THE LEMON LEAF AND PEEL SCALE. 85 



CHAPTER XXXI. 



THE LEMON LEAF AND PEEL SCALE. 



(Mytilaspis Citricola. Packard.} 

 Order : Hemiptera. Section : Homoptera. Family : Coccididce. 



We now come to a scale insect which in some countries 

 would appear to do a lot of damage, but in Victoria it is, 

 so far, mostly confined to the fruit of lemons which are 

 imported from Italy and other parts of Southern Europe. 

 Dr. Cooke, to whose works we are indebted for much 

 information concerning scales of economic interest, de- 

 scribes this species as " an elongated slightly-curved scale 

 insect infesting citrus trees," and also remarks that in 

 America it is not a rare occurrence to find it on 

 oranges, &c., which are imported from Europe, Australia, 

 and Tahiti, and offered for sale on fruit stands throughout 

 the States. 



This scale in general appearance is, when seen on the 

 skin of imported lemons, much like the well-known 

 Mussel-scale of the apple, M. pomorum, but is darker in 

 colour and more curved in shape (see Plate XXVI., Fig. 2). 

 So far as I am aware or can ascertain here it seldom 

 attacks the tree itself, and if it does do so the damage 

 done is not serious. Fig. 1 of our plate shows a portion 

 of lemon branch, on the underside of some of the leaves 

 of which are young insects of this coccid, and on Figs. 3, 

 4, 5, 6, and 7 the insects in their various stages are shown 

 as explained on the page opposite to the plate. 



In America this is often called the purple scale, and, 

 according to that invaluable publication Insect Life, 

 kindly forwarded to me regularly by Professor Riley, the 

 fruit-growers of California are very much disturbed over 

 the importation of fruit trees from the State of Florida, 

 and the May, 1892, number of the Rural Californian is 



