106 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



MAa< H 26, 1904. 



INSECT NOTES. 



Lady-birds. 



There have recently iipprmvd in the A(iiii-ultuial Neti:s 

 two articles on lady-birtK, .mil mention of theiu in a general 

 vay has frequently been made at other times. As used here 

 tlie name 'lady-l>ird' refers in every instance to the members 

 of a family of lieneficial insects, but some persons seem to 

 regard lady -birds as iTijurious insects. I'eference to a paper 

 )>y the Ilev. N. P.. AVatson, published in the Wi:>t IiiJion 

 Jhdhtin (Vol. IV, p. •')7), sliiiws that the lady bird familiar in 

 the West Indies to the children in comiexion with the classic 

 rhyme is the lady-bird or root-borer of the sugar-cane. 

 This is, perhaps, the only section of the world where English 

 speaking people use this name'for any but beneficial insects. 

 In England, Australia, the United States, Canada, South 

 Africa and New Zealand, the lady-birds are always beneficial 

 insects. 



The following brief description of the ladj'-birds in 

 general will serve to indicate their relation to insects as a 

 whole and make it possible for any one who will take a little 

 interest in the matter to recognize them. 



The beetles (Cclenjiteni) are insects with bitiiig mouth 

 parts, two pairs of wings, the outer or anterioi' of which arc 

 hard, horny sheaths, covering the abdf>men. The posterior 

 wings, which are used for flight, are large, thin, memliranous, 

 and, when the insect is at rest, are folded under the wing 

 co\ ers, or eh/Ira as the anterior pair is called. 



The metamorphosis is corajilete : that is, there are four 

 di-tinct stages in the life of the individual -the egg, the larva 

 cir grub, the pupa or transforming stage, and the imago rir 

 adult. The larvae of the beetles have liiting mouth parts. 

 The lady-l>irds form a group of Cohojilera with similar 

 structure and habits and have received the family name 

 Coi-r'iiullidai-. These are small beetles, the sjiecies so far 

 known in the West Indies not exceeding \ inch in length. 

 The colour is generally black with red or yellow spots, or 

 red or yellow with black or white spots or markings. In 

 shape they vary frfim very hemispherical to oval. The 

 larvae are spiny, dark, with yellow or orange .spots, rather 

 long, and tapering to a point behind. Both the larvae and 

 adults are to be found on plants infested with plant lice and 

 scale insects, on which they feed. 



The lady-bird borer I'f the sugar-cane also belongs 

 to the Coleoptera, but i-- one of the Klii/ncophora ov 

 snout beetles. The snout beetles have the front of the 

 head jtrolonged to form a sort of snout or beak. The 

 body is not hemispherical, as in the lady-birds, but more 

 cylindrical ; the legs are large and strong, and so far as 

 is known, they are all plant feeders. The weevil borer of the 

 .sugar-cane (Sj^hennjihorm se) ireus), the banana weevil (Splieno- 

 phoru$ sordiihis), the grain weevil (Calandra graiutriu) all 

 belong to the lihi/ncojtUuiit iiud will serve as good examples 

 of the nature of the whole fif the Rhi/ncojihora. 



These notes, describing the chief characters of the 

 Corciiiffh'dae and of the lihi/n'-oplidrn. should be sufKcient to 

 enable i>ur readers to determine whether any insect is a lady- 

 bird fir not, and conseijuently, whether it is bencfirjal or 

 likely to be injurious. 



Parasitic and Predaceous Insects. 



In the IliiViiiiiii) J-'u;estfr dud A;iiiru/tiirixt (\'o!. I, 

 No. 1) there is an article entitled ' The value of lieneficial 

 parasites as compared with chemical insecticides,' liy 

 Dr. W. R. Wall, of L'aliforriia. The writer mentions lady-birds 

 predaceous on scale insects, especiallj- the good work of the 

 Australian lady-bird ( Vednh'n cardinal in) in practically freeing 

 the citrus groves of t'alifornia of the cottony cushion scale. 



He also mentions the recently imported Chinese lady- 

 bird which feeds on the San Jose Scale. One lady-bird 

 larva has been known to eat 1,500 scale insects in a day. 



Mr. Wall estimates that there are over 1,000 species of 

 lady-birds known in the world at the present time, and 

 believes that when they are jiroperly known and managed 

 there will be no need for s|iraying or fumigating fruit trees 

 and orchards. 



The real parasites, as distinguished from the [>redaceous 

 forms, are also believed to be of great value and several 

 species are known which attack the various scale insects. 



These are mostly small, four-winged flies, which live 

 within the body of the scale insect and completely kill it. 

 Several orchards, formerly badly attacked by scales, are now 

 quite clean, althougli not sprayed or fumigated. 



The relation of parasites and host has been di-cu-sed 

 in the J'jn'ru/tiira/ Neir^ (Vol. II, \>. 36-2), 



JORKAL DOS AGRICULTORE.'^.Edhvdhy Antonio 

 I»e ^ledeiros. Rio dc Janeiro, Brajl. 



This is a monthly publication devoted to the agricultural 

 interests of Brazil. It contains interesting articles relating 

 to the various branches of agriculture and horticulture. 

 Among the crops to which primiinence is gi\en may be 

 mentitmed coftee, cacao, rubber, etc. In the issue for 

 February we notice an interesting article on the cultivation 

 fif Sulia (I/edi/garniii corona riiun). This is a leguminous 

 plant grown as a food for stcx-k. 



HA WAIIAXFOKESrER ASD AGRICULTURIST: 



A monthly magazine devoted to forestrj-, entomology and 

 agriculture. Edited under the direction of the Boanl of 

 Commis-sioners of Agriculture and Forestry. Ifonuluh', 

 'Hawaiian Gazette' Co., Ltd.. I'.Mi.'f. 



We are in receipt of Xos. I and II of the first volume 

 of this new publication. In the editorial announcement it is 

 explained that there has been no journal devoted sjiecifically 

 to the minor agricultural and forestry interests f)f the Territory, 

 that the Hawaiian Planters Jfontfdi/ is devoted exclusively 

 to the sugar industry, and that it is considered that 

 a special publication is therefore warranted. The two nuniliers 

 already published are full of interesting information on varif>us 

 agricultural topics. We notice that attention is being 

 devoted to the question of cotton growing, and information 

 relating to its cultivation in the West Indies is extracted 

 from the iiublications of the Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture. 



