Parasaissetia nigra (Nietner)
![<em>Parasaissetia nigra</em>. Two adult females and some settled crawlers (pale yellow-green). [Photo: DSIR].](https://oldwww.landcareresearch.co.nz/__data/assets/image/0007/42766/varieties/thumb200.jpg)
Parasaissetia nigra. Two adult females and some settled crawlers (pale yellow-green). [Photo: DSIR].
Nigra scale
Nietner named this species nigra, meaning black, in 1861.
Status in New Zealand: an exotic (adventive) species, first recorded here in 1879. Not important economically. It is often attended by ants feeding on honeydew. Not found on native plants.
Biology: probably one generation per year. Nigra scale is parthenogenetic and there are no males.
Found on the stems and leaves of:
'broom', Chrysanthemoides monolifera [boneseed], Citrus, Daphne sp., Feijoa sellowiana, Ilex sp. [holly], Iris germanica [flag iris], Prunus armeniaca [apricot].