California red scale
young over a period of six to eight weeks, at a rate of one to three a day. The crawlers are mobile and very small, so they are spread easily by the wind and [...] t. The females moult into the grey stage, named after the colour of the edges of their shield. Mating occurs at the start of this stage, before the female [...] they produce a white, waxy, and cottony cover, forming the typical appearance of the shield after they first moult. A few days later, the sexes become