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How to identify it
- The adult female's cover is about 1 to 2 mm across, round to somewhat elongate and domed, and gray to white or brown.[2][1]
- The cover shows concentric rings from the shed skins of earlier stages, with a yellow-brown spot (the old skins) usually slightly off center.[1][2]
- Lift a cover and the female underneath is a bright yellow blob, with long, very slender mouthparts set into the plant.[1][2]
- Male covers are similar but smaller and more oval.[2]
- Look first on the bark of the trunk and limbs; in heavy infestations the scales spread to leaf axils and fruit.[2]
Look-alikes
| Look-alike | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| Latania scale | Very hard to tell from greedy scale in the field. Separating the two, and the similar diffinis scale, takes a slide-mounted female under a microscope.[2] |
| Putnam scale (Diaspidiotus ancylus) | Often confused with greedy scale, but its shed skins are paler; greedy scale's are darker.[2] |
| Oleander scale (Aspidiotus nerii) | Looks similar on the plant, but its cover is flatter than greedy scale's.[2] |
Where it lives
Greedy scale is found worldwide and is a major pest mainly in tropical and subtropical regions. In the United States it is a frequent pest of pecan in Florida, an occasional pest of ornamentals in California, and has at least two generations a year in North Carolina.[1][2]
Biology and life cycle
Each female lays a cluster of 30 to 50 yellow eggs under her cover.[1][2]
Newly hatched crawlers are the only mobile stage besides adult males. Wind blows them around, and insects and birds carry them from plant to plant; once a crawler settles and starts feeding, it never moves again.[1][2]
Settled scales and eggs travel long distances on infested plants moved by people.[2]
Outdoors there are two or more generations a year, at least two in North Carolina, and in greenhouses the scale breeds continuously. Some populations, such as those in California, reproduce without males.[1][2]
NC State lists hosts including Abelia, azalea, bays, burning bush, camellia, chinaberry, Elaeagnus, fig, geranium, hollies, honeysuckle, mulberry, junipers, oak, pear, pecan, persimmon, privet, rhododendron, rose, wax myrtle and yew.[1]
Damage and signs
- The scales suck juice from stems and leaves. Heavy infestations cause yellowing leaves, dead patches, early leaf drop, dieback of stems and growing tips, and discolored fruit that drops early.[1][2]
- Because scale insects are quarantine pests, infested fruit such as kiwifruit and blueberries can be refused for export.[2]
Health risk
It is a plant pest; neither source describes any risk to people or pets.[1][2]
Control
Traps and physical control
Inspect the bark of trunks and limbs, and the leaf axils, closely in strong light to find the small covers.[2]
Biological control
Encarsia citrina and other tiny parasitic wasps help keep greedy scale in check. They do so except where bad weather or insecticides applied for other pests wipe the wasps out, so sprays aimed at other pests can undo this natural control.[1]
Pesticides
Horticultural oils are appropriate for armored scales on landscape plants. They have low toxicity to people, pets and wildlife other than insects and leave little residue to harm beneficial insects and mites.[1]
Common questions
- What are the tiny gray dots crusting my holly or camellia stems?
- They may be greedy scale, an armored scale with small, round, gray to white covers marked by a yellow-brown off-center spot. It infests hollies, camellias and hundreds of other woody plants.[1][2]
- How do greedy scales spread to new plants?
- The tiny crawlers blow in the wind or ride on insects and birds, and settled scales travel on infested plants that people move.[1][2]
- Can I tell greedy scale from latania scale myself?
- Not reliably. The two look nearly the same, and an expert needs a slide-mounted female under a microscope to separate them.[2]
Sources
- NC State Extension, “Greedy Scale Insect (PDIC Factsheet).” content.ces.ncsu.edu/greedy-scale-insect (accessed 2026-11-09)
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Diaspididae of the World, with USDA scale insect data), “Diaspididae of the World 2.0: Hemiberlesia rapax.” diaspididae.linnaeus.naturalis.nl/linnaeus_ng/app/views/species/taxon.php?id=113086 (accessed 2026-11-09)
- iNaturalist, “Hemiberlesia rapax taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/390372 (accessed 2026-11-09)