26 
were all preying upon Icerya. They were sent to Nelson and placed 
under tent with the Scales. A few days later, how- 
ever, the wind took away the tent and nothing more 
has been seen since of the Coccinellids. Several 
species of these beetles which Mr. Maskell kindly 
presented me with were left with you at Washington. 
Amongst them I could not find the Rodolia icerye, 
; ~=5 Janson (Fig. 14), which is destroying the Scales at the 
Fig. 14 —Rodolia icer- e : é 
ye—enlarged (after Cape and, with the possible exception of one species, 
Huley). I do not think they will feed upon Icerya. 
My time was too short to visit Nelson, and Mr. Maskell kindly promised 
to secure for me a box full of scales from that district, so as to enable 
me to find out whether some parasites or enemies existed there. This 
box was sent to me on board the steamer at Auckland and, on opening 
the same, several flies were found that had issued en route. Only one 
of them was in perfect condition ; all the others were crippled. They 
had crawled in among the paper used in making up the parcel. No 
other specimens were bred and no holes were observed in the scales, so 
the only possibility remains in the larva of this fly being predaceous 
upon the eggs of Icerya. Apart from these flies no other insects were 
observed from the Nelson Scales. On my return to Napier I got at once 
to work gathering the Coccinellids in all stages. They were in such 
numbers that I found it not very difficult to collect here about six 
thousand specimens during the three days (February 14 to 16). As 
many as eight eggs of the Lady-bird were observed on the upper side 
of the female Icerya just beginning to exude cottony matter. Oppo- 
site to this on the small branch of Acacia, five young larve of the 
Lady-bird were feeding on the under side of a half-grown scale; in one 
instance even nine Coccinellid larve were found attached to a small 
Icerya. The mature beetles were not numerous, 
but every branch full of scales had a greater or 
less number of eggs and larve. The eggs are 
chiefly deposited among the vigorous half-grown 
scales. Here the largest number of the eggs and 
young larve were found. They are generally 
single, thrust in between the scales and fastened 
onto the branch, on the scale itself, and often on 
the under side of the scale, as the mother Lady- 
I bird will sometimes raise the Icerya with her hind 
Fig. 15.—Scymnus fagus—en- legs and thrust the egg under it. At times two 
Eeees enelna or more are found together, always lying flat and 
in irregular position. Aside from this valuable Coccinellid, a small 
Seymnus was observed here feeding upon the scales, but in small num- 
bers only. This was named for me later by Captain Broun, as Scymnus 
Jagus (Fig. 15). 
I left Napier with my valuable lot of Lady-birds on the 17th. They 
