The cottony-cushion scale, a parasitic insect accidentally introduced from Australia in 1868, is particularly destructive to fruit
trees. The nymph stage of this insect damages the host tree by draining sap from its stems. Unlike the male, which undergoes
metamorphosis and becomes free-living, the adult female becomes a small shell-like creature tightly attached to the stem of the
plant. Her only function is to produce eggs.
