THE INJUEIOUS SCALE INSECTS AND MEALY BUGS, &c. 239 
and besides the pit there is also a considerable swelling of the surrounding 
tissues. Tits (Parid^e) are particularly fond of these insects, so much so 
that in winter one finds more untenanted " pits " than insects. This 
is clearly shown in the photograi^hic reproductions of the oak twigs, upon 
which the insects and characteristic depressions are clearly traceable. 
(Fig. 103.) 
I do not think the insect ever occurs in sufficient numbers to cause 
serious injury to the tree ; but the malformations of the branches are often 
so numerous that they cause attraction, and foresters and even botanists 
may have wondered how the swellings were brought about. I trust, 
therefore, these few brief remarks maybe a help tow^ards the identification 
of the attack. 
DIVISION II. 
In this section are included the coccids or " scales " which are naked 
in all stages. Certain of them (Pulvinaria) secrete an enormous cushion 
of wax, but this is all placed beneath and behind the insect ; nothing is 
placed over the body, as we have seen in the preceding species. 
Bbown Peach Scale 
{Lecanitim persiccB, Fab.). 
I have unfortunately not been able to procure a satisfactory photo- 
graph of this common species, but it is a well-known insect, and is often 
a serious pest to Peaches and Nectarines under glass. In the open air it 
is much less prolific, and I have never known it to be injurious to the 
trees. 
The young insects, like all other coccid larvae, are very active for a 
few days, but they rapidly settle down and apparently pass the winter in 
an almost dormant and unchanged condition, appearing as minute brown 
specks on the branches, very much resembling the similar-coloured 
stomata characteristic of the plant. Growth takes place jointly with 
the tree, and by the end of May they have attained their full size. In 
the early stages of the young adults they are usually of a greenish- 
yellow, or even ochreous colour, with blackish transverse streaks, seen 
under a lens to be made up of a number of confluent spots. Shortly 
after this stage egg-laying commences ; and as this takes place the 
interior of the body gradually shrivels, until eventually, when it has 
emptied itself of its eggs, it somewhat resembles an inverted boat without 
a keel with from 2,000 to 3,000 eggs in it. About the month of August 
the young escape from the egg, and make their way out from beneath 
the dead, dry, hard, reddish-brown body of their parent, which if not 
disturbed will remain for several months before finally falling away from 
the branch. Indeed they will sometimes remain for years if in a 
sheltered position. The male is unknown, and its discovery would be of 
much interest. 
Two things should be remembered in connection with its life- 
history : — 
(1) To bear in mind the minute size of the young larvae, as it is these 
little wretches we have to contend with when applying remedies in the 
