502 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 84 



fornia was retarded for many years by the fact that so many people 

 in power and so many growers dropped their faith in any other 

 method. 



Novius cardmalis proved to be a very extraordinary insect in many 

 ways. It was taken from California to New Zealand, and again, to 

 Portugal, and South Africa, and Egypt, and the Hawaiian Islands, 

 and Italy, and Syria, France, Uruguay, all points into which the 

 fluted scale had been established ; and everywhere the introduction 

 met the same speedy and perfect success. It is interesting to note, 

 however, that in one case, where it was sent with a supply of the 

 tinted scales for food to Florida in the hope that it would feed upon 

 other scale insects, the only effect of the introduction was to establish 

 the fluted scales, which had been sent for food, in this new locality. 

 This, however, had only a temporary effect, but it well illustrates the 

 danger of careless introduction work. 



It is unfortunate that Riley did not get the credit he deserves in 

 connection with this great experiment. The Californian, Mr. McCop- 

 pin, insisted until his death that the glory belonged to him and to 

 Koebele, and not to Riley. Many others have given the whole credit 

 to Koebele, and in fact international work with parasites and preda- 

 tors has been called, in certain German publications, the Koebele 

 method. The truth of the matter is, however, that the idea was con- 

 ceived by Riley ; that by logical reasoning and expert correspondence 

 he identified Australia as the country to which to send for natural 

 enemies ; that by his ingenuity and insistence he was able to exchange 

 Webster's services as agricultural reporter for the trip at Government 

 expense by Koebele ; and he was responsible for the selection of 

 Koebele, a wonderful field man, for the important work he did so 

 well. 



California went wild over this success. Koebele was sent again to 

 Australia, and also to New Zealand and the Fiji Islands, still holding 

 his post as an employee of the United States Department of Agricul- 

 ture, but at the expense of the California State Board of Horticul- 

 ture. In 1893 he resigned from the Federal Department and was 

 employed by the State Board of Horticulture of California for still 

 another trij) to Australia and other Pacific islands. He sent home a 

 large number of beneficial insects, nearly all of them, however, Coc- 

 cinellids.. Several of these species were established in California and 

 are still living in different parts of the State, but the overwhelming 

 success of the importation of Novius cardinalis was not repeated, 

 except possibly in the case of Cryptolacmus montrousicri Muls., an 

 insect which feeds upon mealy-bugs. This latter insect has proved 



