I discovered these strange soft scale insects Coccus hesperdium infesting the underside of the leaves of a Cymbidium orchid on my desk. Each is about 4mm. long and resembles a miniature tortoise.
They are rather more interesting than they seem and undergo a remarkable transformation during their growth - for pictures and details, click here.
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Another interesting look at our world.
ReplyDeleteThey may not be welcome little beasts but I'm glad you found them.
Happy New Year Phil. These scale insects are wrecking havoc with our crops, it has been living with us for some years now! Some areas in my province Batangas and Laguna already have coconuts almost dying because of infestation. And we lack lacewings and lady beetles to combat them.
ReplyDeleteFascinating Phil.
ReplyDeleteAmazing what happens under our noses, and yet we don't see half of it.
I think they've got a perfect strategy for conquering the plant world Adrian..
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year Andrea. Sorry to hear about the damage they are doing in the Philippines - it puts the problems I have with my house plants into perspective...
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to kill them off for years Keith (with no success) and this is the first time I've ever taken a close look at them.
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