105 
surfaces of the leaf, but most abundantly* beneath, or else may locate 
upon the twigs. At this season (Fig. 3) they present the appear- 
ance of small, inconspicuous, waxy, elongate-oval scales, applied 
closely to the leaf. They are usually motionless, but have never- 
theless minute 
legs still capable 
of service, but in- 
visible unless the 
insect is turned 
over. Inserting 
their tiny beaks 
into the tissue of 
the leaf, they suck 
out the sap, and 
when the supply 
of food is large 
they give off the 
excess in the form, 
of a sticky fluid, 
the so-called 
"honey dew,'' 
which moistens 
the surface of the 
lower leaves and 
falls on the plants beneath the tree. Under this 
large and constant withdrawal of sap the leaves 
turn pale or yellowish, and may fall off prema- 
turely, with the effect sometimes to kill the larger 
branches or even the entire tree. 
The male bark-lice beneath the scales on the 
leaves reach maturity \he same season, and trans- 
form to tiny gnat-like insects (Fig. 4) with a 
pair of delicate wings. They pair with the partly 
grown females on the leaves, and die at the ap- 
proach of winter. Before the fall of the leaf in 
autumn the young females collect on the under 
side of the smaller branches, where they spend 
the winter in a more or less dormant condition 
with their beaks inserted in the wood. They 
complete their growth in spring (Fig. 5), and 
in due time produce the so-called "cotton," within 
Male of Cottony Maple Scale: a, adult; b, c, an an- 
tenna and leg- eularg-ed; J, e, second stagfe of pupa and its cast 
skin; /, o, true pupa and its cast skin. All greatly enlarged. 
(Howard, U. S. Department of Agriculture.) 
Fig. 5. The Cottony 
Maple Scale: adult fe- 
male in spring-, just 
before the formation 
of the cottony egg-sac. 
(Hoivard, U. S. De- 
partment of Agricul- 
ture.) 
which the eggs are imbedded. 
