THE HOWARD SCALE 7 
grayish color, much lighter than the partially matured or even fully 
grown female of San Jose scale. The female insect when fully grown 
is, in diameter considerably less than the head of a common pin. 
She is orange-yellow in color, and broadly pyriform or pear-shaped. 
It is only through a higher power of the microscope that the char¬ 
acteristic markings at the tip of the abdomen (Plate 2, figs. I and II). 
distinguishing this insect from such close relatives as the Putman or 
San Jose scales, can be observed. The male scales are more elongate 
than the female scales, being oval in outline and often much darker in 
color. The male insects when fully grown and emerged are winged, 
of very minute size, and pale yellowish brown in color with black eyes 
which show plainly in the developing pupa while still beneath the 
scale. 
The chief difference in the general appearance of Howard scale 
from its nearest allies is in the distinct pallidness of many of the scales.* 
Badly infested trees have a grayish appearance over their bark 
much as if a layer of ashes covered the tree. When rubbed, this gives 
the surface a greasy or buttery appearance caused by the crushing 
of the bodies of myriads of the yellowish parasites which had been se¬ 
creted beneath their grayish armors. Orchardists should be able to 
detect their presence long before the infestation has reached this 
stage. At first appearance, individual scales upon the bark will exhibit 
only inconspicuous grayish dots. If upon the branches of the apple, 
these dots will be surrounded by reddened areas in the bark, which 
will be noticed before the insect is seen. If upon the twigs of fruit 
. trees other than apple these reddened blotches in the bark will be 
less noticeable. 
> The winter is spent as immature insects. On March 19, in the 
spring of 1906, some female scales were found well grown and pale 
gray to dark brown in color. Others among these were smaller in 
size, some circular and some oval in outline. All smaller sized scales 
near their centers showed a whitish area, in some cases dusky gray. 
In the center of the white area which occupied about one-third of the 
surface of the scale covering, a small whitish nipple was seen sur¬ 
rounded by a rather shallow or indistinct furrow or ring. Both ring 
and nipple were much less conspicuous than in the case of San Jose 
scale at this stage. On account of the weathering, most of them 
showed their summits as smooth or bald areas reddish or orange in 
color. The oval male scales were found to yield adults as early as April 
*The original description of the insect as published by Prof. Cockerell 
in Can. Ent. XXVII p. 16 , 1895 . is as follows: 
Aspidiotus howardi n. sp.-—Female scale, circular, flat, about iy 2 mm. 
diam., pale grayish with a slight reddish tinge; exuviae sublateral, covered, 
dull orange secretion over exuvie easily rubbed off 
Female broadly pyriform, orange; margin of terminal portion thick¬ 
ened, very finely striate showing a violet color in some lights. Plates spine¬ 
like, spai ingly branched. Median lobes very large and prominent, close 
together but not contiguous, obliquely truncate, slightly crenate. Second 
pair of lobes small, broad and low. Third pair practically obsolete. There 
are conspicuous wax ducts. See Plate 2 , Fig. ia. 
