THE SAN JOSE SCALE. 85 



CHAPTER LIII. 



THE SAN JOSE SCALE. 



( Aspidiotus perniciosus^ Comstock. ) 



Order : Hemiptera. Section : Homoptera. Family : Coccidoe. 



This terribly destructive insect, wliicli has recently been 

 added to the proclaimed list of noxious insects under the 

 provision of the Vegetation Diseases Act of Victoria, 

 is, undoubtedly, one of the worst insect enemies with 

 which our fruit-growers have to contend, and Professor 

 Comstock, of the Entomological Department of the United 

 States of America, has deservedly given it the name of 

 the Perniciosus Scale. 



In common with all the armoured scales, the life round 

 of this insect, with the exception of a few hours of active 

 larval existence, and an equally brief-winged existence in 

 the case of the mature male, is passed under the pro- 

 tection of a waxy scale. 



This scale covering conceals the real insect beneath, 

 and prevents any easy observation or study of its life 

 history. The winter in America is passed by the nearly 

 full-grown insects under the protection of the scale. 

 Early in April, in this latitude, America, the hybernating 

 males emerge, and by the middle of May the overwintered 

 females mature, and be^in to sive birth to a new o-enera- 

 tion, continuing to produce young and perish, the adult 

 female giving birth to living young, differing in this 

 respect from many other scale insects. Ordinarily, eggs 

 are deposited beneath the scale, which, in the course of 

 a longer or shorter time, hatch, and the young larv» 

 make their escape and migrate to different parts of the 

 plant. 



