18 



The Bulletiis'. 



oughly treated whether it is going to be killed or not, for otherwise 

 it becomes a center from which the scale may spread to other trees 

 or orchards. Furthermore, though a tree may be too hardy to be 

 killed outright, yet the younger branches where the fruit should be 

 borne may be injured to such an extent that the tree cannot mature 

 a crop. 



NATURAL. ENEMIES OF THE SAN JOSE SCALE. 



The orchardist is not entirely alone in his efforts to hold the San 

 Jose Scale in check. There are a number of natural enemies which 

 do more or less good in limiting the numbers of the pest. Every 

 rainstorm during the summer doubtless washes off and drowns count- 

 less thousands of the young. There are at least two species of native 

 Lady-beetles which commonly prey upon the scale. One of these is the 

 Twice-stabbed Lady-beetle, about one-eighth of an inch long, black, 

 and with a red spot on each wing-cover, the spots resembling tiny 

 drops of blood, thus giving rise to its name. The other is called the 

 Pitiful Lady-beetle, though we know not why, unless it be on account 

 of its small size, for this insect is not as large as a pin-head. It is 

 jet black. 



i*i*f4^ 



^^^^5^^ 



^ 



Fig. 8.— One of the small 4-winged parasites which prey upon the San Jose Scale. Very much 

 enlarged. (After Howard, U. S. Dept. Agr.). 



In addition to these there are one or more species of parasitic 

 flies which attack the insects and lay their eggs within them, the 

 eggs hatching into tiny maggots which feed within the scale-insects 

 and eventually cause their death. 



In Florida a fungous disease has been found to prey upon the 

 scale to a considerable extent, but attempts to introduce this into 

 other localities have not met with much success. 



Eeccntly the United States Department of Agriculture at Wash- 

 ington has introduced from China a species of Lady-beetle closely 



