brown soft scale
- noun
- Specialized
:
cochinilla marrón
- The brown soft scale can cause extensive damage to citrus orchards by weakening the trees.
Examples
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Infestation by brown soft scale is indicated by the presence of sticky honeydew on leaves.
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Gardeners often treat infested plants to control the spread of brown soft scale.
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The brown soft scale was infesting the orange tree.
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Have you noticed the brown soft scales on your lemon plants?
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Infestation by brown soft scale can severely weaken citrus trees and reduce fruit yield.
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The presence of brown soft scale on your plants often leads to sticky leaves and a decline in health.
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Gardeners frequently apply treatments to eliminate brown soft scale to protect their citrus crops.
Synonyms
A small soft insect that sucks sap from citrus trees and damages crops
A small insect with a soft, waxy covering that lives on plant stems and leaves
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward descriptive compound: the adjectives 'brown' and 'soft' modify the noun 'scale', so a learner who knows these words can infer it refers to a scale (here, a type of scale insect) that is brown and soft. Although it is a technical species name for a pest, the meaning is compositional and directly derivable from the constituents.
Etymology
The noun brown soft scale is a simple description: the insects look like small, brown, soft scales stuck to leaves as they feed on a plant's 'sap' and leave sticky 'honeydew'. That's why the name refers to a small brown, soft pest that weakens and damages plants.
