Arizona republican., 1910-12-25

and can move about only by crawl ing. It is the destructive form.)
 The eggs are yellow to orange in color and are laid in cottony masses and number from 25 to 800 in each mass.
 Destructiveness
 | It has been but a few years since | entomologists considered the com mon mealy bug as simply trouble some greenhouse pest, which could scarcely be able to thrive in the orchards, though it was early recog- nized as a citrus feeder in Europe. Today citrus growers in Southern California are seeking everywhere for | methods and means of holding this insect pest in check. for in many localities it has proven to be a dreadful scourge.
 Because of it's resistive powers and large variety of host plants. it can not be regarded as anything but one of the worst citrus pests known, not excepting the white fly or the orange maggOt.
 Along the coast districts. where the climate is cool and moist, this
  but of late years. it has made rapid development within the hot interior valleys, and during the past year, it has been reported from Fresno cOun- ty vineyards and in the hotter cit rus regions of the interior orange growing districts. For some time it has existed in the northern citrus orchards of California where the cli- mate is very hot during the summer months It has been claimed by many that the citrus mealy bug will never be able to thrive in the dry hot climate of Arizona, but it is very likely that this pest, from what we know of it in the past, will thrive wherever a citrus tree can be grown.
 Distribution
 There are many and various ways of distributing this insect. Perhaps the most common method is the in troduction upon infected nursery stock from areas where this pest all ready exists. If it is ever estab- lished in this territory, it is very probable that it will be upon inn ported nursery stock from Florida or from California. Any steps to
  be heartily endorsed by all nursery men and orchardists of this territory.
 After the insect is once establish ed. it is easily distributed from one district to another by birds. other insects, wind. irrigating water pick ing boxes, picking crews, cultivat) DTS and wagons. and infested fruit. It must be remembered that the eggs are deposited in cottony masses and adhere to anything that touches them. and may be carried for miles through the agencies mentioned above.
 Endurance
 It has been clearly demonstrated that the enduring qualities of the mealy bug are unusually great, and it has been able to reproduce its kind under the most extraordinary 
 Lack of Food Starvation hastens development and reproduction An adult mealy bug placed where it cannot possibly get food will immediately begin egg laying and may hold over for a per iod of three weeks without food in | order to reproduce it's kind. These i eggs will in turn hatch out, covering | an added period of a week or ten | days from the time the adult sue l cumbs. It may be seen from thfs 1 how such enduring qualities may be | great factors in the distribution of this pest For instance. upon single lemon I have been able to maintain life for a period of six months. though long before that time' he fruit was entirely devoid of any iuices whatever. Thus. a single speci- men of infected fruit thrown into a ,lean citrus orchard may be an ade- Iuate means of injecting the entire