yellow paint found so frequently among the Western Indians. The Apaches of Arizona carry a portion of it carefully in a small buckskin bag. It is considered a charm when applied to the face, and a cross of this color on the feet enables them to pass their enemies unseen.

THE MAPLE-TREE BARK-LOUSE.

BY EMILY A. SMITH.

HE fruit and ornamental trees grown throughout the country

THE

are affected more or less by insects belonging to the Coccida family, or as they are commonly known, bark-lice. The elm and maple are among the number, the former infested with a Mytilaspis and the latter with Lecanium acericorticis Fitch.

The first account we find of this insect is from Dr. Asa Fitch, of Salem, New York, in the Horticultural report of that State, in 1859, page 776. From that time nothing further was written until 1867, when Walsh

and Riley, probably from oversight of the former article, together with figure I, renamed the species as Lecanium acericola in the American Entomologist, vol. 1, page 14, since which time it has been considered under the latter name, but as Dr. Fitch has priority to the species, I would desire re-establishing the first name, Lecanium acericorticis of Fitch.

Throughout the eastern and western

FIG. 1.-1, Lecanium on Maple; b, Lecanium on Osage Orange.

States this insect occurs quite plentifully upon Acer dasycarpum and saccharinum, and I have carefully studied its life history, which will be published in the Seventh Entomological report of

Illinois, now in the hands of the printer, from which this article is drawn. The illustrations are from the pencil of J. H. Emerton. Mr. J. Duncan Putnam, of Davenport, Iowa, has given much time and study to the embryological development of this species; his valuable paper will appear in volume ii, part ii, of Proc. Dav. Acad. of Nat. Sciences, now in press.

During the winter months the females remain on the underside of the limbs in a dormant state (fig. 2, a), the beak inserted just under the bark. The greatest irregularity exists in reference to the position which they assume on the limbs, the bodies oftentimes overlapping each other, and when greatly crowded lying in opposite directions with the exception that they are always found lying lengthwise with the limb.

00

FIG. 2.-a,

females on limb as in winter; b,

They are at this time not over 2 mm. in length, much the color of the bark, oval in form and with a slit at posterior end; when raised from the limb the legs and antennæ are plainly visible (fig. 2, b and c). As soon as the sap commences to flow in early spring, with us near the middle of April, the insect absorbs nourishment

dorsal view of female; c, ventral view of the from the tree and by the same. b and c greatly enlarged. development of the eggs within the body becomes greatly distended. At this time small liquid drops are seen upon the ground and sidewalks underneath the fested trees, which is both sweet and sticky. This liquid issues from the pores of the body and continues until a waxy secretion is observed issuing from the posterior portion. This secretion issues from the general under surface but more particularly from the thorax and abdomen.

Projecting from the sides of the body can be seen, under a common lens, short thick hairs; from these points and from between the abdominal joints a portion of the waxy mass is secreted, but from around the anus comes the greater quantities.

In this cottony secretion the eggs are concealed, the work going on regularly, since we find the first eggs in the mass shortly

after it is perceived, and the insect continues partaking of the sap during the deposition. The secretion, at first is soft and sticky,

but solidifies somewhat by contact with the air and remains perfect in form on the limbs after the eggs have all hatched (figure 3, a). A description is given below.1

The first eggs appear about the end of May in this vicinty and are concealed in the waxy mass, the particles dividing them one from

the other; these is

sue from the oviduct

FIG. 3-a, Egg mass of female; b, dorsal view of full grown female; c, ventral view of same; d, view of beak which has the open- enlarged.

ing at the posterior portion of the fissure. When the eggs first appear they are soft and pliable, but afterward harden, and as the embryos develop the color deepens. The eggs number from five hundred to one thousand, the deposition occupying from three to six weeks, the process being a gradual one. Some three weeks after the first eggs are deposited the first young lice appear and thus continue until all the eggs are hatched. The body of the female does not shrink in size as is observed in some species of Coccide, but continues absorbing nourishment until the ovisac is emptied, when she withdraws her beak from the limb and dies,

1 Lecanium acericorticis Fitch, fully grown female. Dorsal view. Oval with dorsal convex carina; an anal fissure at extremity. Three thoracic and seven abdominal segments. Margin furnished with short bristly hairs. Eyes absent. Oviduct situ ated at end of posterior fissure. Color somewhat lurid with numerous dark blotches, the lines separating the segments darker.

