Pine needle scale crawlers are being seen in northern and central Illinois the week ending May 12. Euonymus scale crawlers are present in northern Illinois on the same date. As of May 12, crawlers of the brown race of oystershell scale were not yet present in central Illinois, but we expect them to appear soon.

One method of scouting for scale crawlers is to wrap a piece of black electrician’s tape around a branch with the sticky side out. Crawlers will get stuck on the tape as they try to crawl across it. Remember that pine needle scale crawlers are dark red, euonymous scale crawlers are yellow, and oystershell crawlers are gray. All of these are colors that will be easily seen on the black tape.