Scale insect Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun small homopterous insect that usually lives and feeds on plants and secretes a protective waxy covering

WordNet

Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of small hemipterous insects belonging to the family Coccidæ, in which the females, when adult, become more or less scalelike in form. They are found upon the leaves and twigs of various trees and shrubs, and often do great damage to fruit trees. See Orange scale,under Orange.

Webster 1913