REPORT OF STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 201 



THE SAN JOSE SCALE. 



(Aspidiotus pcrniciosiis.) 



Although this scale has not made its appearance in the State 

 as far as I know yet I deem it wise to give a description of this 

 most pernicious pest to our orchard interest so that a more care- 

 ful and thorough search may be made for it by our farmers and 

 orchardists, and a strict watch kept and its appearance reported 

 as soon as discovered. There is no other insect that so threatens 

 our fruit trees at the present time. Even the gipsy and brown- 

 tail moths cannot compare with it in destructiveness, and as to 

 methods of control or suppression it is much more difficult to 

 handle. On account of its minute size it might easily pass 

 unobserved even by the most diligent search of a careful 

 observer, unless he is familiar with the insect. Every orchardist 

 in the State is especially requested to send in a specimen of any 

 infestation of a doubtful character which may be found. 



The origin of this scale was a source of varied conjectures 

 until the years 1901 and '02 when Prof. C. L. Marlatt of the 

 Bureau of Entomology at Washington was sent to China and 

 Japan to investigate. After a careful search he discovered that 

 its original home was in China. It was evidently brought to 

 this country on infested trees, shrubs or fruit. It was discov- 

 ered in the San Jose valley, CaUfornia, in 1780 and described 

 in 1880 by Prof. J. H. Comstock who gave it the name of the 

 pernicious scale, A. perniciosus. Since then it has gradually 

 spread south and east until now it is found as far south as 

 Florida, north into British Columbia and east to Massachusetts. 

 It was first discovered in Massachusetts in 1895 and now sec- 

 tions are quite badly infested especially around Boston. So 

 that we have every reason to fear its not far distant advent into 

 this State. 



Some have thought that it could not stand the rigors of our 

 northern winters, but so some of the wise ones predicted of the 

 gipsy and brown-tail moths ; but the last few years have abun- 

 dantly proven the falsity of this proposition, and we may yet live 

 to see this other pest among our already too numerous insect 

 enemies. 



