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E-44 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 1 JL APR g 



BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY, 1 . '' ^ 



WASHSNGTON. D C. 



FOREST ENTOMOLOGY 12. |/ 



April 13, 1916. 



Brief Information on 

 PIKE LEAF SCALE and ITS CONTROL. 



Evidenoe of Infestation. 



Leaves of conifers, especially pine needles, are frequently found turning 

 yellow and, on closer examination, white, comma-shaped bodies will be observed 

 upon them. These bodies are the waxy covering of soft bodied insects, which by 

 means of long thread like beaks, suck the sap of the leaves, causing them to 

 fade . 



Seasonal History and Habits. 



This insect hibernates in the egg stage, 20-27 being found under each fe- 

 male scale. The broader, smooth scale is that of the female, that of the male 

 being narrow, longitudinally ribbed and with parallel sides. The eggs hatch, 

 in the vicinity of Washington, D.C., about the middle of May. After hatching, 

 the young crawl about for 2 or 3 days until they find a suitable place, usually 

 on new needles, and settle. Where they settle they insert their beaks into th8 

 leaf tissue and the females remain fixed on that spot the rest of their lives. 

 Depending on the altitude and latitude of a locality, two or three generations 

 are produced annually. For migration from tree to tree, the tiny, young insects 

 are evidently dependent entirely on other insects, birds, etc. which carry the 

 young larvae on their feet or bodies as they travel from infested to uninfested 

 trees, or they may be carried by the wind. Transportation can only occur during 

 the 2 or 3 days that they are not attached. 



Natural Control . 



While they are usually kept in check by their natural enemies, especially 

 by parasitic insects, they occasionally become sufficiently numerous to affect 

 the vitality of a tree, though they rarely kill an otherwise healthy tree. The 

 application of remedies under such circumstances may, therefore, become a ne- 

 cessity. 



Remedies are given in the accompanying Brief on Scale Insect Remedies. 



A. D. HOPKINS , 



Forest Entomologist. 



