Description
The scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, generally classified as the superfamily Coccoidea. There are about 8,000 species of scale insects. Most scale insects are parasites of plants, feeding on sap drawn directly from the plant's vascular system. Male scale insects are unusual in possessing only one pair of wings, thus making them resemble true flies (Diptera), though they lack the halteres (rudimentary hind wings) seen in flies, and have tail filaments, which do not occur in flies.
