INSECTS ON THE SURFACE OF ORANGES.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3502, 27 September 1882, Page 4

INSECTS ON THE SURFACE OF ORANGES.

When a dish of oranges is seen on the table for dessert, the fact is hardly realised that in all probability their surface is the habitat of an insect of the Coccus family. This tiny creature is found on the orange skin in every stage of transformation, from the egg to the perfect insect, during the winter months, instead of remaining dormant in the cold weather, as is the case with most of the insect tribe. It would hai-dly bo possible to find a St. Michael's or Tangerine orange that had not hundreds of these little creatures in various stages of development on their surface. Lemons, too, are frequently covered. Upon inspection, the skin of an orange will be found to be dotted over with brownish scarlet spots of various sizes. These specks can easily be removed by a needle; and when placed under a miscroscope, an interesting scene is presented, consisting of a large number of eggs, which are oval white bodies, standing on end, like little bags of flour, some of the inhabitants of which may very probably be seen in process of emerging from the opened end of the egg. The female insect upon leaving the egg has six legs, two long hairlike appendages, and no wings ; it thrusts a sucker into the orange in order to obtain nourishment, and never moves again, passing through the various stages of development until it lays its eggs and dies. In the case of the male insect, the chrysalis after a short period opens and the insect flies off. The male is supplied with wings twice the length of its body, and each of the legs has a hook-like projection. It has four eyes and two antennsa, and is so tiny that it cannot be seen when flying. From some parts of Spain, oranges come to us having their rind covered with a coccus of quite a different type. The surface of oranges, indeed, affords the possessor of a microscope an infinite amount of interest and amusement.—Chambers's Journal.