The Yerba Santa Mealy Bug 



(Pseudococcus yerba-santae n sp.) 



E. O. ESSIG 

 SECRETARY STATE HORTICULTURAL COMMISSION, SACRAMENTO, C AL. 



FEMALES 



General Appeal (nice. — (Fig. 1) The general outward ap- 

 pearance, including size, shape, color and vestiture, furnishes 

 the only reliable data for the recognition and description of 

 mealy bugs. The species under discussion does not differ from 

 the other known s]iecies to a great degree, but enough so to war- 

 rant its being considered new to science. The size is average. 



Figure 1. The yerba santa mealy bug {Pseudororais i/frha sanUe n sp.) Slightly 

 enlarged. (Original.) 



being from 1.8 mm. to 2.2 mm. in length and nearly half as wide. 

 The shape is oval oblong, being slightly narrower than the typical 

 mealy bugs. The body color is light or pinkish. The contents of 

 the bodies are easily removed by boiling in KOH, the skin be- 

 coming colorless and transparent — the legs and antennas remain- 

 ing amber. The white waxy covering is just thick enough to hide 

 the body color and appears velvety. The segmentation of the 

 body is usually plainly visible. The wax filaments around the 



