sticks to the stems of native trees

Size
Length: 1–5 mm
Lifespan
1–2 years
Diet
Herbivorous: feeds on plant sap using piercing-sucking mouthparts.
Habitat
On stems and leaves of native trees like mānuka and pittosporum, as well as citrus and ornamental garden plants. The stationary specialists of the plant world.
Range
Throughout North and South Islands in native forests, scrublands and gardens. Most common in lowland areas with diverse native plants for feeding.
Endemism
Endemic
Main Threats
Habitat loss from forest clearance and urban development. Some native species threatened by habitat loss, while introduced species are pests of horticulture. Biological control programmes targeting introduced scales may affect native species.
Population
New Zealand has a vast array of native scale insects. A critical part of forest ecosystem, particularly as primary source of honeydew for birds and lizards.
Conservation Status
Not Threatened
Human Risk
harmless
Handling Note
native scale insect, plant parasite leave undisturbed
Conservation Note
Endemic insect; not assessed by NZTCS as invertebrates are generally outside the scope of current threat classifications.
Te Ao Māori
Scale Insects represent the principle of fixed persistence and serve as a symbol of the invisible connections within New Zealand's natural heritage. Known as the sugar-makers of the bark they occupy a niche as a reminder that the majestic parts of our environment rely on the most humble and unseen contributors.
Disguised as a stationary waxy living bump on a branch or leaf. A creature that has given up movement for safety. The scale insect is the immobile miner of the New Zealand bush defined by an extreme biological commitment to a single location. In a radical evolutionary trade-off adult females of many species shed their legs wings and antennae to secrete a hard protective shield the scale which acts as an armoured fortress against predators and desiccation. A female that becomes a shell. Beneath this shell they use a specialised rostrum to tap into the plant's vascular system functioning as a high-efficiency biological pump that draws up nutrient-rich sap. This fixed persistence allows them to thrive in high-exposure environments of the canopy where more mobile insects would be easily swept away or spotted by birds. An insect that stays put. As honeydew producers scale insects are foundational to the energy cycles of the New Zealand forest particularly within beech ecosystems. To extract enough protein from dilute sap they must process vast quantities of liquid excreting excess sugar as a clear sweet droplet known as honeydew. This high-energy resource is a vital fuel for native nectar-feeders like tūī korimako and kākā especially during colder months when floral nectar is scarce. A tiny factory producing food for the forest. While currently not threatened scale insects are sensitive to the introduction of invasive wasps which compete directly with native birds for the honeydew harvest. To encounter a scale insect is to witness a survivor that has mastered the art of fixed persistence. The branch is still. The scale is a bump waxy and brown invisible to the casual eye. Inside the female feeds pumps sap excretes honeydew. The wasps come. The birds come. The scale does not move. It has not moved since it hatched. It will not move until it dies.