Cottony Scale on Lime Tree: Merit Systemic or Soap/Oil for Bees' Honeydew Attraction

Lime tree: large brown woolly aphid-like things in white fluffy mold. Squash when removed. Bees attracted, ignoring nearby flowers. Tree healthy.

Cottony scale on lime tree

Cottony scale insects

Identification: Cottony Scale

Insects under cottony mass. Bees/wasps/ants attracted to honeydew.

Ornamental (no edible fruit): Imidacloprid (Merit) soil drench
Edible fruit: Insecticidal soap + horticultural oil
Small tree: Scrape off with alcohol-dampened cotton swab (regular cleaning works—slow development)

Pests: Rows of Holes in Holly Trunk: Sapsucker Woodpecker Damage and Management; Clustering Insects on Tree Branches: Scale or Beetles?; Crabapple Sparse Blooms and Bark Craters: Atomic Grow for Insect Cleanup and Vigor; Aspen Tree Sticky Leaves and White Eggs: Cottony Scale Infestation; Bugs on Florida Tree Trunk: Likely Love Bugs or Similar, Not Harmful; Understanding Leaf Galls: Those Strange Bumps on Your Tree's Leaves; Black Tennis Court Residue: Sooty Mold from Scale/Aphids; Cedar Rows of Tiny Holes: Sapsucker Woodpecker; Willow Flea Beetles: Annual Invasion & Systemic Prevention; Identifying and Treating Common Indoor Palm Pests

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