San Jose scale

[ san hoh-zey skeyl ]

noun

1. a scale insect, Aspidiotus perniciosus, that is highly destructive to fruit trees and shrubs throughout the U.S.

San Jose scale

noun

1. a small E Asian homopterous insect, Quadraspidiotus perniciosus, introduced into the US and other countries, where it has become a serious pest of fruit trees: family Diaspididae

Word History and Origins

Origin of San Jose scale¹

1885–90, Americanism; named after San Jose, California, where first found

Word History and Origins

Origin of San Jose scale¹

C20: from its first being seen in the United States at San Jose, California

Example Sentences

In the 1890s many smaller growers struggled to afford expensive and elaborate controls to combat pests such as San Jose scale and plum curculio.

From Salon

Maple and oak, the other most abundant street trees, are also at risk from pests such as San Jose scale and Japanese beetles.

From Washington Post

Roses first came to Tyler in the 1920s, prompted by an agricultural disaster: A decade earlier, quadraspidiotus perniciosus — better known as the San Jose scale — decimated the city’s peach crop.

From New York Times

Melander himself had run into difficulty with the San Jose scale, for some years satisfactorily controlled by spraying with lime sulfur.

From Literature

Meanwhile, a thousand miles away in fruit orchards near Provo, Utah, farmer Alan Riley fights off the San Jose scale, an aphid-like insect that sucks sap from his apple, peach, and cherry trees.

From Salon