Ruby wax scale (English name)

Japanese: ルビーロウカイガラムシ（英語表記）red wax scale

An insect of the Hemiptera family, Coccidae. Also known as the ruby wax moth. Sexually heteromorphic. Adult females are wingless and almost hemispherical. They are thickly covered with a relatively hard waxy substance of azuki-bean color and measure 4-5 mm. Males are tiny and have one pair of wings. They parasitize citrus fruits, holly, camellias, persimmons, and many other trees, sucking their juices and causing damage. They occur all over the world, but are originally native to the tropical Orient. They invaded Japan in the early Meiji period by attaching themselves to citrus seedlings. They occur from the Kanto region westward, and the northern limit of their distribution coincides well with the isotherm of the annual mean temperature of 14°C.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

半翅目カタカイガラムシ科の昆虫。別名ルビーロウムシ。雌雄異形。雌成虫は無翅で，ほぼ半球形。アズキ色の比較的硬い蠟質物で厚くおおわれ，大きさ4～5mm。雄は微小で1対の翅を備える。かんきつ類，モチノキ，ツバキ，カキなどのほか多くの樹木類に寄生して吸汁，加害する。世界各地に発生するが，元来，東洋熱帯地方の原産。日本には明治初期にかんきつ苗に付着して侵入した。関東地方以西に発生し，分布の北限は年平均気温14℃の等温線とよく一致する。

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