149S 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



Food Plants 



All citrus species, lig, olive, croton. oak. 



Control 



Fumigate with full schedule No. 1. 

 This is usually done whe;i the black scale 

 (Saissctia olac) is in good condition to 

 kill. See p. 1499. 



Natural Enemies 



The ladybird beetles, Oiriis chalyheus, 

 Scymnus marginicoUis. Lindorits lopan- 

 thac; the larvae of the green lacewing, 

 Chrysopa califoniica Coq., and brown lace- 

 wing. Sympherohius angustus Bks.. and 

 the internal parasite, Aspidiotiphagus cit- 

 rinus Craw., prey upon this pest. 



Rkd Or.\nge Scale. See Grape Pests. 



Red Spider. See Apple Pests. 



SilTer Mite of tbe Lemon 



Eriophyes oleivorus Ashm. 



PhytoptMs nleironis Ashm. 



General .\ppearanee 



The adult mites are so small as to 



be invisible except with the aid of a lens. 



They are light yellow in color, long and 



pointed anteriorly, with two pairs of legs 



near the head. The eggs are exceedingly 



small, circular and faintly yellow in color. 



The presence of the mite is easily told by 



the characteristic silvery chafing of the 



skin of the lemon, due to the destruction 



of the oil cells. In Florida the oranges 



are also chafed, causing a russeting. 



Life History 



The eggs are deposited singly or in 

 small clusters on the leaves or I'luit. 

 They hatch in less than a week in hot 

 weather but require twice as long in cold 

 weather. After several molts the mites 

 become full grown in from two to three 

 weeks. The young and adults feed upon 

 the oil in the succulent parts of citrus 

 plants, which is obtained by piercing the 

 oil cells with their beaks. The adults are 

 capable of rapid locomotion and move 

 freely. They breed from spring until late 

 fall, giving rise to many overlapping 

 broods a year. 



Food Plants 



Works upon bark, foliage and fruits of 

 citrus trees. In California its attacks 

 are usually confined to the lemon. 



Control 



Same as for the citrus red si)ider, Tet- 

 ranychus mytilaspidis. 



Strawberky Tiirips. See Grain Thrips, 

 this section. 



Tweive-Spotted Cucumber Beetle. See 

 ('Kiinnbcr Pests. 



Long- Tailed Mealy Bug 



Psrudoceus longispmus Targ. 

 Pseudococeus adonidum. Linn. 

 General Appearance 

 The same as the citrus mealy bug in 

 size, shape and color, but is readily dis- 

 tinguished from it by the long white anal 

 appendages as long, or longer, than the 

 body, from which it gets its name. 



Life History 



No eggs are laid by this species, the 

 young being born alive. Several genera- 

 tions appear each year, in fact in the 

 southern part of the state the breeding ex- 

 tends throughout practically the entire 

 year. The life cycle occupies about two 

 months. It is particularly bad in green- 

 houses and ornamental gardens. 



Food Plants 



Is especially destructive to Dracaena 

 sp., but also occurs on moonvine, citrus, 

 coleus, sago palm (Cycas revoluta), ferns, 

 oleander, plum, staghorn fern. 



Control 



The same as for the citrus mealy bug. 

 White Scale. See Florida Wax Scale, 

 this section. 



Woolly Citrus Aphid 



Aphis cookii Essig 

 General Appearance 

 The bodies vary from light gray to 

 very dark brown or almost black, and are 

 covered with short or rather long, white 

 cottony wax, which is arranged in trans- 

 verse rows across the abdomen. This 

 covering often almost completely hides 

 the insects. 



Life History 

 Is not well known. The insect was first 

 discovered by C. H. Vary at Pomona, Cali- 

 fornia, in April, 1910. 



Food Plants 



Navel orange trees. 



