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Cushion Scale

Symptoms

Elliptical disks can be seen stuck onto the underside of leaves especially along the main veins. They look like nasty yellow-brown waxy ovals. They are often accompanied by a black soot on the upper surfaces of the leaves.

Cause

Scale are insects which suck sap from plants. The part that you can see is the outer shell of mature insects. Small scale (nymphs) are minute and they run around the plant looking for a good place to stop. When they do find a spot, they down tools, grow an impenetrable shell and feed and reproduce with voracity. Scale feed by tapping straight into the plants' flow of sap (so they don't even need to bother to suck) which means that quite a lot of excess sap oozes out. It is this excess which attracts the black sooty mould you often notice first.

Harm

Scale in itself is unlikely to kill a plant, but it will leave it very weak and prone to other pests and disease. It also looks very unsightly.

Treatment

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