576 RsroRT of Entomologists of the 



minute pieces of egg shells, the remains of the eggs laid by the scale 

 the previous spring. Fig. 10 is from a photograph of an infested 

 twig from which the scales had been removed. These white marks 

 gradually fade and finally disappear altogether. 



Fig. 11 represents the other form of scale referred to. The scales 

 are so small and there is so little contrast between their color and 

 that of the bark to which they are attached that they do not show 

 very plainly in the tignre. These scales, however, are alive. They 

 are hibernating after having fed upon the juices of the leaves or 

 tender twigs during the previous summer. Most of these scales are 

 young females. A description is omitted here as they will be con- 

 sidered more in detail later on. 



Classification and Name. 



The family Coccidale includes all of our scale insects as well as 

 certain other insects of similar habits and characteristics. The insect 

 under consideration belongs, therefore, to this family. It is further 

 classified into the genus Lecanium, a prominent and widely dis- 

 tributed genus of this family, and one which includes a number of 

 species of economic importance, not the least of which is the well- 

 known black scale of California. The females are not provided 

 with separate scales or coverings as is the case with other scale insects, 

 but are soft and naked until egg laying begins when the integument 

 gradually hardens to a brittle shell ; hence these scales are frequently 

 called soft scales, although the scientific name Lecanium seems to be 

 coming into general use. 



As to the identity of this species there still seems to be some 

 uncertaiuity. Two different specific names were given to the same 

 scale sent by the writer to different entomologists, namely, cerasifex 

 and juglandis Bouche. In the Year Book of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture for 1891, page 272, Mr. L. O. Howard 

 speaks of it under the specific n?ime prunastri Fonc, Mr. Newstead 

 of Chester, England, having decided that it is identical with the 

 European species of that name, and gives it the popular name of 

 New York Plum Lecanium. 



Distribution in the United States. 



The uncertainty as to the specific name of the insect under con- 

 sideration makes it difficult to determine its distribution. It is not 

 improbable, however, that it is widely distributed throughout the 



