6.  Wax Scales
Wax scales are a type of soft scale (see Soft Scales) that are serious pests of hundreds of ornamental plants in the warmer parts of the country. Their reddish or brown bodies are covered with a hard, thick, white wax, often tinged pink or gray. Females lay hundreds of eggs underneath their bodies, which shrink as the eggs accumulate. The young scales, called crawlers, leave the waxy covering and settle down to feed on leaves and stems. As the young scales mature, they begin excreting cones of wax on top of their bodies. The wax gives the scales a different appearance when they are in various stages of development (instars). When the immature insects have reached their second instar, they have a "cameo" appearance. The wax is secreted rapidly during the third instar, producing a cone--the "dunce-cap" stage. By the time the insects mature, the wax is very thick, and convex or globular.