Scouting for insects: Juniper scale
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EmailEditor’s note: This article is from the archives of the MSU Crop Advisory Team Alerts. Check the label of any pesticide referenced to ensure your use is included.
Juniper scale: Carulaspis juniperi (view photos)
Hosts: Juniper, arborvitae and chamaecyparis. An infestation of
this armored scale causes off-color foliage, yellowing and dieback of
juniper needles. Severely infested junipers may have little to no new
growth. Female scales overwinter as adults with eggs; there is one
generation per year. Look for crawler emergence beginning early to
mid-June, around the time Washington hawthorn or Japanese tree lilac is
in bloom.
Management: Several parasitic wasps are among the natural
enemies of juniper scale. The overwintering adult female is vulnerable;
otherwise the crawler stage should be targeted for treatment with
insecticides.
Diane Brown-Rytlewski's articles are excerpts from "A Pocket IPM Scouting Guide for Woody Landscape Plants."
