168 
AFTERNOON SESSION— AUGUST 15, 1894. 
Mr. Smith, in continuation of the discussion on the morning's papers 
on the San Jose scale, exhibited half a dozen California pears, obtained 
at a fruit stand in Brooklyn, on which the scale in question occurred 
in all stages, from the young active larva to the full-grown gravid 
female. 
Mr. Lintner, in the same connection, exhibited an apple covered with 
the scales of Mytilaspis pomorum. This specimen had been handed him 
by Mr. Saunders, who had obtained it from near Ottawa, and it illus- 
trated the extreme abundance of the scale in that locality. 
The following paper was then read by Mr. Davis: 
MEALY BUGS AND THEIR ALLIES. 
By G. C. Davis, Agricultural College, Michigan. 
As a greenhouse pest mealy bugs are well known to entomologists 
and are much too common for the wish and welfare of the florist. Indi- 
vidually they are easily recognized from other insects, as they are dis- 
tinctly different. Economically they are well known as general feeders 
on tender plants in the house and conservatory and to a less extent on 
plants and trees outside. They are much dreaded, because they multi- 
ply so rapidly, and as surely weaken a plant by extracting much of the 
sap from its tissues. Scientifically they are quite well known since 
Prof. Comstock described the different species and gave illustrations of 
them in the Annual Keport of the U. S. Entomologist for 1880. The 
descriptions include the egg, larva, and the adult male and female of the 
two species, Dactylopius destructor and D. longijilis, along with descrip- 
tions of many other Coccidse. Prof. Comstock has also given them 
brief recognition in his Introduction to Entomology. 
Aside from these few facts given above, American literature is almost 
silent on the subject. A careful search, about a year ago, of the litera- 
ture at my command, gave me no light as to the habits or life history 
of the species, or those closely related to them. This was quite a sur- 
prise, since mealy bugs are such common and noxious insects. When 
literature will not afford one the desired information, the next best 
recourse is to search it out for himself, which I have attempted to do, 
and the few notes will be from observation and rearings made in the 
past year and a half. No attempt will be made at this time to rede- 
scribe the various stages of the different species where descriptions are 
already accessible. When the notes are more complete, they can then, 
perhaps, be put in suitable form. 
The female of our commonest mealy bug, Dactylopius destructor, is 
very prolific, laying usually not far from 400 eggs, but may vary in 
number from 300 to 600. Each egg is slightly oblong and about 0.25 mip 
in length. The color is a light straw yellow, with small particles of the 
