Wood, M. 2009 Tackling a Trio of Tropical Troublemakers Hawaii Scientists Fight Invasive Banana Moth, White Peach Scale, and Nettle Moth.. Agricultural Research July 2009: 10-11

Notes: Biological control of the white peach scale, or Pseudaulacaspis pentagona. Hollingsworth and Follett are collaborating in new research to clobber another invader, the white peach scale, or Pseudaulacaspis pentagona. This insect, referred to as “armored” because of its protective shell, first showed up in Hawaii in 1997. The scientists hope to rein in the scale by introducing a miniature wasp called Encarsia diaspidicola. The scale is only about one-eighth inch long. It becomes a hapless victim when the female wasp, which is several times smaller than the scale, slips her eggs under the armor and into the soft-bodied scale. The eggs hatch into nearly microscopic, worm-like larvae that slowly kill the scale by feeding on its innards.