The life cycle of scales always includes an egg, immature and adult phases. The crawlers like to attach to the bark and feed in crevices and branch forks. Azalea bark scale, in our experience, will cause plant decline faster that cottony azalea scale.The life cycle of these scales and controls are similar to cottony taxus scale. This wax covers the entire body. Phonetic Spelling rho-doh-DEN-dron per-ih-kly-men-OY-deez This plant has low severity poison characteristics. The female dies as the eggs grow. Azalea Bark Scale (Erlococcus azalene) Recognition and Life Cycle Females are approximately 1/8-inch long and covered with a white, waxy egg sac. Azalea bark scale overwinters as nymphs or adults in the northeast, laying up to 250 eggs in spring. Not to scale. These mobile immatures are known as "crawlers". In Iowa, most species of shade trees, fruit trees, and ornamental shrubs are subject to scale insect attacks. They feed only on Rhododendron mollis and R. occidentalis azaleas. See below Description. Female azalea bark scales lay their eggs in midspring, dotting azalea plants with what appear to be 1/10-inch-diameter white spots. Life Cycle. Cottony azalea scale has much more of a “cottony” appearance and during the egg-laying stage will appear much larger than azalea bark scale. Eggs are laid in the spring and hatch from late-June to mid-July. Introduction Azalea bark scale, Eriococcus azaleae, is a scale insect that is a pest of azaleas, rhododendrons, and other members of the Heath family.They feed on the juices of the plants. Rhododendron periclymenoides, commonly called pinxterbloom azalea, is a deciduous shrub that is native to moist woods, swamp margins and open areas from Massachusetts to South Carolina and Tennessee.It is a dense, bushy, suckering shrub that … Many of them are agricultural pests, while others prey on trees or other plant life. Azalea bark scale is a third insect pest of azalea. Ew, scale insects! The larvae are green and closely match the leaf color of their host plants. The larvae feed on leaves at the tips of twigs and branches. Figure 4. Eggs (left) and adult of the hawthorn lace bug. This insect produces a white or cottony sac that is often found attached in the axils of twigs and leaves during May to June and September through October. See below Description. Clockwise from the top: egg, first-stage nymph, second-stage nymph, third-stage nymph, adult. Whether flat against leaves or fruit, or lumpy bumps on branches or stems, this widespread superfamily of insects is well over 8000 species strong. The female azalea bark scale lays her eggs in the spring in a white, waxy coating she produces. The crawlers emerge in about three weeks. Infested azaleas usually appear chlorotic, and severe infestation of azalea bark scale can weaken or … Crawler activity for azalea bark scale was similar to wax scale noted above at the same location in 2014. The immature … Amauronematus azalae or Nematus lipvsky. Life cycle of the azalea lace bug. Print Image. A large population of the insects will cause leaf discoloration, some dieback and an … Pest description and damage Azalea sawfly adults are small black fly-like insects. Life Cycle Scale insects have three distinct life stages (egg, immature, adult) and may complete several generations in a single year. Scale insects are sap-feeding insects named for the scale or shell-like waxy covering that conceals their bodies. These hatch around late June through July and the crawlers settle in bark crevices, on leaves, or twig forks and pass through several stages. Overview. Phonetic Spelling rho-doh-DEN-dron kah-len-dew-LAY-see-um This plant has high severity poison characteristics. Scale insects can weaken and even kill trees, shrubs and houseplants, but in general, complete loss of the plant is rare. Life Cycle. Adult females produce eggs beneath the scale ... 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