44 DESTEUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTOKIA : 



' ladybird ' (coccinelidce) lias displayed wonderful powers 

 of multiplication and remarkable fitness for the work 

 assigned it. From tbe 514 individuals imported last 

 winter, in five different sendings, the present progeny 

 may be numbered by the million." 



In speaking of the persistent trials that have been 

 made by various persons to send these little beetles to 

 the Icerya infested districts, the name of my respected 

 friend and colleague, Mr. A. Wight, of Paeroa, N.Z., 

 must not be omitted. 



Judging from the bad way in which some of our plants 

 here are affected, the good done by these ladybirds so far 

 is hardly apparent, and to give the ladybirds a chance 

 the sparrow must, at any cost, be stamped out. 



Mr. W. M. Maskell, F.E.M.S., of New Zealand, whose 

 very valuable work on the coccidce is too well known to 

 require any notice from me, gives in his book a most useful 

 list of the various plants attacked by coccids of different 

 kinds, at least so far as New Zealand is concerned. Accord- 

 ing to this list it would appear that the Icerya will tackle 

 nearly anything and everything, from pine trees to roses, 

 and even grasses. In Victoria we find them on a great 

 number of plants, but as a list of these, although eminently 

 suitable for a scientific work, would be of little use here, 

 I have omitted to furnish one. This can, however, be 

 managed should occasion require its being done. 



Before closing these remarks concerning this abomin- 

 able pest, I may mention that when a tree, especially if it 

 be either an orange or a lemon, is attacked by the Icerya, 

 it soon assumes a yellow and sickly appearance, and, as a 

 rule, the " inside " of the tree is most affected. In a bad 

 case the twigs are covered with a sticky substance. 



When such occurs no time should be lost in tackling 

 the pest, never resting until the tree is thoroughly clean 

 again, as however few of the scale if left will spread 

 again in an almost incredibly short time. Do not wait 

 for this, but tackle the pest at once and keep at it, as 

 from personal experience I know that even this scale can 

 be mastered. 



