Chaff Scale
[Parlatoria pergandii (Comstock), family Diaspididae] is one
of the two major armored scales in Texas. These affect the entire tree:
by sucking plant sap, these scales cause leaf-drop, fruit drip, twig die-back,
and failure of the fruit to mature. Females' armor is light straw colored;
the body of the insect showing through the scale gives it a purple to greenish
cast. Several faintly marked ridges radiate from the origin of the scale.
The males are slightly smaller than the females; their armor is thin, white,
and almost oblong in shape. Some may appear brownish or gray. The scale
insect's body under the armor is purplish in color.
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This site is maintained by Dr. Laurence Sistrunk, Dept. of Hort. Sci., Texas A&M University