Tea Scale

A Technical Report from The Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories

Tea scale, Fiorinia theae, is an armored scale insect which secretes a hard covering called a "test." Presumably a native of southeast Asia, it is found throughout the Southeast, Texas, and California. It is a major pest of camellias and hollies, and has been reported to feed on dogwood, bottlebrush, boxwood, and euonymus. This insect, although small and difficult to detect, is considered one of the most serious insect pests of ornamentals in the United States.