bamboos: their cultuee and uses 41 
The adult scales protected b}^ their waxy covering are hard to 
kill by sjDrays, but freqi ent sprayings under good pressure with oil 
emulsion or soap solutions (soap about 1 pound to 10 gallons of 
water) will kill the young insects as they appear. 
LEUCAFPIS B AMBUS AE 
Another Japanese pest of bamboo found in the United States is a 
scale technicall}' knoAvn as Leucaspis hamhusae Kuwana. This 
scale has been found on bamboo received from Japan in New Jersey 
at Riverton. It is also established in Florida at Brooksville, Fruit- 
land Park, Glen Saint Mary, Miami, and South Jacksonville. 
The female scale is from .2 to 3 millimeters (yV to J inch) long, 
slender, with the sides nearly parallel. It is convex, rather thick, 
and although usually straight is sometimes curved. In color it is 
snow white to dirty white or light gray, with a brownish cast skin 
incorporated in the scale at one end. 
The scale is recorded specifically from the giant timber bamboo 
{P hyll OS tacky s l)ar)ihusoides) , and its economic importance seems 
questionable. In one heavy infestation little damage appeared to 
have been done, and it v/as controlled by cutting back the bamboo. 
Several sprayings with oil emulsions at intervals should also be of 
considerable value 
LONG-TAILED MEALYBUG 
The long- tailed mealybug (Pseudococcus adonidum L.) is widely 
distributed in the United States and attacks many plants. It is 
common on ornamentals. The female adult is oval in shape and 
from 2.4 to 3 millimeters (^V to -| inch) in length. The body is 
grayish to light yellow in color and covered with a fine, powdery, 
waxlike whitish secretion. The species is easily distinguished by 
the unusually long filaments or tassels. Those around the margin 
of the body are often equal in length to half the width of the body. 
The four posterior tassels give the insect the appearance of having 
a long tail, and the middle pair are often longer than the body. 
This mealybug occurs almost even^ where in the United States and 
may be found on nearly all host plants. 
The control of mealybugs is rendered difficult by the presence of 
their waxy protective coA^ering. Water under strong pressure is 
useful, and frequent sprayings, using the oil emulsions and soap 
solutions already mentioned, or a nicotine-sulphate soap solution, 
will be found valuable, especially when applied under pressure. The 
nicotine-sulphate soap sol'ution should be prepared as follows : 
Nicotine sulphate 1 to I14 teaspoonfuls. 
Soap (fishoil preferred) 1 ounce. 
Water 1 gallon. 
A few plants may be treated by scrubbing them with soapy water, 
using a brush. 
Ants are usually largely responsible for the dissemination of 
mealybugs, and it is important to destroy them. The ants' nests 
should be located and holes from 8 to 12 inches deep made in the 
vicinity about 1 foot apart. A tablespoonful or two of carbon 
disulphide, a poisonous and inflammable liquid, should then be 
poured into each hole, the opening closed, and the ground covered 
with some gas-proof material or the surface kept watered for sev- 
eral days. 
