What's eating my albany cycad?

Albany Cycad (Encephalartos latifrons) is threatened by armored scale insects, mealybugs, and seed weevils in cultivation. Scale is the dominant threat, coating fronds with white or grey crusts and causing yellowing. Seed weevil (Antliarhinus zamiae) destroys developing seeds in female cones. Inspect new plants carefully and treat scale early with horticultural oil.

White or grey waxy crusts on fronds and stems; leaves yellow, brown, and die back under heavy infestation Remove heavily infested fronds; spray with horticultural oil weekly for 4 weeks; systemic imidacloprid as a soil drench for severe cases

White cottony masses in leaf axils and along midribs; sticky honeydew leads to sooty mold; stunted new growth Dab colonies with rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab; apply insecticidal soap or neem oil spray; repeat every 7–10 days

Larvae bore into developing seeds inside female cones, hollowing them out and causing total seed failure Inspect cones regularly; remove and destroy infested seeds; apply systemic insecticide preventively when cones emerge