92 Second Report on Economic Zoology. 



said to do much luirni. It breeds with great rapidity, but is largely 

 held in check by numerous parasites, notably two bugs referred to 

 below, and also Ijy one of the Thysannra* The male and female scales 

 are usually found on separate trees, but close together. The female 

 scale is grey in colour and pear-shaped, the female insect is deep 

 crimson. At one end of the scale may be seen a trace of the yellow 

 larval skin, but tliis soon fades and becomes grey ; it is placed at 

 the narrow end of the scale. The male scales occur in enormous 

 numbers, in many cases making the l)ark look quite grey ; they are 

 much smaller than those of the females, and are strongly ridged. 

 The perfect males are orange-red in colour, and have long genitalia. 

 The eggs laid under the female scales are crimson, and are deposited 

 in August. They remain under the scales until the spring, when 

 they hatch out into little yellow larvae. The males are recorded by 

 iSTewstead as hatching in June and July. In those kept under 

 observation, they nearly all came out in the latter month and a few 

 in August. 



Willows growing with ash have been found to be perfectly free 

 from this scale, although the ashes were smothered. It looks, 

 therefore, as if once settled on a host they do not change, and, 

 possibly, it is only when the ash fails that the other trees are 

 invaded. There are two forms of males. 



Natural Enemies. 



Great numbers of " bugs " have been observed feeding on this 

 scale. The most abundant being a small black species identified by 

 Mr. Distant as Temnostethus pusiUus, H.-Sch. I have taken as many 

 as six on one small tree, all busily engaged in sucking the bodies of 

 the scale insects, and I find they puncture through the scales, 

 leaving a small hole, much as is formed by the exit of a Chalcid 

 parasite. 



A larger species, Phytocoris diiiiidiatus, Ebm., which is very 

 difficult to see OM'ing to its being similarly adoriied to the lichens and 

 scales, also feeds upon them, but in fewer numbers, and occasionally 

 I found Lyctoeoris cmnpestris, Fabr., devouring them. This latter also 

 attacks man. 



A large black springtail, with shiny body, was also seen in 

 numbers grazing off these pests. 



* I liave been unable to get this identified. 



