scale insect

American  

noun

1. any of numerous small, plant-sucking homopterous insects of the superfamily Coccoidea, the males of which are winged and the females wingless, often covered by a waxy secretion resembling scales.

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scale insect British  

noun

1. any small homopterous insect of the family Coccidae and related families, which typically live and feed on plants and secrete a protective scale around themselves. Many species, such as the San Jose scale, are important pests

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scale insect Scientific  

1. Any of various small homopterous insects of the superfamily Coccoidea that suck the juices of plants, the females of which secrete and remain under waxy scales on plant tissue.

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Etymology

Origin of scale insect

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

Another more persistent and more damaging creature than the cicada is the scale insect, actually a range of scale species that have their own preferences for ornamental woody plants and citrus.

From Washington Post • Aug. 3, 2021

And we found it: a tiny wasp known as Tachardiaephagus somervillei, which attacks the yellow lac scale insect in its native Southeast Asia.

From The Guardian • Dec. 2, 2016

This red additive comes from the smashed bodies of a scale insect called the cochineal.

From Scientific American • Aug. 28, 2014

When an adult beetle tries to attack a scale insect, the ants chase it away.

From US News • Aug. 30, 2010

Then a parasite of the scale insect was imported from Australia, a small lady beetle called the vedalia.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson