382 



method of its application perfected by improved material and instru- 

 ments. Three or four firms manufacture an insect lime which answers 

 the requirements, namely, that it keeps effective for 3 montbs ; that it 

 does not run in hot weather, and preserves the original dimensions of 

 the band ; that it is lighter than water (to show it free from heavy ad- 

 mixtures which injure its usefulness) ; that it preserves a disagreeable 

 smell (tar oil), which seems to keep the larvas off. The price is less than 

 $2 for 100 pounds. The cost of banding 1 acre of forest by hand, with- 

 out the new machines, is $1.80, of which $1.25 goes for material, 25 

 cents for bark scraping, and 30 cents for putting band on trees. With 

 the newly patented bark scraper and gluing machines (illustrations of 

 which were exhibited), the cost may be reduced by one-third to one- 

 fifth, with more effectiveness in addition. 



The success of the " lime band " was demonstrated in a district of about 

 2,000 acres at an expenditure of $12,000, experimentally, including the 

 cutting of infested trees, etc. The larvae accumulated below the bands 

 by the thousand and could be killed easily or starved to death. Those 

 that were on the trees in descending, let themselves drop over the im- 

 pediment. The next year will furnish a still larger amount of experi- 

 ence in fighting the pests. 



Mr. Fernow also suggested that the introduction of insect lime into 

 this country might be desirable as an additional cheap means of pro- 

 tecting orchard and park trees. This lime is manufactured by L. Pohl- 

 born, of Berlin, and Schindler & Miitzell, of Stettin, previously men- 

 tioned on page 36 of the current volume, and by other German firms. 



A NEW SCALE INSECT FROM CALIFORNIA. 



By D. W. COQUILLETT, Los Angeles, Cal. 



Lecanium pruinosum n. sp. — Adult female pale brownish, tbinly covered with a 

 whitish powder which does not conceal the groundcolor; body oblong in outline, 

 very convex above, not distinctly carinate, the surface very uneven ; margins nearly 

 perpendicular ; dimensions as follows : Largest specimen, length 7 millimetres, width 

 a trifle over 5 millimetres, height 3 millimetres; smallest full grown specimen, length 

 4 millimetres, width 3 millimetres, heights millimetres; anteunje much thickest at the 

 base, 7-joiuted ; joint 6 the sliortest, then 5, then 1 and 2, which are subequal in length ; 

 joints 3, 4, and 7 are also subequal in length, each nearly twice as long as 6 ; joint 7 

 tapers to the tip, aud is furnished with a style inserted to one side of the extreme tip, 

 the style being about three-fourths as long as this joint; anal cleft and lobes normal. 



In the old dead and dried scales the powdery substance becomes 

 almost entirely removed, and the surface becomes rougher, especially 

 along the sides, where it is very rugose, the center of the dorsum always 

 being smoother than the sides ; the margin usually becomes thin and 

 spread out, forming an acute angle with the bark upon which it restsj 

 the color of the scale is now a reddish-brown. 



