Lepidosaphes beckii

Lepidosaphes beckii also known as purple scale, mussel scale, citrus mussel scale, orange scale, comma scale and mussel purple scale is a scale insect that is a pest of Citrus trees. The small insects attach themselves to leaves, fruits and small branches and cause injury by sucking the tree's sap. The specific name beckii is in honour of historian Richard Beck. Lepidosaphes beckii was originally described under the name Coccus beckii by English entomologist Edward Newman from a fruit imported to Great Britain. Newman's original description reads as follows: The adult female citrus mussel scale is up to three millimetres long. These are usually Citrus host plant species such as sweet orange Citrus × sinensis. Predators of Lepidosaphes beckii include chalcid wasps from families Aphelinidae, Encyrtidae and Signiphoridae: This article incorporates public domain text from the reference