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Photo#2446480
Melanaspis tenebricosa - female
Copyright © 2025 Miles Buddy

Melanaspis tenebricosa - Female

Wilmington, New Hanover County, North Carolina, USA
April 10, 2025
On Acer rubrum. Known as Gloomy Scale or Red Maple Scale. ID confirmed by Dr. Benjamin Normark.

Images of this individual: tag all
Melanaspis tenebricosa - female Melanaspis tenebricosa - female
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Contributed by Miles Buddy on 14 April, 2025 - 12:49pm
Last updated 14 April, 2025 - 2:11pm

Comments

Moved
Moved from Armored Scale Insects.
… Ken Wolgemuth, 14 April, 2025 - 2:11pm login or register to post comments

Field ID notes from Kondo and Watson:
“Scale cover of adult female circular, strongly convex with a rough surface, 1.5–2.0 mm in diameter, dark grey to brown, with subcentral exuviae forming a prominence; position of exuviae marked with a white dot and concentric ring, but in rubbed specimens the protuberance is smooth and black. Ventral scale dark, strongly developed, especially near margins. Live adult female pink to purple, eggs pale pink. Scale cover of immature male similar to that of adult female but smaller and elongate oval with submarginal exuviae”

"M. tenebricosa mainly infests Acer, whereas M. indurata feeds on Pinus."

Excerpts From
Encyclopedia of Scale Insect Pests (2022)
Takumasa Kondo
… Miles Buddy, 14 April, 2025 - 12:57pm login or register to post comments

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