PROCEEDINGS OF TWENTY-SIXTH FRUIT-GROWERS' CONVENTION. 151 



purchasi) and the San Jose scale (Aspidiotus perniciosus, Comst.), have 

 been conquered; but other species have taken their places, and to-day 

 we find our trees infested with many scales of which my time will allow 

 me to make but brief mention. 



On evergreen and deciduous trees, the Black or Olive scale {Lecanium 

 olex, Bernd.). This insect can be found everywhere from the mountain 

 tops to the ocean's edge, on native and cultivated trees, and shrubbery. 

 It is a foreign species, but its native home is not positively known. 

 Some say Australia, some say Europe, and others South Africa. It is 

 easily recognized by its color and two transverse ridges on its back, 

 crossed by a third ridge, forming a capital "H". In the orchard it 

 infests the olive, orange, lemon, apricot, peach, prune, pear, fig, and also 

 all ornamental plants, such as oleanders, pittosporum, rose, geranium, 

 peppertree, and many others. It has numerous enemies, but none seem 

 to be able to cope with it satisfactoril\\ While it is true that the 

 imported ladybird, Rhizobius ventralis, and the native species, Chilocorus 

 bivulnerus, and others will keep it in check in evergreen orchards, we 

 find that our deciduous trees do not offer enough protection for these 

 during the winter season. Several true parasites attack it, but are not 

 able to cope with it in a manner to be relied upon. The chalcid fly 

 {Tomocera calif ornica) w^ll reduce it from thirty to seA^enty-five per cent, 

 but the remaining scales contain sufficient eggs to again stock the tree. 

 In Australia, Italy, and South Africa, this scale is kept in check by 

 parasites to such an extent that it is hard to find any. We have 

 succeeded in importing some of these parasites, and hope ere long to see 

 some good results. To show how efficient the South African parasite 

 {Scutellista cyanea) is, I will read w^hat Prof. Charles P. Lounsbury, of 

 Cape Colony, has to say. In a letter dated January 30, 1900, he says: 

 "It may be practicable to get the parasite established in California, but 

 the task would be no trifling matter. There is a severe obstacle at the 

 very start, viz., the rarity of the insect here, due to their subjection of 

 the scale. Lecanium olede is not an orchard pest everywhere in the 

 Colony, and only rarely do I find even isolated scales among cultivated 

 trees; w^hen I find them they are nearly always parasitized. On olean- 

 der, particularly where ill kept, in myophorum hedges, and on indige- 

 nous growth on the plains, is where I generally see the scale, and then 

 seldom in large numbers. * * * You may imagine that under these 

 circumstances obtaining the parasites, or even tracing their habits, is 

 not easy." 



Under date of April 10, 1900, writing to Mr. S. F. Leib, of San Jose, 

 he says: "While I should much like to comply with your wishes at 

 once" (referring to sending parasites), "I fear that the circumstances of 

 the case will render considerable delay unavoidable. The black scale is 

 so thoroughly subdued — just as the cottony-cushion scale now is with 



