416 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION. 



a Coccid allied to Dactylopius aud the commou "Turtle-back scale" (Lecanium hes- 

 peridum). 



During the past season, Miss Murtfeldt has noticed a harvest mite in great numbers 

 feeding upon the eggs of this species at Kirkwood, Mo. From specimens sent to the 

 Department, this mite seems to belong to the genus Eupodes, and is allied to the 

 European E. hiemaUs. It is very minute and pale reddish-yellow in color. The body 

 is divided into four distinct segments, two of which belong properly to the abdomen, 

 the last one being the largest, the first the smallest, and the other two about equal 

 in length. The division between the last two segments is a distinct, whitish, trans- 

 verse line, while the others are indicated by slight lateral indentations and subdorsal 

 impressions reaching to the lateral margin, of the same i^ale color. This is probably 

 the same mite noticed by Miss Smith, aud mentioned in her report previously cited. 



Two true parasites are known to infest this scale. The first of these, Cocco^ihaf/ns 

 lecanii (Fitch), is very common, and ordinarilj' infests the scales in great numbers. 

 The adult insect is a minute, black, four winged fly, marked with a crescent-shaped 

 yellow patch in the middle of the body above. Accordiug to Putnam there are two 

 broods of this parasite each season, the adults appearing in May aud August. The 

 infested lice become more or less inflated, finally turning black and becoming rigid. 

 The females are most commonly infested, though Putnam states that he has bred the 

 parasite from the male scale. 



The second parasite was bred by Mr. Putnam after the publication of his article, 

 and was described by Mr. Howard in his paper on the parasites of Coccids (Ann. 

 Rept. Dept. of Agr., 1880, p. 365) as Aphycus puJvinarice. This species seems to be rare 

 and has not been bred since. It is minute, dull-yellow in color, with a dusky abdo- 

 men and with antennaj variegated with brown and white. 



Bemedies. — The principal remedies which have been proposed in the past are, 

 briefly, heading in the tree, i. e., cutting off" the branches, aud drenching with a solu- 

 tion of whale-oil soap or a 1 per cent, solution of carbolic acid. During the past 

 season, however, we have recommended nothing but the kerosene emulsions treated 

 of in a previous article, and these will undoubtedly give better satisfaction than 

 anything else that can be used. The best time for spraying the trees will be while 

 the young are hatching, late in May or early in June, aud the apparatus described 

 in the article on the cottonwood beetle can be used to the same advantage here. 



In Professor Forbes's third report much space is devoted to this pest, 

 which begau in 1884 to appear again in noticeable numbers. In 

 destroying the insect the use of whale-oil soap was less satisfactory 

 than that of the kerosene emulsion, " an application of the suds, 

 strong enough to effect the purpose, being very likely to injure the 

 leaves at least as much as the bark lice would have done." The most 

 useful remedy was found to be a kerosene emulsion diluted with soap- 

 suds to a strength of from 2J to 5 per cent, and not injuring the 

 leaves. 



Miss Murtfeldt reports (Bull. 13, Div. Ent., 1887) as follows concern- 

 ing tbe ravages of this insect in Illinois : 



This insect has not been troublesome in this part of Missouri since 1884 ; but in 

 and around Rockford, 111., I learned that it had been so abundant on the soft maples 

 for three successive seasons as to kill many young trees outright and greatly injure 

 the older ones. I was told that the side-walks shaded by these trees became so 

 defiled and slippery from the exudations of the scale insect that it was diflScult and 

 unpleasant to walk on them. The citizens had consequently conceived a prejudice 

 against the soft maple, and many were being cut down or dug up and replaced by 

 other trees. 



