JUNIPER SCALE -This scale Carulapsis juniperi. prefers juniper species, but has also been collected on cypress.  The mature females are about 1/16 of an inch in diameter and are circular. The males are more elongated and smaller in size.  They can be seen on the needles with close examination (such as with a hand lens).  These insects (like all scales) suck the plant juices and cause the foliage to turn yellow to brown in color.  Usually, the scales build up on the south side of a plant or on sides against a building.
Here, at Morris Arboretum, many of our junipers (shrubs and trees) are infested with juniper scale.  Specimens with heavy The adult female scales overwinter on the needles so spraying a dormant horticultural oil in early spring will suppress an outbreak of scale in the summer.  A summer oil spray can be used for young scale (crawlers) in June; however, spraying should not be undertaken if there seem to be other insects feeding on the scale, so as to promote these beneficial predators.