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Red wax scale

Ceroplastes rubens[7]

Red wax scale, also called pink wax scale, is a soft scale insect covered by a convex cap of pinkish-red wax. It feeds on plants in more than 190 genera and is a major citrus pest in Australia, Hawaii and Japan. In the continental United States it was first found in November 1955 at an Orange County, Florida, nursery on greenhouse-grown aglaonema, apparently brought in on imported foliage plants.[1][2][3]

Group
Insect
Order
Hemiptera
Family
Coccidae
US records
2 states
Sources
7 cited
Updated
2026-11-09
Close-up of a red wax scale, a rounded pinkish-red wax cap with white bands running up its sides
Close-up of a red wax scale, a rounded pinkish-red wax cap with white bands running up its sides. (c) portioid, some rights reserved (CC BY) — via iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0
On this page
  1. Identification
  2. Look-alikes
  3. Where it lives
  4. Biology
  5. Damage and signs
  6. Health risk
  7. Control
  8. Related profiles
  9. Common questions
  10. Sources

How to identify it

  • The adult female is 3.5 to 4.5 mm long, under a convex, pinkish to red wax covering that is longer than wide.[1]
  • Two conspicuous pairs of white wax bands run up the sides from the breathing pores.[1]
  • The mature scale has no distinct horn on top.[2]
  • Crawlers are pink and have working legs. Older nymphs, also pinkish, put out clumps of wax that give them a star-like look.[1][2]

Look-alikes

Look-alikeHow to tell them apart
Fig wax scale (Ceroplastes rusci)Its pinkish-gray to white wax is divided into plates outlined by thin dark red lines, instead of the smoother pinkish-red cap with two pairs of white bands.[6][1]

Where it lives

Red wax scale is widely distributed in warm regions, including Hawaii, Bermuda, Mexico, Cuba, Australia, China and Japan. In the continental United States, ScaleNet lists it only from Florida.[1][2]

US map: public records from 2 states since 1990 (GBIF).

Biology and life cycle

It reproduces mainly without mating and has one or two generations a year; two a year have been recorded in Queensland and the Northern Territory of Australia.[3][2]

Females lay pink eggs under their bodies, protected by the wax cover. A single female may lay anywhere from 5 to more than 1,100 eggs.[2][3]

Crawlers usually settle on young twigs, and the later stages stay put. Crawlers can be carried short distances by wind, animals, people or equipment, and the scale moves long distances on infested nursery plants.[3]

Its host list is long and includes citrus, mango, avocado, loquat, Japanese persimmon, camellia, gardenia, holly, ixora, oleander, pittosporum, schefflera, azalea and rose.[1]

Damage and signs

  • All life stages excrete honeydew, which grows sooty mold on the leaves and twigs.[3]
  • It is an important pest of citrus and has caused outbreaks on umbrella trees (schefflera) in Australia.[3][2][1]

Health risk

The sources treat it only as a plant pest; none mentions bites or any risk to people or pets.[1][2][3]

Control

Prevention

Check new nursery plants closely: infested plants for planting are how this scale moves long distances, and its first continental U.S. find came in on imported foliage plants.[3][1]

Biological control

Ants that tend red wax scale for honeydew reduce how many scales are parasitized by wasps; in field tests, parasitism was higher where ants were kept off.[4]

To let parasites and predators work, control scale-tending ants with sticky barriers on trunks or with insecticide baits, and avoid persistent broad-spectrum insecticides.[5]

Pesticides

A thorough spray of horticultural oil timed to when scale crawlers are active controls most scales. Soft scales can also be controlled with the systemic insecticide imidacloprid on larger plants; read and follow the label.[5]

Common questions

Is red wax scale the same as pink wax scale?
Yes. Ceroplastes rubens goes by pink, red or ruby wax scale.[3][2]
What plants does red wax scale attack?
It feeds on plants in more than 190 genera, from citrus, mango and avocado to ornamentals such as camellia, gardenia, holly, ixora and schefflera.[3][1]
How did red wax scale get to Florida?
It was first found in 1955 on greenhouse aglaonema at an Orange County nursery and apparently arrived on imported foliage plants.[1]

Sources

  1. University of Florida IFAS Extension (EDIS Featured Creatures), “Red Wax Scale, Ceroplastes rubens Maskell (EENY-237, 2001).” journals.flvc.org/edis/article/view/108573 (accessed 2026-11-09)
  2. ScaleNet (scale insect database begun at the USDA ARS Systematic Entomology Laboratory), “ScaleNet catalogue: Ceroplastes rubens Maskell.” scalenet.info/catalogue/Ceroplastes%20rubens/ (accessed 2026-11-09)
  3. European Food Safety Authority (EFSA Journal), “Pest categorisation of Ceroplastes rubens (EFSA Panel on Plant Health 2024, EFSA Journal 22: e8888; PubMed abstract).” doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2024.8888 (accessed 2026-11-09)
  4. Springer (Oecologia), “Density-dependent ant attendance and its effects on the parasitism of a honeydew-producing scale insect (Itioka and Inoue 1996, Oecologia 106: 448-454; PubMed abstract).” doi.org/10.1007/BF00329700 (accessed 2026-11-09)
  5. University of California Statewide IPM Program, “Pest Notes: Scales (UC ANR Publication 7408).” ipm.ucanr.edu/home-and-landscape/scales/ (accessed 2026-11-09)
  6. University of Florida IFAS Extension (EDIS Featured Creatures), “Fig Wax Scale, Ceroplastes rusci (L.) (EENY-187, 2001).” journals.flvc.org/edis/article/view/110437 (accessed 2026-11-09)
  7. iNaturalist, “Ceroplastes rubens taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/486438 (accessed 2026-11-09)

Updated 2026-11-09. Built from sourced records. Spot an error? Tell us.