1914] Life History of Lady Beetles. 231 
_ larger species. Mr. Bragg says that he found them in numbers 
with Prociphilus fraxintfolii, a species which, from their large 
size and great quantities of honeydew, would have certainly 
brought disaster in the breeding cage, for great care had to, be 
exercised in feeding these even to the larger species of beetles. 
They seemed to thrive in confinement on C. negundinis, A. 
setariae, A. helianthi, C. populifolit, C. populicola, M. san- 
borni Gill., Myzus persicae, Sulz., Rhopholosiphum pastinacae, 
Aphis heraclei Koch, M. cynosbatt. Outdoors they were 
found with P. fraxinifolii. n 1910 and 1911 this species 
seemed especially abundant. In the spring of 1910 the box- 
elders were extremely lousy but by June 26, it was extremely 
dificult to find any C. negundinis excepting the dimorphic 
form which the ladybeetles seemed unable to eat. This species 
of beetles, together with Syrphus larvae, seemed to be chiefly 
responsible for the destruction of the lice. Again this spring, 
1911, they seem to be the chief factors in cleaning up the box- 
elder lice which were almost killing some trees. 
These beetles seemed to have a more delicate constitution 
than the other species reared and had to be tended with more 
care, and even with the best care, hardly 25 percent could be 
matured, and often less in the pure strains. The hybrids were 
much more vigorous, and of them it was often possible to rear 
50 percent to maturity. These beetles were susceptible to all 
of the injurious influences which have been named, and besides, 
they seemed to object to what might have been an odor left 
by a certain species of ants, as the cottonwood C. populifolit, 
which is abundantly attended by ants, was rejected at times 
and accepted at others with no other apparent reason. 
On the occasion of rejection they would turn cannibal and almost 
the entire cage of larvae would be lost in one day, as though 
they had been left without any feed at all. It seems, however, 
that in spite of their seemingly rather frail constitution, they 
hold their own in nature pretty well, as during 1909 and 1910 
and the spring, at least, of this year (1911) they ranked high 
in comparative numbers out of doors and doubtless have been 
very beneficial. 
