Improved Laboratory Techniques for Rearing California Red Scale on Lemons12

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Abstract
Improved laboratory techniques for rearing the California red scale, Aonidiella aurantii (Maskell), on lemons saved 80% of the time required for routine rearing and improved the keeping quality of lemons held as long as 18 weeks. Lemons are placed on saturated vermiculite in galvanized iron trays. A constant water table is maintained by a connecting water tank fitted with a float valve. Insecticide tests on scale-infested lemons on the modified trays provided results comparable to those obtained on the former Henderson trays. Lemons infested to perpetuate the laboratory culture (“reservoir” lemons) also are held on the trays of vermiculite. When crawlers begin to emerge, a paper cylinder is attached to the reservoir lemon with paraffin, and a fresh fruit is placed on the cylinder for infestation. A plexiglass frame fitted on the rearing tray supports the cylinders in a vertical position. The modified equipment has been adopted for use in the Riverside, California, laboratory of the Entomology Research Division, ARS.

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