INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE OLIVE. 



No. 265.— The Greedy Scale-insect. 



Aspidiotus rapax Comstock. 



Tl^e scale of the female in this species is about one-sixteenth 

 of an inch long, very convex, of a gray or drab color, and 

 somewhat transparent. The enclosed insect is bright yellow, 

 with translucent blotches. It is shown in the natural position 

 on a limb, and also detached, in Fig. 438. 



The eggs, which are foi^nd under the mature female scales, 

 are yellow, so also are the newly-hatched larvae ; the latter 



Fig. 438. 



Fig. 439. 



are less than one-hundredth of an inch long; one of them 

 is shown, highly magnified, in Fig. 439. 



This scale has been found on olive-trees in various parts 

 of California, but it is said to flourisih only on trees in an un- 

 healthy condition, and, as it is chiefly confined to the trunk 

 and larger limbs, can be easily removed with a stiff brush 

 dipped in a solution of whale-oil soap. It also infests apple 

 and pear trees on the Pacific coast. 



423 



