78 



The female resembles a fat fleshy maggot, of a greenish colour, globular, somewhat flat- 

 tened, and with lines across showing a division into rings, but without articulated limbs ; 

 after depositing her eggs she dies, and may be found shrivelled inside the scales" 



Fij?. 46. 



Apple scale ; with fen ale ; female and eggs, magnified. wH^^l 



Infested twig. 



Up to 1873 the male insect had not been discovered, but in June and July of that 

 year Mr. Riley reared a number from scales, and thus describes them : " The wings appear 

 whitish, and under a high magnifying power are seen to be covered with intinitesimally 

 small hooks or bristles. The general colour of the body is pale purplish-brown — not 

 unlike the colour of the shield which protected him, — and like other gentry of his family, 

 he has no proboscis (having lost it when shedding the larval skin), but near the place 

 where it naturally would be are a couple of ocular tubercles, which give him the appear- 

 ance of having four eyes — two above and two below. The hind wings are replaced by two 

 fusiform balancers, which terminate in a long, delicate hook, and which hold and give 

 strength to the front wings, which are spatulate in form and traversed with but two veins. 

 Frail and delicate as these little beings appear, they are yet possessed of wonderful nerve- 

 force and wing-power ; for the few days of life allotted to them are days of great activity, 

 and in the breeding-jar they keep up an almost constant wing-vibration, and are never at 

 rest except when the temperature is unusually low." 



As regards prevention and remedies for this insect. Miss Ormerod mentions, among 

 other plans, that " Scale may be removed at any time of the year, but the best season for 

 destroying it or applying dressings is in spring, so as to clear it away before the young 

 insects — which creep out in May from under the old dead shells — have appeared, to begin 

 the new attack. It may be removed by thoroughly moistening the surface of the infested 

 bark with lathers of any kind of soap (or any dressing that may be preferred), and then 

 scraping the surface with a blunt knife, or rubbing it with pieces of coarse canvas, or 

 well brushing it, so as to clear off" the scale without hurting the bark. Scraping with a 

 blunt knife is a good plan, as in this way the scales, moss, and everything on the surface 

 are mixed up in a plaster with the soapy lather and got thoroughly rid of together. If 

 brushing is preferred, good drenchings of soap and water, or of dressings poisonous to 

 the scale, should be given in addition to the first thorough moistening, so as to wash down 

 or kill all that may have only been disturbed or be lodged in crevices. Soft soap or 

 common coarse household soap are useful for this purpose." 



Mr. Riley gives the following advice on the subject : — " The importance of critical 

 eicamination, before planting, of all young trees and scions, or of applying some simple 

 remedy when the young lice are hatching, cannot be too strongly urged ; and, as a rule 

 which will hold very generally true, it may be stated that the young begin to hatch just 

 about the time the blossom falls and the fruit begins +o set. Let those who prefer to 

 work toward eradicating the pest in winter-time (as many no doubt will, on account of 



