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Soft Brown Scale 



(Coccus hesperidum) 



This scale, for the first month of its life, looks very much like its 

 black cousin, only a little longer and a trifle lighter in color and 

 more waxy looking, and at this stage they are so transparent that 

 the legs of the insect can be quite plainly seen through its body. 

 Often, however, it shows dark spots beneath its skin, and until 



Soft Brown Scale (Coccus hesperidum) 



the outer skin becomes thick and a solid brown in color, these dark 

 spots and streaks show through, making a distinguishing mark. 

 There may be three or four generations in a year. 



The young are born alive and act and feed very similar to the 

 Black Scale, except that they do not travel far before settling down 

 for life. The individuals are thus very close together, and they 

 have the sticky repulsive appearance mentioned above. At the pres- 

 ent time infestations of this scale soon disappear owing to effective 

 work of several parasitic flies, whose dark colored larva within cause 

 the dark spots and streaks seen through the skin. Were it not for 

 these active parasites, this scale would probably be one of the worst 

 pests of our citrus groves. 



