does not appear. First page follows. Introduction The purple scale, Lepidosaphes beckii (Newman), has long been recognized as one of the most serious pests of citrus on a world-wide basis. It exists and thrives over an extended geographical range in areas having similar mild, humid climatic conditions. It is common on citrus in the Far East, its presumed native home, and has been considered one of the most destructive citrus insects in parts of Australia, South America, Central America, various Mediterranean countries, South Africa, Mexico, Florida, the Gulf states, and California (Ebeling, 1959).4 The early records indicate that the purple scale was first found in Florida on lemons imported from Bermuda in 1857, and it is believed to have been introduced into California from Florida in 1889 in two carloads of orange trees which were subsequently planted in Los Angeles and Orange counties (Quayle, 1912). By 1909, it occurred in all counties in which it is now known (Essig, 1909), and its early seriousness was attested by (C. C. Chapman (1909)) as follows: “If the associated growers at Fullerton had bought outright all those orchards which were first infected [sic], and had destroyed them utterly by fire—root and branch—it would not have cost them nearly as much as the purple scale is now actually costing them, each year. … The purple scale is the most unpleasant and the most difficult to handle of all citrus pests. It completely covers the tree—trunk, branches, and leaves—and hopelessly fouls the fruit. It defies all ordinary methods of fumigation, and can only