The Avocado: Its Insect Enemies. 13 
adult scales may be noted the young. They are small, oval, yellow 
creatures and do not possess the cottony mass about the margin. The 
adult male is a very delicate insect. It averages about 2 millimeters 
in length (one-twelfth inch), has an orange colored body and pale 
colored legs. The wings are clear and covered with very fine hairs. 
CHARACTER OF INJURY. 
The scales on the foliage extract the juices from the plant. Dur- 
ing the development of the scales there is a rather constant secre- 
Fic. 8.—The avocado white fly: Characteristic low branching of avocado tree. Lower 
branches are generally heavily infested, being more protected from the elements. 
tion of honeydew, and frequently an individual scale will be covered 
with a drop of liquid many times its own size. This honeydew 
drops from the bodies of the scales onto the upper surface of the 
foliage and fruit, just as it does with white flies. During the humid 
summer weather the sooty-mold fungus finds there a suitable medium 
in which to develop and in course of time gives infested trees a very 
blackened, sooty appearance. The injury caused by the scale is two- 
fold: Extraction of the plant juices from the foliage and produc- 
tion of honeydew in which the sooty fungus develops, marring the 
appearance of the foliage and fruit. 
