4 



unripe portion. A symptom of an attack is rust colored spots 

 on the leaves. Dr. Reh says further that milk of lime was 

 used as an insecticide for this pest in Berlin and Russia. 



These small, scale-like insects are very conspicuous, be- 

 cause of their color, and not easily mistaken for other forms. 

 The scale and not the insect itself is the object commonly 

 seen. The insect is found beneath this secretion, which serves 

 as a shield. In the case of this insect the scale or protective 

 armor is made up partly of a waxy secretion of the insect and 

 partly of molted skins. The insect itself in the adult stage is 

 quite well buried beneath the epidermis of the plant and hence 

 the necessity of combating the pest in its early stages. 



The pineapple scale can be controlled by spraying where it 

 occurs in the field. The cheaper and easier method is by 

 proper preventive measures to keep the pest from gaining 

 a foothold in the plantation. These measures are to burn all 

 leaves where the pest is at all evident after harvesting the 

 crop, to dip young plants in an insecticide before plant- 

 ing and to produce the maximum vigor and health of the 

 plants by thorough cultivation and fertilization. In the ques- 

 tion of the control of the insect pests and diseases of plants, no 

 one point is more important than vigorous and clean cultiva- 

 tion and the proper supply of plant food and moisture. It is 

 an accepted fact in applied entomology that a healthy growing 

 plant is capable of offering resistance to the attack of an insect 

 pest. . 



Dr. L. O. Howard, entomologist of the U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture, mentions ' a Hymenopterous parasite, Aspidiotipha- 

 gas citrinns Craw., bred from the pineapple scale at Washington. 



The remedies advised by Mr. Rolfs in his Bulletin on Pine- 

 apple Growing, have been verified in experiments at this Sta- 

 tion and on our recommendation have been tried and reported 

 as successful by the managers of two pineapple plantations. 



7 Jnsect Life, Vol. VI., p. 231 



