Felt-scales
Guides
Eriococcidae
Felt Scales, Eriococcids, Bark Scales
Eriococcidae is a family of scale insects in the order Hemiptera, commonly known as felt scales or eriococcids. As of 2023, the family comprises 109 genera and 681 species. Members are phloem-feeding herbivores typically associated with specific plant hosts. The family is not monophyletic; recent ribosomal DNA research indicates it represents an aggregation of several distinct evolutionary lineages, with morphologically similar species sometimes being distantly related. Many species produce distinctive waxy ovisacs or induce galls on host plants.