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How to identify it
- The female's cover is circular, convex and papery, gray to tan, about 1/25 to 1/12 inch across, with the small first-stage cover near the center.[1][2]
- Once a young scale settles it never moves again, so all you see is the cover slowly getting bigger.[1]
- It occurs on any above-ground part of the plant, most often on bark, twigs and branches, then on leaves and even fruit as numbers build.[3][1]
Look-alikes
| Look-alike | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| Greedy scale | Greedy scale looks the same and can't be told apart from latania scale in the field; both have the same raised, round gray covers.[2] |
| Oleander scale | Oleander scale has a flatter cover, while the covers of latania and greedy scales are more globular or raised.[2] |
Where it lives
It occurs from tropical to temperate regions around the world. In the United States it is common in Florida, where more than 300 host plants are recorded, and it also turns up in California and North Carolina landscapes.[3][2][1]
Biology and life cycle
Yellow eggs hatch within a few hours of being laid, and the crawlers stay close to the parent, settle within about eight hours, and start secreting the wax that becomes their armor.[1]
Scales mature and start laying eggs in about two months. In California crawlers appear from late winter, and there are two or more generations a year.[1][2]
A Septobasidium fungus sometimes grows over colonies; it shields the scales from parasites and predators, though infected scales may be stunted.[1]
Damage and signs
Health risk
It feeds only on plants; NC State, UC IPM and Florida's Division of Plant Industry mention no risk to people.[1][2][3]
Control
Biological control
Parasitic wasps, especially Aphytis species, and the twicestabbed lady beetle usually keep latania scale in check, which is a main reason it isn't more damaging.[1][3][2]
Pesticides
Where natural enemies fail, horticultural oil gives adequate control: spray, then repeat two weeks later to catch scales that were still eggs, using a 2 percent rate during the growing season to avoid plant injury.[1]
Common questions
- What are the small gray bumps crusting my holly twigs?
- They may be latania scale or another armored scale; the round, gray to tan covers stay put, and each hides a scale feeding on the plant's sap.[1][2]
- Do I need to spray latania scale?
- Often not. Parasitic wasps and lady beetles usually keep it in check, and UC IPM says even large populations rarely harm plant health; if you do treat, horticultural oil works.[2][1]
Sources
- NC State Extension, “Latania Scale Insect (PDIC Factsheet).” content.ces.ncsu.edu/latania-scale-insect (accessed 2026-10-19)
- University of California Statewide IPM Program, “Greedy scale and latania scale (Home and Landscape).” ipm.ucanr.edu/home-and-landscape/greedy-scale/ (accessed 2026-10-19)
- Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry, “Latania scale, Hemiberlesia lataniae, Entomology Circular No. 208 (A. B. Hamon, November 1979; copy hosted by the Florida State Collection of Arthropods).” thefsca.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/ent208.pdf (accessed 2026-10-19)
- iNaturalist, “Hemiberlesia lataniae taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/330222 (accessed 2026-10-06)