Pacific Pests, Pathogens, Weeds & Pesticides - Online edition

Pacific Pests, Pathogens, Weeds & Pesticides

Coffee green scale (272)


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Summary

  • Widespread distribution. Southeast Asia, Africa, South America, Oceania. On coffee, mainly. A major pest.
  • Eggs laid under the scale; nymphs ('crawlers') disperse, moult and adults feed on shoots, expelling excess sap as honeydew. Feeding weakens trees as do sooty moulds growing on the honeydew excreta. Ants prevent control by wasps and ladybird beetles.
  • Natural enemies: parasitoid wasps exist, but are only effective in the absence of ants.
  • Cultural control: scale-free nurseries; maintain shade; use 'Tanglefoot' to control ants; grow pumpkins in coffee to attract ladybird beetles.
  • Chemical control: soap, white or horticultural oils; or synthetic pyrethroids for ant control.

Common Name

Coffee green scale

Scientific Name

Coccus celatus. Note there is another species of scale present on coffee, known as soft green scale (Coccus viride). In Papua New Guinea, both occur on the same coffee trees, but separation of the species requires expert examination of slide-mounted specimens. Coccus celatus is the more important.


AUTHOR Grahame Jackson
Information from CABI (2015) Coccus celatus (coffee green scale). Crop Protection Compendium. (https://www.cabi.org/cpc/datasheet/14663); and Poole M (2005) Green coffee scale Coccus viridis (Green) [Hemiptera: Coccidae]. Farmnote. Department of Agriculture. Government of Western Australia. (https://citrusaustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/green-coffe-scale_gcsfactsheet041109.pdf); and from  Scalenet. Coccus viridis (Green, 1889) (Coccidae: Coccus). (http://scalenet.info/catalogue/Coccus%20viridis/).

Produced with support from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research under project PC/2010/090: Strengthening integrated crop management research in the Pacific Islands in support of sustainable intensification of high-value crop production, implemented by the University of Queensland and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.

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