Canopy position and tree size structure the distribution of honeydew-producing scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) in a temperate hardwood forest

It was collected to test how two factors (vertical canopy position and host-tree size) structure scale-insect communities, addressing a gap in knowledge of how sap-feeding insects are distributed within temperate forest canopies.

The data were gathered during a year of exceptionally high scale abundance by sampling branches from three canopy heights (Lower, Mid, and Upper) across 33 sugar maple trees spanning a trunk-diameter gradient (DBH 3–62.6 cm). The dataset comprises cleaned, analysis-ready insect count data at two spatial grains. The internode-level file (1,836 records) gives counts of three identified scale taxa — oystershell scale (Lepidosaphes ulmi), lecanium scale (Parthenolecanium corni), and the mealybug Phenacoccus acericola, plus unidentified mobile immatures ("crawlers") for individual twig segments, together with internode age and dimensions and a derived twig surface area.