F\ig Wax Scale has recently been detected in the environment in the San Diego County. This insect is commonly intercepted at ports of entry, especially on shipments of palms, but has not previously established a reproductive population in California to our knowledge.
Fig wax scale is an A-rated, actionable invasive pest by CDFA, due to its high potential to damage fresh fruit production through lowering yield, increased production costs, disruption of export markets, and vectoring of plant viruses including grape vine leaf-roll virus. It is a polyphagous phloem feeder and a potentially devastating pest of many high-value crops including almond, grape, citrus, pistachio, avocado, cotton,fig,palms,pear,and ornamentals.In the USA it is currently only found in Florida, although it is distributed throughout much of the rest of the world and frequently affects citrus and fig production in Europe. The environmental conditions throughout much of California are considered favorable for this scale to establish if it is not eradicated and prevented from re-entering.
For more on this scale and other recent topics, check out the Topics in Subtropics Newsletter:
https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=60446
