204 Transactions. — Zoology. 



new localities ; and I am greatly obliged to him for permission 

 to describe them here. But the people of New Zealand owe 

 to him and to the Agricultural Department of Washington a 

 greater debt. For, on this his second journey, recognising 

 perhaps that he received Vedalia practically from New Zea- 

 land, he attempted to repay us as far as possible by intro- 

 ducing into this country some of the insects known to be very 

 useful in America. His first port of call being Auckland, he 

 at once came into communication with Mr. R. Allan Wight, 

 so well known in the colony as an excellent economic ento- 

 mologist, and immediately placed in his charge, or, rather, 

 liberated in conjunction with him, several parasitic insects. 

 Of course, these being let loose, it is not possible yet awhile 

 to say positively whether they have made much impression 

 against our various pests ; yet I understand from both Mr. 

 Koebele and Mr. Wight that they very quickly set to work, 

 and seemed quite ready to acclimatise themselves, and that in 

 all probability their introduction will be, as far as it goes, 

 successful. The importance of this fact will be readily recog- 

 nised when it is stated that they included some ladybirds, 

 which are special enemies to what we call the "American 

 apple-blight " (Scldzoneura), some SyrphidcB, and some Neu- 

 roptera (lacewings), enemies to all sorts of aphides and 

 blights, and some larvas of Baphidia, which feed greedily on 

 codlin-moth. Surely, as I said just now, the people of New 

 Zealand owe a debt to the American scientists who have thus 

 tried to help them. 



The introduction of these insect friends is, as I said, satis- 

 factory as far as it goes. I mean by this that, of course, Mr. 

 Koebele on this occasion could not bring a sufficiently large 

 supply ; and perhaps it may be a very long time (even with 

 the experience of Vedalia before us) ere any beneficial results 

 are visible. But, besides the kindly feeling which prompted 

 Professor Riley and his colleagues in America to send us these 

 things, they have taught us a lesson which I fear will be 

 thrown away. The appropriation, mentioned above, of the 

 Californian State Legislature is surely an example which the 

 Parliament of New Zealand might profitably follow. And the 

 visit of Mr. Koebele, and his well-meant gift, point out to us 

 the necessity (if, indeed, some of us had not seen it before) of 

 some real and practical work being done in New Zealand to 

 help the farmer and the fruit-grower. From every part of the 

 colony come frequently-repeated complaints. Hessian-flies, 

 bot-flies, codlin-moths, wireworms, grass-grubs, snails, aphis 

 blights, scale-insects, all sorts of pests riot and flourish in 

 every district and in every orchard ; and they do so because 

 those who have most at stake make no thorough efforts to 

 prevent them. What is required is an Agricultural Depart- 



