Pest on trees
 

About 18 months ago we plante a couple of hundred natives in a windbreak in
apaddock. They've all done very well but there is a pest on two of these
shrubs that has captured my interest.

The two shrubs/trees are a type of hakea and the pest is obviously putting
out some form of exudate attractive to ants as there are ants very active on
the plants. The pest is like a minute snail of about 2 mm maximum size. On
the stem they look like tiny white circular blobs with a tiny black dot on
the outermost part of the shell. It's only when you rub them off and look
at them very closely that it's possible to see that they are small snail
like things. I say snail like because the shell is quite hard and the
opening that is where the pest attached to the tree looks like a miniature
snail opening.

These snail like things don't seem to move, but seem to be attached fairly
firmly to the shrubs on the stems but not on the leaves. I'm wondering it
these things could be some form of scale?????

Does anyone have any idea what these things might be please?

Pest on trees
 

"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message

Does anyone have any idea what these things might be please?

Answering my own question here for those who might be interested. I did a
google and was stunned at how many varieties of scales there are and how
hard I had to hunt to find anything like it. I think the one we have is an
armoured scale and the one that looks most like it is called ceroplastes
janeirensis:
http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgu...ed=0CAwQ9QEwAw

Pest on trees
 

"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
u...
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message

Does anyone have any idea what these things might be please?

Answering my own question here for those who might be interested. I did a
google and was stunned at how many varieties of scales there are and how
hard I had to hunt to find anything like it. I think the one we have is
an armoured scale and the one that looks most like it is called
ceroplastes janeirensis:
http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgu...ed=0CAwQ9QEwAw


Some more to ponder. Could be gumtree scale

http://images.google.com.au/images?u...tart=0&ndsp=20

Pest on trees
 

FarmI wrote:
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message

Does anyone have any idea what these things might be please?

Answering my own question here for those who might be interested. I did a
google and was stunned at how many varieties of scales there are and how
hard I had to hunt to find anything like it. I think the one we have is an
armoured scale and the one that looks most like it is called ceroplastes
janeirensis:
http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgu...ed=0CAwQ9QEwAw


What happens when you pour soapy water on them ?

Pest on trees
 

"atec7 7" ""atec77\"@ hotmail.com" wrote in message
...
FarmI wrote:
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message

Does anyone have any idea what these things might be please?

Answering my own question here for those who might be interested. I did
a google and was stunned at how many varieties of scales there are and
how hard I had to hunt to find anything like it. I think the one we have
is an armoured scale and the one that looks most like it is called
ceroplastes janeirensis:
http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgu...ed=0CAwQ9QEwAw
What happens when you pour soapy water on them ?

Nothing. White oil also doesn't work - wrong time in the pest's lifecycle I
suspect from what I've read online. I'm going to crush them manually
tomorrow - the bushes are still small enough for that but the infestation is
heavy and I really don't want these plants to cark it.

Pest on trees
 

"Loosecanon" wrote in message
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message

Does anyone have any idea what these things might be please?

Answering my own question here for those who might be interested. I did
a google and was stunned at how many varieties of scales there are and
how hard I had to hunt to find anything like it. I think the one we have
is an armoured scale and the one that looks most like it is called
ceroplastes janeirensis:
http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgu...ed=0CAwQ9QEwAw


Some more to ponder. Could be gumtree scale

http://images.google.com.au/images?u...tart=0&ndsp=20

They are certainly a similar shape to the bugs we have but not quite the
right colour or with the quite destinctive black spot.