626 INSECT PESTS OF FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD 



noticeable where there is a light amount of bloom, where the 

 bloom is heavy the injury serves in a way as a natural thinning 



and may be beneficial. Dis- 

 figuring of the fruit is a 

 source of some loss from 

 this insect. The life his- 

 tory resembles that of the 

 citrus thrips but there are 

 probably more generations. 

 They may be controlled, 

 where control measures are 



FIG. 536.-Florida Flower Thrips. From essentiid, by the methods 

 Watson after Dozier. Enlarged (Florida outlined for the citrus 

 Agr. Exp. Sta.). ' thrips. 



The Rust-mite or Silver-mite * 



According to Watson, the rust-mite is, in Florida, out-ranked 

 as a pest only by the white fly and the purple scale. In Cali- 

 fornia it is less important being restricted in its distribution, and 

 called the "Silver-mite" on account 

 of its silvering effect on lemons. It was 

 imported into California from Florida. 



The rust-mite is just visible to the 

 unaided eye, is rather elongate and 

 broader at the anterior end, tapering 

 to a rather long point toward the 

 posterior end. 



The eggs are few in number but 

 hatch in a short time and the life 

 cycle may take a period as short as 

 two weeks. In consequence the mul- 

 tiplication, during favorable seasons is 

 very rapid. The broods are inseparable. 



Mites injure the foliage by sucking 

 oils from the cells and in this way in- 

 jures the trees. Their chief injury is, 

 however, to the fruit which they at- 

 tack in the same way. Here they cause 



FIG. 537. Orange rust-mite: 

 a, dorsal view; b, lateral 

 view, enlarged, the dot in 

 circle indicating natural size; 

 c, leg; d, egg with embryo 

 just about ready to hatch 

 more enlarged. (After Hub- 

 bard) U. S. Dept. of Agr. 



* Eriophyes oleivorus Ashmead. See H. J. Quayle, Bulletin 234, Cal. 

 Exp. Sta. Class Arachnida, order Acarina, Family Eriophyidcp. . 



