---
title: "Cottony cushion scale"
description: "Icerya purchasi — Insects & spiders. Icerya purchasi (common name: cottony cushion scale) is a scale insect that feeds on more than 80 families of woody plants, most notably on Citrus and Pittosporum."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/cottony-cushion-scale
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Cottony cushion scale

> Icerya purchasi — Insects & spiders. Icerya purchasi (common name: cottony cushion scale) is a scale insect that feeds on more than 80 families of woody plants, most notably on Citrus and Pittosporum.

- Scientific name: *Icerya purchasi*
- Category: `insects` (Insects & spiders)
- Habitats: `urban` (Towns & gardens)
- iNaturalist observations: 8608
- Wikidata: [Q783121](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q783121)
- iNaturalist taxon: [60921](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/60921)

## Names

- en: Cottony cushion scale
- de: Australische Wollschildlaus
- es: Cochinilla australiana
- fr: Cochenille australienne

## Countries with the most observations

US (1603), ES (930), ZA (695), AU (547), FR (496), IT (432), PT (427), MX (408), NZ (242), AR (175), TW (152), EC (99)

## Summary

Icerya purchasi (common name: cottony cushion scale) is a scale insect that feeds on more than 80 families of woody plants, most notably on Citrus and Pittosporum. Originally described in 1878 from specimens collected in New Zealand as pests of kangaroo acacia and named by W.M. Maskell "after the Rev. Dr. Purchas who, [he] believe[d], first found it", it is now found worldwide where citrus crops are grown. The cottony cushion scale originates from Australia.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icerya_purchasi

## Photo

![Cottony cushion scale](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/cottony-cushion-scale/medium.jpg)

Photo: Jesse Rorabaugh · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/4248646

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/cottony-cushion-scale?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).