A PLUM SCALE 



Lecanium sp. 

 Order Hemiptera ; family Coccid^. 



Heretofore, the scale insects have plaj^ed but a very small part 

 in the havoc annually resulting from the attacks of insect pests 

 in the northern and eastern parts of the United States. In the 

 extreme western (California) and southern (Florida and Louis- 

 iana) states, however, most of the energy expended by fruit 

 growers in combating their foes has to be directed against this 

 class of insects, which there take first rank as pests. But, during 

 the past year, two scale insects appeared in such numbers in some 

 of the northern and eastern states as to greatly alarm fruit 

 growers- One of these is the dreaded San Jose Scale {Aspiaiotus 

 perniciosus) of California, which has recently appeared in our 

 state, especially on Long Island. Figures of this pernicious scale 

 are given on the preceding page to familiarize fruit growers with 

 its appearance, and also more especially for comparison with 

 those of another scale which now threatens the plum indus- 

 try. This latter scale has doubtless been present in eastern plum 

 orchards for years, apparently awaiting certain conditions that 

 seem at last to have occurred in certain localities, but more 

 especially in western New York. 



The past year, several of the largest and finest plum orchards 

 in our state have suffered severely from this plum scale. In one or- 

 chard of over 2O0O trees, one fourth of the immense crop was not 

 worth picking and most of theremainder was badly damaged. But 

 still more alarming than this is the fact that there are more than 50,- 

 000 of the best plum trees in western New York, which, at the present 

 moment, are harboring millions of these scales ; and unless these 

 are destroyed this winter or in the spring, they will literally over- 

 run these trees with such dire results as we scarcely dare predict. 

 In short, the indications are that if this pest is allowed to begin 

 work in full force in the spring of 1895, it will soon ruin some of 

 the finest plum orchards in the state. 



