Forrest Howard, an associate professor of entomology at the University of Florida’s Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, examines a silver buttonwood shrub, which is a host for the lobate lac scale insect. Native to India and Sri Lanka, the pest attacks more than 300 types of woody plants, including trees and shrubs grown as ornamentals in South Florida. Howard says the scale insects survive freezing temperatures and could spread to cooler areas of the state.

(AP Photo by Marisol Amador/University of Florida/IFAS)
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