326 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 5 



living individuals of Prospaltella berlesei How. from the United States, 

 whence they had been sent by Doctor Howard's kindness. He liberated 

 them at Milan; in 1908 he was able to obtain the same species from 

 Japan, and these individuals were liberated at Genoa, at Casale Mon- 

 ferrato, and at Milan (Vanzago), at Caserta, and at Pisa. 



At Genoa the parasite was liberated in small numbers (perhaps about 

 thirty) upon a mulberry tree which was one of a series of eleven great 

 broad-branched trees badly infested by the Diaspis. 



In December, 1909, and in January, 1910, the Diaspis had almost 

 entirely disappeared from these mulberries, and almost all the females 

 were found infested by the Prospaltella. Two thousand sections of 

 branches were cut off and distributed in the north of Italy. 



At Vanzago the small number of parasites put out in 1908 upon a 

 mulberry tree in the middle of about thirty others on the lands of 

 Sig. Vago had given rise in March, 1909, to a very sHght progeny. 

 In July of the same year the percentage of parasitism was more than 

 eighty, and already the scales on the neighboring trees were attacked 

 by the Prospaltella. At the end of 1910 this little parasite unaided 

 was propagating itself upon all of Mr. Vago's mulberries, and even 

 upon neighboring lands, abundantly infesting the Diaspis on three 

 rows of mulberries of more than thirty trees over a space of 2000 square 

 meters. Professor Berlese cut off 600 pieces of infested branches. 

 He estimated then that the increase of the Prospaltella from April, 

 1908, to April, 1910, had progressed as from 1 to 5000; that is to say 

 seventy times yearly. 



The increase of the Diaspis from one year to another is much smaller, 

 and Berlese has calculated that four years will suffice to destroy this 

 most injuriou's scale over all of Italy by the aid of the Prospaltella. 



Deducting the material from the nurseries at Genoa and Vanzago, 

 there were established in 1910, by the aid of traveling professors of 

 agriculture, societies, co-operatives, schools, municipalities, the fol- 

 lowing centers of distribution of Prospaltella: 



Liguria 57 



Piedmont - 600 



Lombardy 809 



Venetia 700 



Emilia - 55 



Marche 60 



Umbria 40 



About a hundred branches were sent to places outside of Italy, among 

 others to Locarno, from which no late news has been received. 



