INSECT AND OTHER PLANT ENEMIES. 



69 



full grown, the female insect is about ■§■ inch 

 long, white, tinted yellow, but wholly covered 

 with a white mealy powder. It is oval in out- 

 line, fringed round the edges with bristles, 

 and furnished with two longer filaments at the 

 tail-end. The larvae are more flattened, and 

 vary in size according to age. The male is 

 a minute, two -winged insect without a beak. 

 The female is wingless, but capable of moving 

 about all through life, and in this respect differs 

 from the true scales to which it is related. The 

 eggs are laid under the body previous to the 

 death of the female. Mealy-bug is a pest of 

 hothouses throughout the world. 



Remedies. — Badly-infested plants may be de- 

 stroyed unless very valuable. Soft-leaved plants 

 may be sponged with a strong solution of soft 

 soap, Gishurst compound, fir-tree oil, or an 

 infusion of tobacco. Hard-leaved plants, like 

 palms when mature, Gardenias and Stephanotis, 

 may be syringed with a wine-glassful of paraffin 

 in 3 gallons of water, kept well stirred all the 

 time; wash with clean water immediately after. 

 Tall climbers may be fumigated and forcibly 

 syringed next morning with clean water. Ker- 

 osene emulsion is safer than paraffin. To 1 

 gallon of kerosene add J gallon of cow's milk, 

 and agitate the mixture till like thin butter; to 

 a pint of this gradually add 1J gallon of water, 

 stirring all the time. With this syringe the 

 plants. Four ounces of carbolic acid to a gallon 

 of water make a good wash for Mealy-bug on 

 Vines, Gardenias, and other subjects. 



Peach Scale (Lecanium Pe?*sicce). — The fully- 

 developed scale of the female is hemispherical, 

 deep-brown, and shining, with a pale margin 

 and stripe along the middle. Previous to this 

 it is convex and oval in outline. As the insect 

 beneath it attains maturity, and is filled with 

 eggs, the legs disappear and the insect dies. 

 The eggs remain under the scale till spring, when 

 they hatch, and the larvae roam over the tree, 

 and, settling down, pierce the bark with their 

 beak, and, while sucking the juices, remain fixed 

 for life, as in the case of the Apple Mussel Scale. 

 The male scale gives rise to a minute two-winged 

 insect of a reddish-brown, with a black head, 

 delicate wings, and two filaments at the tail. 



Remedies. — When the trees are leafless in 

 winter, scrub or wash the shoots with a stiff 

 brush dipped in a strong solution of soft soap, 

 or Gishurst compound, at the rate of 4 ozs. to 

 a gallon of water, or fir-tree oil. In careful 

 hands paraffin may be used with which to wet 

 the brush; but on no account should the buds 

 be touched with it. Kerosene emulsion is a 



safer remedy than paraffin. (For its preparation 

 see under Mealy-bug, described above.) Paint- 

 ing the shoots with mixtures of clay, cow dung, 

 soot, sulphur, and lime, after washing, is a pro- 

 ceeding of doubtful advantage. The walls and 

 wood-work of the house should, however, be 

 washed with carbolic soap. 



Pear Oyster Scale (Diaspis ostreceformis). — 

 The fully-developed scale of this insect is very 

 small, circular in outline, more or less wrinkled 

 all over, slightly elevated in the centre, much re- 

 sembling an oyster-shell in miniature, pale-brown 

 or gray, with a yellowish spot in the centre, 

 and slightly indented at the margin. The fe- 

 male insect under this is wingless, legless, SOme- 



Fig. 84.— Pear Oyster Scale (Diaspis ostreceformis). 



what heart-shaped, thinly hairy, and yellowish- 

 white. She dies under the scale when her eggs 

 are fully developed. The male is very minute, 

 with six hairy legs and antennae, two delicate 

 wings, and a pale ochreous body suddenly pro- 

 longed into a tail-like point. The scales are 

 scattered or more or less densely clustered over 

 the bark of Pear-trees. The life-history of the 

 creature is very similar to that of the Apple 

 Mussel Scale as described above, and to which 

 it is closely allied. . 



Remedies. — Infested trees may be cleaned pre- 

 cisely as in the case of the Apple Mussel Scale. 

 Some authorities recommend syringing the trees, 

 when they are leafless, with a solution of soft 

 soap and hot water. 



Pear- sucker (Psijlla Pyri). — In the perfect 

 form this jumping plant-louse resembles the frog- 

 hopper in shape, and belongs to the same family, 

 but is very much smaller, four- winged, and pale- 

 green at first, changing to various shades of 

 red, crimson, or black. The wings are pure 

 white, the head large, the eyes red, and the an- 