Ventral view.-Antennæ and legs visible but small. The beak arises from a tubercle situated at the extreme end of the head which forms a projection extending slightly over the thorax. The beak itself is a long thread-like organ composed of four distinct pieces. The first pair of legs are nearly opposite the beak, the head and thorax occupying over one half the entire insect. Opening of oviduct at end of fissure. Length 5 mm.

the dead body remaining attached to the limb by means of the cottony secretion. Athough the antennæ and legs do not develop in the same degree with the body, they are not entirely useless, since by removing a grown female in the spring from the limb the insect will move slowly, even though in their natural condition they cease all movement after settling down in the autumn upon the limbs.

The young lice first appear about the middle of June, and are more than twice as long as broad. They are light sordid yellow, translucent, elongated-oval, tapering slightly toward the posterior end, with seven abdominal segments,the division lines being darker and plainest in the middle. Short hairs project from around the margin at regular intervals.

The antennæ and legs are situated some distance from the margin and are inserted on the underside of the body. The antennæ are armed with several strong spines and are jagged in outline. The legs are stout, terminating in a single curved claw and four knobbed hairs.

The beak is a long thread-like organ, very minute, and until the young louse becomes stationary is folded in a loop in the abdomen. At the end of the abdomen, arising from tubercles, projects two anal appendages or setæ longer than the entire body which disappear in a short time. In the natural condition the young insects settle down upon the leaves of the maple within three days after hatching, the preference given the underside and near the midrib, although they are found upon the upper side to some extent, probably because the epidermis is more tender on the under side and they are there protected from the sun's rays. The beak is at once withdrawn from its retreat and is inserted in the leaf, when the insect increases rapidly.

When in a state of rest the young lice draw the antennæ under and parallel with the last joint of the fore pair of legs. The two remaining pair extending backward.

Although they seldom leave the first assumed position until autumn, they have full use of their legs, since when the leaf is detached from the tree, the young lice will withdraw their beaks and move quite actively about in search of fresh food. When first hatched the males and females are not easily distinguished from each other; they soon, however, present quite a difference, the males becoming longer, lighter in color and somewhat higher than the others, and two anal setæ are seen projecting

from the scale. This occurs during the last week in July, and although no regular or sudden transition takes place, yet during the fore part of August the males appear, leaving behind the empty larval scales on the leaf, which are easily seen scattered about among the females upon both upper and lower sides of the leaf.

The male louse is very different from the female. During the transformation he has acquired wings for the new sphere into which he is about to enter, although he still retains the legs and antennæ, the beak is abortive, its place represented by two round spots. The three parts, head, thorax and abdomen are easily distinguished. The first males were observed August 13th, 1877, and continued appearing over two weeks. They are very active, flying about the leaves with great rapidity. At this time coition takes place, and the ovaries become developed in the impregnated females, which remain on the leaves drawing sap continually during the entire summer.

The Male-Louse.-Comparatively few of the male-lice have as yet been discovered by entomologists, and it was with pleasure that the male of Lecanium acericorticis Fitch was found during the summer of 1877. Their existence is for a brief period, since they are not found longer

than three weeks in the year; the probable life of each individual not being over a few hours. While the female is destined to remain upon the tree during its entire existence-a few weeks over one year-the males acquire wings and fly about. That the males are necessary for the perpetua

FIG. 4.-Lecanium acericorticis, male.

tion of the species is doubted by some authors. I made an estimate of the number of larval scales on several leaves, and on the trees which had suffered a longer time, and found the average number to be greater upon a much infested and thus diseased tree than upon a healthy and vigorous one upon which the insects had not been so violently destructive. It often happens that a maple-tree will suddenly revive and outgrow the injury of these insects to an extent, even when no attempt has been