SCALE INSECTS 309 



nilla, or cochineal, was imported into Europe. The The 

 cacti on which it fed were brought over, to establish 

 the cochineal industry, and these plants now abound in 

 all the Mediterranean countries. So characteristic are 

 the prickly pears today in the landscape of Greece and 

 Italy, that artists depicting scenes of classical times 

 sometimes put them into their landscapes, ignorant of 

 the fact that these cacti are natives of America, and did 

 not exist in Europe until brought over to feed the 

 cochineal. 



Other insects of the same group produce wax, while Wax and lac 

 still others are the source of lac, which is used as a 

 varnish. The wax and lac are not the insects them- 

 selves, but their secretions, which in life serve for pro- 

 tection. Lac coccids also yield a coloring matter, 

 known as "lake"; while the name "vermilion" is 

 derived from the vermes or "worms" developing in the 

 kermes. All these coloring matters are now largely 

 superseded by the coal-tar dyes. 



2. While the Coccidse are thus beneficial, they also The cottony 

 include species which are among the most dreaded 

 pests of the fruit grower, while others injure ornamental 

 plants. One of the worst of these pests was the cottony 

 cushion scale (Icerya purchasi}, which threatened to 

 destroy orange culture in California, but was finally 

 overcome by a beetle (Novius cardinalis}, brought 

 from Australia. The cottony cushion scale is about 

 the size of a pea, and produces a white, fluted ovisac, 

 containing the eggs. Vast numbers of these scales 

 collect on the branches of trees, and suck the sap. 

 These are the females ; the male, not often noticed, is 

 a small fly with two wings. When this creature came 

 to be a pest in California, the entomologists found 

 that it had first been described from New Zealand, but 



