scale insect

also scale a plant-juice sucker whose small, wingless female nymphs secrete a protective covering —note scales may be soft, e.g., the cottony maple scale (Pulvinaria innumerabilis); hard (armored), e.g., the oystershell scale (Lepidosaphes ulmi); or waxy (mealy), e.g., the mealybugs (family Pseudococcidae) This definition last updated 08/02/2008