The Avocado: Its Insect Enemies. 5 
insect beneath the scale thus becomes a degraded saclike creature, 
with no organs of locomotion. The mouthparts remain, however, in 
a highly developed state. They consist of delicate hairlike bristles 
Fic, 1.—The dictyospermum scale: a, Scales, enlarged eight times; b, scales on twig, 
slightly enlarged. 
by means of which the insect is firmly attached to the tree from 
which it draws its nourishment. Underneath this scale covering the 
insect remains fixed throughout its existence. On reaching maturity 
