THE MON'IIII.V BULLETIX. 



67 



COUNTY HORTICULTURAL COMMISSIONERS' 



DEPARTMENT. 



THE MEALY BUG OF THE MUSCAT GRAPE. 



By Fred K. Howard, Horticultural Commissioner, Hanford, Cal. 



Althouo'h llic mealy bug, probably Pseudococcus hakeri Essig, has 

 been known to infest table and wine grapes, in some of the grape grow- 

 ing sections of the San Joaqnin Valley, to a limited extent for several 

 years, it was not nntil 1914 that the infestation became economically 

 important in those districts. To my knowledge this insect had never 

 been found on raisin grapes until taken by the writer in an old muscat 

 vineyard north of Armona. Kings County, about the middle of Sep- 

 tember, 1915, although, no doubt, the pest existed in parts of the raisin 

 growing district of this county for some years prior to that date. 



Fig. 2 8. — Grapes infested with mealy bugs. (Original.) 



The casual observer will probably first become aware of the presence 

 of the insect by the globules of crystal clear honeydew which it exudes 

 in large quantities upon the clusters of fruit. Closer observation will 

 reveal the insect, which is easily distinguished by the white, waxy cover- 

 ing, and the anal filaments which are usually about one half as long as 

 the body of the insect, although in some individuals they are much 

 longer and might easily be taken for the long tailed mealy bug P. longis- 

 pinus (Targ.). They may u.sually be found on the berry at or near the 

 stem end, although are often found, especially in cases of severe infesta- 

 tion, on the leaves and tender canes, the usual place being at the base 

 of the leaf stalk. 



