66 



INSECTS AFFECTING THE ORANGE. 



^'■Eabitai. — This species is very abundant upon aluiust every variety 

 of house-plant in the Department green-houses, but especially so iipon 

 the Arabian and Liberian coffee-plants. On these plants they were 

 found, curiously enough, in small pits or glands on the under side of 

 the leaf, along the mid-rib. Almost every pit, of which there is one at 

 the origin of each main vein, contained one or more young mealy bugs, 

 and the larger ones whole colonies. The name dcstrueior is, however, 

 ])roposed for this insect from the damage done by it to orange trees in 

 Fl;)ri(lii, especiallyat Jacksonville and Micauopy, where it is the most 

 SOI ions iiis('(!t i)est of the orange. 



'■^Natural enemies. — The Chalcid parasite, Encyrius inquisitor Iloward 

 [Fig. 24], described in this report, was bred from a specimen of this 



mealy. bug collected at Jackson- 

 ville, Fla. A small red bug was 

 observed by myself and several 

 of our correspondents to prey 

 upon the mealy bug. The larvjie 

 of another species have been 

 found, but the mature form has 

 not been obtained. These last 

 have the faculty' of changing 

 color quickly from red to brown. 

 " The very curious larvie of a 

 lady-bird beetle, known as Scym- 

 nus hioculatus^ were found feed 

 ing upon the eggs of the mealy 

 bug at Orange Lake. These larvne mimic the Dactylopii so closely that 

 they miglit easily be taken for them. They are covered by a wliiic 

 secretion, and from each segment exudes a white substance which forms 

 long tilaments like those of the mealy bug. Kemoving tlie powder the 

 larva) are seen to be yellow in color, with two roundish dusky spots on 

 tlic dorsum of each thoracic segment. Each segment of the body is 

 furnished laterall}- with one long bristle and a number of small ones." 

 Two other parasites on Daciyloirius (lestrnctor have recently been de- 

 Bcribcfl by Mr. Iloward (Bulletin o, Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Dept. 

 Agric.) as Leptomastix dactylopii and Chiloneurus dactylopii. 



Fig. 24. — Ennirtvf inquisitor. (After Howard. ) 



THE COTTONY CUSHIOX SCAL,E. 

 {Icerya, purchasi, Maskell.) 



IFig. 25.J 



This insect has not yet been introduced into Florida. I'he following 

 excellent account of it is from the pen of Dr. S. F. Chapin, State Hor- 

 ticultural OfBcer of California: * 



' Pacific Rural Press, October 28, 1882. 



