190 



APHIDES, SCALE INSECTS, ETC. 



pierce, begins to feed, and ceases to move. A secretion 

 of "waxy material takes place on its back, beneath 

 which the scale forms ; and after various moults, and 

 additions by secretion to the size of the Scale, the 

 -change of the insect under it takes place to the 

 perfect state. 



This, in the female, is to a shape like that of a 

 globular flattened maggot, greenish in colour, without 

 jointed limbs, which lays eggs, and dies. 



The males (I believe, in the present case, first 



Fig. 145. — Apple Mussel Scale — female and eggs ; magnified. Twig, 

 with Scale; nat. size. 



observed not long ago by Prof. Riley) have one pair 

 of whitish wings, and no proboscis. 



The best methods of getting rid of these Scales are 

 to prune off infested boughs, where this can be done. 

 "Where it cannot, rubbing off the Scales by means of 

 •cloths or brushes, after moistening the bark with 

 water, or scraping them away with a knife, gets rid of 

 many ; and, generally, the same kind of remedies are 

 useful as are applied for American Blight, such as 

 soft-soap, with some mixture of paraffin, kerosine, or 

 other addition, which may stifle the Scale insects 

 which have been disturbed, and make the bark un- 

 suitable for attack. 



