78 
COCUIDAE OBSERVED IN DURHAM AND 
NORTH YORKSHIRE. 
J. W. H. HARRISON, B.Sc., 
M east 
THE Coccidae, or Scale Insects, observed up to the present 
time in Britain, number about I00 species and, of these, I 
fear not one half have any right to be regarded as anything 
more than ‘naturalised aliens,’ and very undesirable ones, too. 
Be that as it may, it is customary to include them in British 
lists on. account of their great economic importance ; hence, 
in spite of the fact that most of my work is done out of doors, 
I venture to list species taken in greenhouses to which, through 
the courtesy of friends, I have had access. I give, too, the 
species I have been able to secure from fruit purchased in 
shops. 
Whilst, on account of our climate, I ee tea to find our 
local Coccids few in numbers, I was surprised to find that there 
was a total absence of certain well-known indigenous species, 
and I find that these species, when tabulated, are chiefly oak- 
feeders. In fact, despite diligent search, I have never seen 
an oak feeding species either in Durham or in Yorkshire. 
On the whole, however, we have a fairly representative 
list, including species from all of the sub-families, and I have 
hopes that I shall yet secure some of the missing forms, and 
that thus our somewhat short list will be materially extended. 
Aspidiotus aurantii (Maskell).—Once, on lemons bought in 
Middlesbrough. 
Aspidiotus bromeliae (Newstead).—Rare on pineapples in 
Middles brough. , 
Aspidiotus dictvospermi var. arecae (Newstead).—On palms 
in greenhouses in Middlesbrough. 
Aspidiotus hederae (Vallot). —In enormous quantities in 
the sheaths at the base of palms in a green house at Birtley- 
I have bred an excessively minute hymenopterous parasite 
from this. 
ASpidiotus perniciosus (Comstock).—This is the far famed 
and dreaded San José Scale, a pest that has cost millions of 
dollars and destroyed thousands of fruit trees belonging to 
the order Rosaceae in the United States, and in that small 
portion of Canada between Lakes Huron and Erie. I once 
saw a few specimens on a pear in the Greenmarket, Newcastle- 
on Tyne. It is exceedingly unlikely that it will do any damage 
here as it owes its destructive powers abroad to the frequency of 
the broods during the hot summer. Here, even if it did escape, 
it would be single-brooded and barely able to hold its own 
under the most favourable conditions. It might however. 
Naturalist, 
