Pulvinaria innumerabilis

Pulvinaria innumerabilis
P. innumerabilis waxy egg sacs
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hemiptera
Family:	Coccidae
Genus:	Pulvinaria
Species:	P. innumerabilis
Binomial name
Pulvinaria innumerabilis (Rathvon, 1854)

Pulvinaria innumerabilis (cottony maple scale) is a small, flattened, brown scale insect about 1/8" long. In early summer mature females begin to secrete white, waxy, cottony-appearing egg sacs in which they lay as many as 1,500 eggs. Severely infested trees look like they are covered with strings of popcorn.

P. innumerabilis can be found on all species of maples (Acer spp.) but have a strong preference for silver maple. It is also known to be able to survive on honey and black locust, white ash, burning-bush, oak, boxelder, dogwood, hackberry, sycamore, beech, elm, willow, basswood, and poplar.

Damage symptoms

While conspicuous, P. innumerabilis infestations usually have little impact on established trees. However, in large numbers they can cause premature leaf drop and twig dieback. Heavy infestations can cause leaves to turn yellow to light green and may cause stunted leaf growth.

Gallery

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  Damage to maple
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  Cottony maple scale (Pulvinaria innumerabilis)

References

• Mahr, Susan. "Cottony Maple Scale". University of Wisconsin. Archived from the original on August 25, 2007. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
• Shetlar, David J. "Cottony Maple Scale and Its Management". Ohio State University Extension. Retrieved July 14, 2008.