Jul 14, 2025
#2959 & 2960 - Armoured Scale and Parasitoid Wasp
Tiny Diaspidid scale insects on Peppermint Tree (Agonis flexuosa). Probably subtribe Fioriniina.
The white waxy shelters incorporate the moulted skin of their youngest instars. The smooth scales are the females, and the males the fluffy ones. Either way, the shelter isn't protecting them from the minute ( <2mm ) wasp currently injecting her eggs into the residents.
There were also plenty of the youngest stage of the scale insects, naked and presumably nervous.
The Diaspididae is the largest family of scale insects with over 2650 described species and around 400 genera.
Woodman Point, Perth, WA.