Scales are sucking insects and are closely related to aphids, mealybugs, and whiteflies. Newly hatched nymphs, or "crawlers", are mobile for a brief period of time but after they find a preferred location the females become sedentary and then build a protective covering where they develop into adults. The first stage nymphs are pale, flat, six-legged, and have prominent eyespots. Adult males are winged but are very weak fliers and only live long enough to mate.In small numbers scales do little damage. However, severe infestations can cause yellowing of leaves, dieback of individual branches, overall decline of the plant, and even death. Soft scales can excrete significant amounts of honeydew when population levels are high. Armored scales do not produce large volumes of honeydew but can be carriers of some plant diseases and are capable of doing much greater damage to trees than soft scales. The presence of honeydew typically results in the occurrence of sooty mold.

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