Lepidosaphes ulmi

Apple mussel scale
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Sternorrhyncha
Family: Diaspididae
Genus: Lepidosaphes
Species:
L. ulmi
Binomial name
Lepidosaphes ulmi
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Lepidosaphes ulmi on Ceanothus in England

Lepidosaphes ulmi also known as apple mussel scale or oystershell scale is a widely invasive scale insect that is a pest of trees and woody plants. The small insects attach themselves to bark and cause injury by sucking the tree's sap; this metabolic drain on the plant may kill a branch or the entire tree.