What is Scale insect?
{{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = {{fossilrange|130|0|[[Triassic]] – [[Holocene|Recent]] }} | image = Wax Scale.jpg | image_caption = Waxy scales on [[cycad]] leaf | taxon = Coccoidea | authority = [[Anton Handlirsch|Handlirsch]], 1903&nbsp;<ref>{{ITIS |id=109195 |taxon=Coccoidea Handlirsch, 1903}}</ref> | subdivision_ranks = Families | subdivision = }} [[File:Oystershell scale on young blueberry.JPG|thumb|right|Oystershell scale (''Ceroplastes'' sp.), a waxy scale on young blueberry]] The '''scale insects''' are small [[bugs]] of the [[Order (biology)|order]] [[Hemiptera]]. They are the [[superfamily]] '''Coccoidea'''. There are about 8,000 described [[species]] of scale insects. They are [[parasitism|ectoparasites]] of plants, like most bugs. They sit on the outside of plants, stick their mouthparts inside, and suck up the plant [[sap]]. Adult female scales usually do not move: they are permanently attached to the plant they have parasitized. They secrete a [[wax]]y coating for defence. The coating makes them look like [[scale (zoology)| fish scales]], hence their common name. Males and females are quite different form each other. This is [[sexual dimorphism]]. Female scale insects keep their juvenile shape even when sexually mature (a condition known as [[neoteny]]). Adult males usually have wings (depending on their species) but never feed, and die within a day or two. The details of their reproductive systems vary greatly between species. Three types of [[hermaphrodite|hermaphroditism]] are known,<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1086/660823| pmid = 21750383| title = The evolution of hermaphroditism by an infectious male-derived cell lineage: an inclusive-fitness analysis| journal = The American Naturalist| volume = 178| issue = 2| pages = 191–201| last1 = Gardner A. & Ross L. 2011| year = 2011| s2cid = 15361433| url = https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/the-evolution-of-hermaphroditism-by-an-infectious-malederived-cell-lineage(c2d17516-c096-4e53-80a1-d79b3aab10b3).html}}</ref> and at least seven