#ceroplastes

Small Starfish-like scale insects

I’m referring to the pointy ones, not the smooth round ones.

Unidentified, genus Ceroplastes

More Sooty Mold Makers

Ceroplastes rubens

Pink Wax Scales, a common pest.

These insects are responsible for the “Black Sooty Mold”, along with other parasitic Hemipteran insects.

Ceroplastes rubens

One of at least 130 species in the genus. Some are quite particular about which plant they'll use as a host, so I *probably* should have noted what this one was on, but others are much less fussy, and have become international pests. Indian Wax Scale (Ceroplastes ceriferus), for example, targets plants in 60 different families.

Most of Australia's Wax Scales are native, but we still have some introduced species. One of ours has become a crop pest overseas - Ceroplastes rubens, the red wax scale or pink wax scale, is now found in many parts of the world including New Caledonia, Japan, China, Poland  and the US, targeting over 80 different families.

Many species of Ceroplastes are entirely female, and reproduce by parthenogenesis. The crawlers hatch from red or pink eggs laid in a protective pouch, and head off to find a place to attach themselves - frequently on the midvein of a leaf. Infestations can be controlled by biological means, but insecticides need to be timed for when the crawlers are vulnerable - the wax coating is very effective at keeping water-based pesticides out.