Bermudagrass scale is an armored scale that is quite small (0.06 inch), white, and clam-shaped.
Female scale body covers are rounded, whereas the male scale covers are more elongated. They attach to and feed upon the turfgrass stolons (runners), crowns, and stems of centipedegrass, St. Augustinegrass, and bermudagrass.
Bermudagrass scales are 0.06 inch (1.6 mm) long, clam-shaped, and white armored. They are found on the crown, stolons, and under leaf sheaths of bermudagrass.
High populations of bermudagrass scales create a whitish, moldy appearance on stems and crowns. Close examination of the grass with a hand lens will help to distinguish the clam-shaped shields.
Host plant:
Hostplants of the Gramineae (= Poaceae) and are common.
Territory:
The Bermuda grass scale Odonaspis ruthae Kotinsky, 1915 (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Diaspididae) is described for the first time in Colombia. The scale insect was collected in two locations: northern and southwestern Colombia.
Damages caused by Bermuda Scale:
Bermudagrass scale is more common in shady lawn regions and is aided by an excess of thatch. Feeding stunts the bermudagrass and causes it to seem drought-stressed. Bermudagrass that has been subjected to other stressors, such as shade or drought, is more vulnerable, and infection can be harmful.
Life history and habitat:
The adult female lays eggs beneath her body covering. These hatch into crawlers, which migrate to a new area, settle down, begin sucking grass fluids, and molt into the typical sessile form. Every year, there are two or three generations. Under the hard body covering, the mature female lays pinkish eggs. In South Carolina, there may be two generations per year, with eggs hatching from March to May and July to November. The hatchlings (or crawlers) will look for a new home and begin sucking plant sap and nutrition. They then molt into the adult, immovable, clam-shaped form that may be seen.
