200 CHAS. K. BRAIN. 



Historical Note : When Mr. C. P. Lounsbury first carne to South Africa as 

 Entomologist of Cape Colony, in August 1895, A. aurantii was one of the first insect 

 pests to attract his attention. In his 1896 Report, p. 48, he states : — 



" The Red Scale is wide-spread and destructive in Cape Colony. I have been 

 unable to find any clue to the time or place of its introduction into this country, but 

 its general occurrence in nearly all parts of the Colony, as well as in the neighbouring 

 states, would seem to be a good indication that it has been with us a long time. Aged 

 farmers claim to have known it in their boyhood, and an observant Cape Town 

 gentleman, who has always taken a great interest in gardening, is positive that it 

 was present on orange trees on his father's estate at Sea Point (near Cape Town) 

 as far back as 1857. I have seen it in all of the dozen or more districts that I have 

 visited, and have received it from at least a dozen others. But in many isolated 

 orchards it does not yet occur, although in a few cases known to me the trees are 

 upward of a hundred years old." 



It seems highly probable that this insect had been introduced years before, possibly 

 with citrus trees from the East, may be Java, when trees were brought by the 

 commanders of the old East India Company vessels as presents for the 

 Constantia or Cape Peninsula inhabitants who entertained them. This would 

 account for the hold the species had on the old oak trees (often far removed from 

 citrus), on apple and pear, and on the old rose hedgerows, some of which were killed 

 by the pest. It is now widespread throughout the Union and its list of food-plants 

 very large and varied. 



Habitat : Common throughout the Union. It is most commonly a serious pest 

 on citrus, rose, apple, pear, oak, mulberry, camphor and privet. It has also been 

 reported on : 



Abutilon, Acacia spp. , Acer, Agave, alder, almond, aloe, Ampelopsis, Aralia, Aucuba, 

 Arauearia spp., asparagus, avocado pear, Bauhinia, belhambra (Phytolacca dioica), 

 Bentlwmia, Berberis, Bignonia, Bougainvillea, Bouvardia, box, broom, Callistemon, 

 Camellia, carob, castor-oil, Casuarina, Cedrela, Oestrum, chestnut, chilli, Choisya, 

 Chrysophyllum, Clerodendron, clematis, Olivia, Convallaria, Coprosma, Cordyline, 

 Cornus spp., Crypt-omeria, Cupressus spp., currant, cycads, Cyperus, dahlia, Deutzia, 

 Dombeya, Doryanthes, Duranta, Dracaena, Elaeagnus, essenwood, Eucalyptus, Eugenia, 

 Euonymus, Fieus spp., Forsythia, frangipani, fuchsia, ginkgo, Gleditschia, grape, 

 Grevillea spp. , Greyia, guava, Gynura, Hakea, hawthorn, holly, Hydrangea, Impatiens, 

 ivy, Jacaranda, jasmine, kaffirboom (Erythrina sp.), Kei-apple, Kennedya, Libonia, 

 lilac, Liriodendron, laurel, Lagerstromia, Mackaya, mango, mangosteen, Maranta, 

 Melia,, New Zealand flax, oak, oleander, orchids, Osmanihus, palms, Pandanus, peach, 

 poeny, Penstemon, persimmon, phlox, Pinus spp., Pittosporum, plane, plum, Poinsettia, 

 poplar, quince, Rhamnus sp., Robinia, Salvia, sneezewood, Sophora, Spiraea spp., 

 Statice, Sterculia, Strclitzia, Taxodium, Thuya, Trichilia, Trichocladus, Tristania, 

 Toxicophlasa, Veronica, Viburnum, walnut, willow, wistaria, Yucca and Zinnia. 



Collection No. : 234. 



99. ChrysomphaliiS ficus, Ashmead (Plate xii, fig. 117). — 



Chrysomphalus ficus, Ashm., Am. Ent., iii, p. 267, 1880. 

 Asjridiotus ficus, Comst., Rept. U.S. Dept. Agr., p. 296, 1881. 



