Subject: Elm scale?
Geographic location of the bug: Brighton, UK
Date: 06/13/2018
Time: 03:08 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: What is this bug?!
Is it a bug in cocoon form?
How you want your letter signed: BugGirl
Dear BugGirl,
These are definitely Scale Insects, and we suspect you questioned if they are Elm Scale because they were found on an elm tree. There is an image of Horse Chestnut Scales, Pulvinaria regalis, on the Bedfordshire Natural History Society site that looks very similar and this information is provided: “This species probably originates in Asia, but has become widespread in central and northwest Europe since the 1960s. It is broadly polyphagous on woody plants. It is the most common coccid in urban areas throughout most of Britain but also occurs at low densities in rural areas. In Beds it has been found in Bedford, Bigglesworth, Caddington, Dunstable, Flitwick, Leighton Buzzard, Luton, Luton Hoo, Sandy, Swiss Cottage and Whipsnade; on bay laurel, elm, ivy, horse chestnut, lime, maple and sycamore.”