48 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA: 



currant, and seems to prefer the fruit of the lemon, and 

 in many cases infests the skin or peel to such an extent as 

 to considerably reduce its market value. California, he 

 says, cannot claim a sole proprietary right to this pest, as 

 lemons imported from Europe are often offered for sale in 

 Californian markets which are seriously infested with 

 this scale. 



In Victoria, as has been previously mentioned, this 

 scale has not, so far as I am aware, done much damage 

 to fruit trees of any kind ; but, as it is now more common, 

 Aspidiotus Rossi perhaps excepted, than any other scale 

 insect of its kind in Victoria, we may at any moment 

 hear of its tackling orange and other trees, so must be on 

 the look-out for its coming. 



Around Melbourne, in nearly all gardens, especially the 

 public ones, a large number of trees and shrubs are 

 literally swarming with these insects, and live fences of 

 most kinds are in many places quite stunted by their 

 persistent attacks. 



On examining a number of these scales taken from trees 

 of the Corynocarpus, Pittosporum, and other common garden 

 shrubs, a large percentage of them I found to be perfectly 

 riddled by a small parasitic fly (see Fig. 7), which gives an 

 excellent representation of same. The fly in question 

 having been drawn from a specimen reared from the body 

 of a female scale of this species, being almost microscopic 

 in size. In Fig. 4 is shown a hole, enlarged of course, 

 from which the minute parasitic insects had escaped. 



Should this scale tackle our orchards to any great 

 extent it is feared that it will be a bad job for the grower. 

 Though the justly -dreaded " Ked Orange Scale " 

 A. Aurantii is principally confined to plants of the 

 Citrus tribe, this closely-allied pest may be found extend- 

 ing to over twenty feet up the tree, and would appear to 

 increase at an alarming rate, so that as long as such 

 " nurseries " for these and kindred insects are allowed to 

 remain unchecked and uncared for it will indeed be a 

 serious and almost hopeless task to attempt to either 

 successfully cope with or eradicate them. 



