94 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CITRUS TREES. 



the insect has reached maturity, it assumes 

 different shades of color first, greenish 

 brown; half grown, reddish brown, and 

 at maturity, dark brown. 



It is doubtful if there are more than one 

 brood in each year. The first brood is 

 hatched, in Sacramento, about the first of 

 May, but do not attempt to leave from un- 

 der the scale until the twelfth, yet it is 

 very common to find thefemales of this 

 species depositing their eggs late in Sep- 

 tember, but whether they are of the spring 

 brood I am not prepared to say. 



In relation to the length of time the le- 

 caniums are capable of moving from one 

 place to another, Mons. V. Signoret writes: 

 " Before pregnancy they have the power 

 to move, if necessary." 



THE RED SCALE. (CAL.) 



(Aspidiotus aurentii Maskell.) Synonym, 



Aspidiotus citrii Comstock. Order, 



Hemiptera; sub - order, Homoptcru; 



family, Coccidce. 



[A circular reddish scale insect, infest- 

 ing the citrus trees, and has been found 

 on grape-vines and the foliage of walnut 

 trees.] 



The red scale infests some of the citrus 

 groves of Southern California, and orange 

 trees in Sacramento and Marysville. It 

 has also been found on grape-vines and 

 on the foliage of walnut trees, but I do 

 not think that any damage will be done to 

 these plants by this pest. As the walnut 

 sheds its foliage annually, the insects are 

 likely to be destroyed; and those which I 

 have examined on the grape-vines in the 

 month of September, and which appeared 

 to be in a healthy condition, were dead 

 and shrunken when I examined the vines 

 in the month of February following. 



It is generally conceded that this species 

 is an importation from Australia. 



NATURAL HISTORY. Female scale, 

 nearly transparent, circular, of a light- 

 grayish color, and measures from one lino 

 to one and one-quarter lines in diameter; 

 exuviae or cast skin in center, yellowish ; 

 second larval skin easily distinguished. 



Male scale, a little darker in color and 

 smaller than the female scale; form, elon- 

 gated; exuvite nearest the anterior end. 



Eggs.li is thought by some writers 



that the females of this species are vivipa- 

 rous. I have watched the female insect 

 ovipositing, and immediately examined 

 the egg or sack under a microscope, using 

 a high power, and could not detect any 

 appendages; however, in twenty - four 

 hours I noticed the presence of antennee 

 and legs. The insect produces from two 

 to four of these eggs or sacks in twenty- 

 four hours, and the number produced by 

 each female is from twenty to forty-three; 

 the latter is the highest number I have 

 found. 



In the month of September, 1882, 1 found 

 a lemon at an orchard in Los Angeles 

 county on which the larva* of thirty-nine 

 male scale insects had located around the 

 stem of the fruit, and as there was only 

 one matured scale on the lemon this was 

 evidently the number produced by one 

 female. Larvacolor, bright yellow; form, 

 ovoid; length, one-eightieth of an inch; 

 antennae, six jointed; anal setae, present. 



Female: color, light or primrose yellow- 

 when the scale is formed, but as it reaches 

 maturity it becomes a brownish yellow. 

 The formation of the body is such that 

 under the scale, when examined with a 

 lense, its appearance is that of a broken 

 ring, but when ovipositing the posterior 

 end of the abdomen extends beyond the 

 circular line of the body. The color of 

 the natural insect is shown through the 

 nearly transparent scale from which it de- 

 rives its common name Red Scale. 



Male: color of body, amber yellow, with 

 dark marking on thorax; eyes, black. 



Female red scale insect: color, yellow. 



The young larvae can be found at all sea- 

 sons of the year, and there are probabty 

 four or five broods in each year. 



THE RED SCALE OF FLORIDA. 



(Aspidiotus flcns Riley, MSS.; Chr}/*<n- 

 phalus ficus Riley, MSS. Ashmead.) 

 Order, Hemiptera; sub-order, Homop- 

 tera; family, Coccidce. 

 [A species of scale insect infesting the 

 branches, foliage and fruit of orange trees 

 in Florida and the Island of Cuba.] 



Professor Comstock describes this spe- 

 cies as follows: " Female Scale. Color, 

 the part of the scale covering the second 

 skin is a light reddish brown; the remain- 

 der of the scale is much darker, varying 



