134 



IN.JUKIOIS \XL> BENEFICIAL INSECTS OF CALIFORNIA. 



THE FRUIT-TREE PULVINARIA 

 Pulvinaria amygdali Cockerell 



(Figs. J 13, 11 -I) 



Description. — The body of the mature female is flat, oval and yel- 

 low or reddish-brown. It is usually covered with fine, fluffy, white, 



cottony material which is very 

 delicate. At one end of the 

 body is constructed a more 

 compact white cottony egg- 

 sac. The length of the body 

 and egg-sac is nearly £ inch. 

 The eggs are very minute, 

 oval or oblong and almost 

 pearly white. When massed 

 together they appear light 

 yellow. The young are light 

 yellow or brownish, naked 

 and very flat. The half- 

 grown or nearly mature 

 female is also entirely naked, 

 somewhat elongated, convex 

 and light yellowish-brown. 

 gray or dark with darker, 

 transverse, broken bands and 

 a yellow longitudinal line on 

 the dorsum. The surface is 

 quite rough and plainly seg- 

 inch. 



half-grown condition. 



Fig. 113. — The fruit-tree Pulvinaria. Pulvin- 

 aria amygdali Ckll. Half-grown females as 

 they appear on the twigs in April and May. 

 Slightly enlarged. (Original) 



mented. The Length varies from -} to 

 Life History. — The winter is spent in a 



.Maturity is reached ,_ 



in April and .May. 

 when the females 

 secrete the cottony 

 covering and egg- 

 sacs which are filled 

 with hundreds of 

 tiny e g g s. The 

 hatching p e r i o d 

 covers about two 

 months, from the 



middle of A p V i 1 

 to the middle of 

 June, but most of 

 the young appear 

 in May. They usu- 

 ally settle first 

 upon the leaves, a 

 F e w however a r e 

 content to feed 

 upon the tender bark near the tips of the shoots. Before the leaves 

 begin to fall, greal numbers move to the small twigs, where the winter 



Fig. 111. — The fruit-tree Pulvinaria, Pulvinaria amygdali 

 Ckll. Mature females on prune leaves. Natural size. (Original) 



