The crimson-backed sunbird or small sunbird is a sunbird endemic to the Western Ghats of India. Like other sunbirds, they feed mainly on nectar although they take insects, especially to feed their young. They are tiny birds that are resident and are found in forests but are particularly attracted to gardens at the edge of the forest where people grow suitable flower-bearing plants. They usually perch while taking nectar.
Scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient grouping than the superfamily Coccoidea due to taxonomic uncertainties. Adult females typically have soft bodies and no limbs, and are concealed underneath domed scales, extruding quantities of wax for protection. Some species are hermaphroditic, with a combined ovotestis instead of separate ovaries and testes. Males, in the species where they occur, have legs and sometimes wings, and resemble small flies. Scale insects are herbivores, piercing plant tissues with their mouthparts and remaining in one place, feeding on sap. The excess fluid they imbibe is secreted as honeydew on which sooty mold tends to grow. The insects often have a mutualistic relationship with ants, which feed on the honeydew and protect them from predators. There are about 8,000 described species.
Stratiolaelaps scimitus is a small (0.5 mm) light brown mite that lives in the top 1⁄2 inch (13 mm) layer of soil. As a natural predator of fungus gnat pupae and of the snail parasite Riccardoella limacum it is used by gardeners and snail breeders for biological pest control. Stratiolaelaps scimitus is also commonly used by reptile, amphibian and invertebrate keepers as a preventative or reactive measure against grain mites and reptile mites. Whereas most mite treatments are based on synthetic chemicals, predatory mites are used as a biological method of preventing and curing mite infestations.
Diaspididae is the largest family of scale insects with over 2650 described species in around 400 genera. As with all scale insects, the female produces a waxy protective scale beneath which it feeds on its host plant. Diaspidid scales are far more substantial than those of most other families, incorporating the exuviae from the first two nymphal instars and sometimes faecal matter and fragments of the host plant. These can be complex and extremely waterproof structures rather resembling a suit of armor. For this reason these insects are commonly referred to as armored scale insects. As it is so robust and firmly attached to the host plant, the scale often persists long after the insect has died.
Coccus viridis is a soft scale insect in the family Coccidae with a wide host range. It is commonly known as green scale or sometimes coffee green scale because it is a major pest of coffee crops throughout the world.
Eriococcidae is a family of scale insects in the order Hemiptera. They are commonly known as felt scales or eriococcids. As of 2023, there are 109 genera and 681 species. Each species is usually specific to a different plant host, or closely related group of hosts.
Planococcus citri, commonly known as the citrus mealybug, is a species of mealybugs native to Asia. It has been introduced to the rest of the world, including Europe, the Americas, and Oceania, as an agricultural pest. It is associated with citrus, but it attacks a wide range of crop plants, ornamental plants, and wild flora.
Coccus hesperidum is a soft scale insect in the family Coccidae with a wide host range. It is commonly known as brown soft scale. It has a cosmopolitan distribution and feeds on many different host plants. It is an agricultural pest, particularly of citrus and commercial greenhouse crops.
Anthocoris nemoralis is a true bug in the family Anthocoridae. The species is native to Europe and is introduced in North America. It is a predator of aphids, spider mites and jumping plant lice, and is therefore used as a biological pest control agent.
Aonidiella orientalis is a species of insect in the family Diaspididae, the armored scale insects. It is known commonly as the Oriental yellow scale. It is an agricultural pest on a wide variety of crop plants.
Aonidiella citrina or yellow scale is an armored scale insect from the family Diaspididae. It feeds by sucking sap from plants in a number of plant families, but is mostly known for being a pest of citrus.
Pseudaulacaspis pentagona, the white peach scale or mulberry scale, is a species of armoured scale insect in the family Diaspididae. This scale infests over 100 different genera of plants including many fruit trees and ornamentals.
Hemiberlesia lataniae, the latania or palm scale, is a species of armored scale insect in the family Diaspididae. It was first described by the French entomologist Victor Antoine Signoret in 1869 using Latania lontaroides, a species of palm tree endemic to Réunion as its host; since then, it has been found on avocado trees growing in South Africa, Australia, Israel, the United States, and on a range of other plants in many parts of the world.
Aspidiotus destructor, the coconut scale, is a species of armoured scale insect in the family Diaspididae, found in many tropical and subtropical parts of the world. It is a serious pest of coconut and banana, and attacks a range of other fruiting trees and ornamental plants.
Pyrilla perpusilla, commonly known as the sugarcane planthopper, is a planthopper in the family Lophopidae. It is native to Asia where it feeds on grasses and other plants and is a major pest of sugarcane and sorghum.
Protopulvinaria pyriformis, commonly known as the pyriform scale, is a species of soft scale insect in the family Coccidae. It is a pest of avocado and is found in many countries around the world where avocados grow.
Quadraspidiotus juglansregiae, commonly known as the walnut scale, is a species of armoured scale insect in the family Diaspididae. It is native to North America where it feeds on a wide range of ornamental and forest trees and bushes.
Selenaspidus articulatus is an armoured scale insect in the family Diaspididae, commonly known as the West Indian red scale. It is a polyphagous species found in tropical and subtropical regions around the world as a pest species of Citrus and other fruit and ornamental trees.
Parlatoria blanchardi, the date palm scale, is a species of armored scale insect in the family Diaspididae. It is a widespread and serious pest of palms, both date palms and ornamental species.
Toumeyella parvicornis is a soft scale insect in the family Coccidae with a wide host range. It is commonly known as pine tortoise scale because of the characteristic appearance of the mature females, which look like tiny tortoises up to 1/4 inch in diameter.
