THE NEW PEACH SCALE. 



(Diaspis amygdali Tryon). 



Fig. 1634. — Peach Scale, c Male, b Female. 



How to detect it. — This scale is readily 

 distinguished from the San Jose in that 

 the female is a little larger, of a lighter 

 gray color, with the elongated exuvial 

 point ridged and located at one side of 

 the centre, and the male is smaller, 

 elongated, with parallel sides and white. 

 The exuvial point is similar to that of 

 the female, but located at the anterior 

 end. A tree badly infested has a white, 

 washed appearance from the color of the 

 male scales. Where only females occur, 

 however, a grayish brown appearance is 

 produced. 



It is the habit of these insects to 

 cluster about the trunk and the lower 

 parts of the larger limbs of a tree. 



The original home of this insect is 

 probably either the West Indies or 

 Japan. From its probable West Indian 

 origin it gets one of its popular names, 

 " West India " scale. It is now known 

 to exist in the United States, at Washing- 

 ton, D. C ; at Los Angeles, Cal. ; in 

 one locality in Ohio ; at Molina, Fla. ; 

 at Bainbridge, Thomasville, Irby and 

 Ashburn, Georgia. The case at Irby, 



Ga., involves two peach orchards ; one 

 of about 7,000 trees and the other 

 25,000 trees. About 10,000 trees have 

 been utterly destroyed at this place by 

 this scale. 



It attacks the plum, peach, apricot, 

 cherry, pear, grape, persimmon, and a 

 few other plants. 



Treatment. — The winter treatment for 

 this insect is about the same as that for 

 the San Jose scale. The females pass 

 the winter in the mature and partially 

 mature state, and can be killed by the 

 twenty per cent, mixture of kerosene and 

 water, or by the whale-oil soap treatment 

 at the rate o( one pound dissolved in one 

 gallon of water. In Georgia there are 

 three or four broods from eggs, which 

 appear at more or less regular intervals, 

 the first appearing about the middle of 

 March, if the season is favorable. These 

 broods should be watched for and ten 

 per cent, kerosene or whale-oil soap at 

 the rate of one pound to four gallons of 

 water should be applied at the time of 

 their appearance. — Georgia Entomologi- 

 cal Bulletin, No. 1 



312 



