Ceroplastes rusci
[Fig Wax Scale]
Classification: | Phylum: Arthropoda | Class: Insecta | Order: Hemiptera | Family: Coccidae | Genus: Ceroplastes |
The host plant of the above wax scale insect was Dog Fennel (Eupatorium capillifolium).
In April 2020, I found some nymphs and an adult of this wax scale insect on a young Syzygium polyanthum (Indonesian Bay Leaf) plant in my pot. The wax scale insect colony was guarded by a group of small ants, Pheidole parva. This ant was about 1 millimetre long while the nymph of the wax scale insect was only half the length of the ant.