491 Journal op the Department op Agriculturk. 



by the i)ois(tiiiiif4 operations ]na\ ehaiice to lla^e l)io\i<ilil it down to 

 the point wheri^ natural enemies can (h'al willi it in niany or even 

 most hK-alities where eggs are laid. 'J'Ju' help ot liirds during April 

 was triHing. but parasitic flies in great nuinliers were ohserved at 

 work am(»ng.st eggs and at the tliers in widely se|)a rated localities. 



J3ad as the outbreak has been, there has been lilllc loss id' crops 

 and, except in a lew places, no serious loss of veld. ()rdinarily the 

 insect restricts itself almost entirely to jilants of the uiass family, 

 but this season some patches of lucerne w'er(> eaten lo baic stems. 

 The rains have beei] so fieqnejit and heavy, howe\er. that lucerne 

 and veld speedily outgrew injury. The Magistrate at Aberdeen 

 reported '3.45 inches in March and '^.40 inches in the first three weeks 

 of April. For a generation an oft-told story in the Karroo has been 

 that the locust does good by preventing isteekgras from seeding. Tlu' 

 locust has now rather spoilt its good reputation in this respect for, 

 according to the rvTagistrate of Murraysburg. it has this season left 

 the steekgras practically untouched. 



Slight losses of stock through the caieles> use of the poison h:\ve 

 been reported from the Aberdeen. Murraysburg. and WilloAvnntre 

 districts, but probably £100 wcnild cover them. 



The countries to the noith of the Union continue to enjo\ 

 immunity from locust visitation. The records of the past suggest it 

 is about time for another breeding-up of the red locust, but there is 

 still no sign of growing trouble with this pest. A recent newspaper 

 report that it had a])peared in the Aberdeen distiid had no 

 foundation. 



.1 Jjddijhi r:l Ldini l/uif J'rri/s iijjoii .!/(/.<. — A very mterestijig 

 disc(jvery has been made by Mr. I{. H. Harris, of the ])ivision of 

 Entomology, ])url)an, m connection \vith the larval habit of the 

 ladybird (Jrtalut pdllevs Mnls. Mr. Harris lias succeeded in demon- 

 strating that these larvae inhabit ant nests and the environs thereof, 

 wheif they seize upon and destroy tlie living ants. The ladybird 

 larvae are covered Avith dense tufts (jf white secretion, so that they 

 greatly resemble large mealy l)ugs. They do not [)ursue the ant. 

 but appear to rely upon the natural inquisit i\ eness of these creatures 

 to bring them within striking distance; then the ants ar(> capttired 

 and destroyed. 



The beetle (Jrfalia jKillens is lepresenicd by s])ecimejis in the 

 collection of the Division of Entomology from Jvwanibonambi. Zuhi- 

 land, and in the Transvaal ^luseum by nniterial fiom Durban (Natal). 

 ]*ietersburg. ami Lydenburg (Tiansvaal ). The Zululand s])ecimens 

 were determined b.\- Di. (j. K. Maishall. of the Im])erial Bureau of 

 EntomologN ; those in the Transvaal M\iseuni i)\ I'rof. ^^'cis<^ of 

 (irermany. 



In connec'ion with the specimens mentioned as coming from 

 Zuluhunl. it is interesting to relate that these were taken from a 

 fluffy white mass found in the centre cd a red ant's m^st. This was 

 collected by Miss ^1 \rylde-Bro\vn and forwarded to the Division 

 by the Director of the Durban Museum. At the time no susi)icion 

 was aroused as to the I'eal sigiiificam-e of the ])resenee of these 

 coccinellids in the ants' nest. 



Mr. Harris' observations were in connection with the attack of 

 the (h1,iJi(i larvae n])on Pluidalc jnnicfiihifa ^feyr. at Durban, Xatnl. 



