin little bright green bodied bugs with little black legs that swarm on new growth... Not really what these things were doing.

 

[lordy]

Unless you have munchkin fingers, they look larger than what I'm used to seeing. Plus, most, if not all, of the ones I've seen are on young stems, not the foliage. But those sure do look like scale to me.

 

[GrimLore]

Those are huge if that is what they are! Double Dose Malathion AND burn them! Live near a nuclear reactor or

Grimmy

 

[coh]

They look like scale...and they don't look like scale. I've seen scale come in all kinds of different shapes and sizes, but nothing exactly like this.

The second picture is too blurry to really tell, but - what is the white stuff that extends out from the critters? Is it fluffy/cottony? If it is (and that's what it looks like in the pic, though too blurry to be sure), it might be a key part of the ID. You say just received the planting this spring - did it come from someone local or another part of the country?

If you still can find some of these on the tree(s), I'd really try to get a better photo and then re-post, or try doing a google image search.

 

[steve27]

looks like scale to me.

 

[lordy]

They look like scale...and they don't look like scale. I've seen scale come in all kinds of different shapes and sizes, but nothing exactly like this.

Did it come from another part of the country?

We'll call it the ERIC infestation. You might go down in history as the one responsible for wiping out huge areas of trees, and not even know it!

 

[october]

It does look like scale. It also has a sort of mealy bug look to it. Whatever it is, better get rid of them fast. If it is scale, those are adults and are laying eggs underneath the shell. It won't be very long before there is a full on infestation. Also, I would isolate this tree far from your other trees.

Rob

 

[october]

Think I found it. Cotton scale insects with egg sacs. See this link.

Rob

http://www.livingwithbugs.com/sca_ins.html

 

[Eric Group]

Think I found it. Cotton scale insects with egg sacs. See this link.

Rob

http://www.livingwithbugs.com/sca_ins.html

I think that is it! Little buggers... Found another one today, so the nuclear treatment I applied this weekend (lime sulfer spray which is supposed to annihilate most anything including like 20 types of scale) must not have wiped em out with one try!

I have neem oil as well and could easily have access to just about anything else, there is a good nursery right around the corner.

 

[Dav4]

I'd squish 'em...

 

[Eric Group]

Unless you have munchkin fingers, they look larger than what I'm used to seeing. Plus, most, if not all, of the ones I've seen are on young stems, not the foliage. But those sure do look like scale to me.

Exactly what I was thinking! These things are HUGE compared to the scale I have seen int he past! I am trying to control them manually by removing the affected leaves and crushing them, but I know that won't cut it!

 

[Eric Group]

I'd squish 'em...

Oh, I have been doing that, but the tree is large and has so many leaves/ branches I just cannot find them all!

 

[october]

The most effective way to do it is to remove them, then spray. Personally, I wouldn't use anything extremely toxic. I am not sure that the toxic stuff will penetrate the shell. Try Bonide All seasons horticultural oil. I have never used it on a maple though, so you should read the directions or ask if if cna be sprayed on maples. I believe it can be sprayed on pretty much any plant. I would keep the tree out of the sun for a couple of days until after you wash the oil off. Any oil product can burn if the tree is out in strong sun.

Rob

 

[gergwebber]

You can only kill scale with sprays in their juvenile stages, when they are moving. After hatching, they crawl out from under their parents corpse and move out onto the leaves to fatten up. After a while they move back to the stems for their adult phase.

The picture below was form a lecture I attended with the guy that wrote this book.

The key is to know when they are vulnerable, ie when they are moving. Steve said that you can use a little sticky tape on the stem to sample the scale and see if they are crawling. Thats when you hit them with the oil, (Otherwise they are pretty resistant to controls).

 

[Eric Group]

You can only kill scale with sprays in their juvenile stages, when they are moving. After hatching, they crawl out from under their parents corpse and move out onto the leaves to fatten up. After a while they move back to the stems for their adult phase.

The picture below was form a lecture I attended with the guy that wrote this book.

The key is to know when they are vulnerable, ie when they are moving. Steve said that you can use a little sticky tape on the stem to sample the scale and see if they are crawling. Thats when you hit them with the oil, (Otherwise they are pretty resistant to controls).

I know- I had scale on ficus indoor previously and I wound up losing most of my plants! These things were just impervious to anything I used on them! Those were a different type of scale though- not nearly as big and soft bodied as these. These are much easier to see and kill. I hope that means I will be able to get rid of All of them!

I still found one or two more today. Apparently my spray last weekend still had little effect. I was hoping these softer bodied ones would be a little more intolerant of insecticide. I have read what you image shows- about the crawlers- and know I need to get them When they are in that stage, but I was hoping to knock them out before these eggs start hatching!

 

[GrimLore]

Malathion, do not apply while in bloom...

Grimmy