258 



PESTS OF ORCHARD AND SMALL FRUITS 



The Oyster-shell Scale {Lepidosaphes ulmi Linn.) 



The shape of this scale is quite like that of a narrow, miniature 

 oyster shell. It is about one eighth of an inch long and is easily ob- 

 served without a lens. It 

 commonly infests a great 

 variet}^ of deciduous trees 

 and shrubs, and when 

 very abundant, is capable 

 of causing the death of its 

 host. 



The young scales ap- 

 pear in May or June, 

 crawl about over the bark 

 for six or eight hours, and 

 then insert their beaks, 

 settle down, and secrete 

 the wax covering under 

 which they remain for the 

 rest of their life. The 

 males are winged. Eggs 

 are laid in fall, beneath 

 the scale covering the 

 female, and remain there 

 until the next spring. In 

 the South there are two 

 broods; in the North 

 one. 



Regular, annual spray- 

 ing in winter with lime 

 sulphur for San Jose scale will hold this insect sufficiently in check. 

 For direct, remedial treatment of badly infested trees this wash is 

 not sufficiently active or dependable. The only remedies that may 

 be depended on are a spraying in early spring with linseed oil 

 emulsion ; or an application of 12 per cent kerosene emulsion at the 



Fig. 351. — Oyster-shclI Scale. Enlarged to 

 twice natural size. Original. 



