ESSIG, COMBATING THE CITRUS MEALY BUG 91 



At this time of the year the Mealy Bug is massed on the trunks of the 

 tree and limbs. In these masses are millions of eggs iiitermixefl with a cottony 

 excretion to protect them from cold and rain. The larva of the Cryptolaemus 

 works on these egg masses and ui)on the adult female. All stages of it may 

 still be found (November), showing that it will yet work on through most of 

 the winter. In not a few cases these masses have been cleaned from the tree, 

 the mark being left to show its position. On the fruit the same thing is found 

 and there are prospects that in another year it will clean the trees almost com- 

 pletely. Nothing is more encouraging to the grower than to see the millions 

 of these insect friends doing such good work. 



Rhizobius ventralis is doing just as good work, from all that I can ascer- 

 tain through successive observations. This Lady-bird Beetle pupates right in 

 the egg masses, and the larva is more abundant than the larva of the Crypto- 

 laemus. This is because it has been here for years. 



The Brown Lace-wing, a Hemerobid, works very rapidly and is very 

 effective. The one draw-back is the fact that it is preyed upon by an internal 

 parasite which reduces its numbers so that it cannot hope to compete with the 

 Mealy Bug, which breeds so uninterruptedly. 



The work done is thorough enough to warrant some success along this 

 line. I am not willing to give up fumigation, for there is no better way pos- 

 sible to reduce the numbers of the Dests in so short a time. The ami is to fumi- 

 gate and introduce the parasites and predaceous insects into the orchards imme- 

 diately, checks being reserved to propagate them. I have found it harder 

 to kill the larva of the Cryptolaemus with the cyanide gas than the Mealy 

 Bug, so it is hardly probable that fumigating would kill all of them. However, 

 until they get a fine start we shall take no chances. 



The hope of ridding the community of the Mealy Bug lies, I believe, in 

 the work of beneficial insects, for it is simply on everything. It is the aim of 

 this commission to procure an internal ])arasite this Fall to aid in this work. 

 We hope to introduce several other varieties of the Lady-bird Beetles also. 

 They way to handle such a pest is simply to employ every possible agenc\' that 

 will help reduce the numbers. To this end we are now working. 



