Aphenochiton kamahi Henderson & Hodgson
Aphenochiton kamahi. An adult female. The yellower part in the middle is her unborn crawlers, and the small orange-brown spot her anal plates (where she gets rid of honeydew); the outer part is nearly transparent. These scales are the thinnest and roundest of all the native soft scales. They are very hard to see and look like a film of water on the underside of a leaf.
Transparent kāmahi scale
This species is named for its host plant kāmahi [Weinmannia] because it has only been found on trees.
Biology: probably one generation per year, overwintering as adult females.
Found on the underside of leaves of:
| Weinmannia racemosa | kāmahi |
| Weinmannia silvicola | tōwhai |