Icerya purchasi
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| Species: | I. purchasi
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| Icerya purchasi (Maskell, 1878)
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Icerya purchasi (common name: cottony cushion scale)is a scale insect that feeds on several species of woody plants, most notably on Citrus. This scale infests twigs and branches. The mature female is oval in shape, reddish-brown with black hairs, 5 mm long. When mature the insect remains stationary and produces an egg sac in grooves, by extrusion, in the body which encases hundreds of red eggs.
Icerya purchasi is important as one of the first major successes of biological control. Importations of the ladybeetle Rodolia cardinalis resulted in swift reductions of I. purchasi populations, saving the burgeoning Californian citrus industry from this destructive pest. Males are rare and females can reproduce on their own.
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