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Icerya purchasi
An ant is tending a colony of Icerya purchasi (cottony cushion scale) on a plant stem. These soft-bodied scale insects are plant pests covered in a waxy, cotton-like coating that helps protect them. Icerya purchasi feeds by piercing plant tissues and sucking out sap, which weakens growth and can damage the host plant. The insects excrete a sugary substance called honeydew, and ants often “farm” them—protecting them and feeding on the honeydew in return.
"Icerya purchasi" is a scale insect that feeds on more than 65 families of woody plants, most notably on "Citrus" and "Pittosporum". Originally described in 1878 from specimens collected in New Zealand as pests of kangaroo acacia, it is now found worldwide where citrus crops are grown. The cottony cushion scale originates from Australia.
