laying, the adult female shrivels into the anterior end of the test and eggs fill its 
posterior portion. As the eggs hatch in late spring and early summer, crawlers 
emerge through a small opening at the posterior end of the test, settle. and within 24 
hours form a noticeable pit (/38). One species may be ovoviviparous (958). Second 
instars appear in mid-July, and adults are first observed in August. Males are 
unknown. These pit scales can be very destructive, especially to white oaks. In 
heavy infestations they cause distortion, poor growth, and dieback of the twigs. 
Leafing out in the spring may be delayed, and affected hosts may retain many of 
their leaves in the winter. Several chalcidoid wasps are associated with these scale 
insects. 
Asterolecanium puteanum Russell, the holly pit scale, is native to the United 
States. It is known from 10 Eastern States from New Jersey to Florida and west to 
Pennsylvania and occurs on holly and bumelia. The holly pit scale may be found in 
ornamental plantings and natural habitats. Adult females are covered by a translu- 
cent, yellow-green test with a whitish-yellow or greenish waxy fringe around its 
perimeter. 
The life history of the holly pit scale has yet to be worked out, but it probably is 
similar to that of the oak-infesting species. The holly pit scale is occasionally 
destructive to hollies (293, 294). Heavily infested hosts may be stunted, have 
reduced amounts of foliage, and their branches may be distorted with pitted, 
roughened bark. 
Other species of pit scales may be found occasionally in eastern forests. These 
include oleander pit scale, A. pustulans (Cockerell), observed in Florida. Loui- 
siana, and Texas on many hosts; A. arabidis (Signoret), found in the District of 
Columbia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania on 
many hosts including privet, ash, phlox, and weigela: A. bambusae (Boisduval), in 
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas on 
various bamboo hosts: A. miliaris miliaris (Boisduval) and A. miliaris robustum 
Green, in Florida on bamboo. 
Family Diaspididae 
Armored Scales 
The Diaspididae is the largest family of scale insects. Most armored scales form 
a shieldlike cover that is unattached to the body. The cover is normally composed of 
shed skins and wax produced by small glands on the body of the insect (//69). The 
terminal segments of the adult female are fused into a strongly sclerotized 
pygidium. Scale coverings vary from thick, oystershell-shaped structures to translu- 
cent, circular structures. There are three instars in females and five in males. The 
family in the United States contains about 297 species in 83 genera (904). The most 
comprehensive studies of the family are by Ferris (405, 406, 407, 408). 
The hemlock scale, Abgrallaspis ithacae (Ferris), is apparently native to North 
America and probably is present in all eastern areas where hemlock occurs. 
Distribution records have been compiled from Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, 
Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia. This armored 
scale is commonly found on hemlock, but is reported on fir and spruce: records 
from pine are probably erroneous. The species occurs in natural and ornamental 
habitats. The cover of the adult female is slightly convex, circular to oval, and is 
gray to black with white margins; the shed skins are subcentral. The body of the 
adult female is yellow-green, and the eggs are pale yellow. Petioles and undersides 
of needles are the areas inhabited. 
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