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Scouting Citrus for Pests - Page 25
The most damaging soft scale in Florida is probably black scale, Sassiata spp. Large adult females are found on interior branches and twigs but at higher infestation levels infest the outer canopy where sooty mold from honeydew they secret may cover fruit. High infestations most common in young groves may cause twig dieback. The first generation in spring hatches from thousands of eggs deposited underneath each female from which crawlers migrate to leaves and petioles. As scales mature they gradually move back to twigs and branches. Only early instars are susceptible to insecticides. The primary biological control agent is the wasp Scutelista cyanea which lays its egg under the female scale from which a grub hatches to feed on scale eggs.
Insecticide applications made too late in spring may kill adult wasps and provoke high infestations later in the year.
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