Scale
Scale insects feed by sucking sap from your plants plants.
Scale insects feed by sucking sap from your plants plants. They are often a problem on houseplants, hollies, crapemyrtles, fruit trees and many other landscape shrubs.
These pests weaken the plants and may excrete a sticky substance called honeydew, which then in turn encourages the growth of sooty mold on the foliage. Sooty mold can block important sunlight from reaching the leaves for necessary photosynthesis.