LOUISIANA CIRCULAR No. 4. 15 



body of the mother instead of developing after the deposition of 

 the eggs as is the case with most insects. The young when born 

 are minute yellow creatures scarcely visible to the naked eye, and 

 are possessed of six legs, two antennae or feelers, and a well- 

 developed beak. They are active as soon as born and for the 

 first few hours of their existence devote themselves to a diligent 

 search for a location that is to their liking. 



At any time during the summer these minute crawling 

 "lice" may be seen running about on the leaves, fruit and bark 

 of badly infested trees. Within a few hours usually from 12 

 to 36 after birth, the young louse finds a place where the bark 

 is not too thick, inserts its beak through the bark into the sap- 

 wood beneath and commences feeding. Within a short time, 

 waxy filaments, secretions from the dorsal portion of the body, 

 make their appearance and soon form a grayish-white mat over 

 the insect. This is the beginning of the scale covering, and as 

 the insect develops, the covering is added to from time to time 

 by more secretions, and by the skins which are shed by the insect 

 as it grows. If the individual be a female it remains in this po- 

 sition during its entire life, and shortly after locating and com- 

 mencing the formation of a scale, loses feet, eyes and antennae, 

 becoming entirely incapable of moving about. The skiris which 

 are thrown off from time to time as the insect grows are added 

 to the scale-covering until at last the female reaches maturity, 

 by which time the scale has become dark-colored, its particular 

 shade being determined to a very large extent by the color of 

 the bark upon which it happens to be located. 



The development of the male is similar, the legs being lost 

 soon after the beginning of scale formation. Instead, however, 

 of all the molted skins being added to the scale-covering the male 

 adds but one, the first, and the skins molted subsequently are 

 pushed out from under the scale.* When the male reaches 

 maturity it becomes a small, delicate, two-winged insect and in 

 this form issues from beneath the scale that has protected it. 



The development of a generation, from time of birth to 

 maturity, varies from four to six weeks, according to the prevail- 

 ing temperature and the time of year. Within a few days after 



*IIoward & Marlatt, Bui. No. 3, n. ser., Div. of Entomology. 



