New York Agricultural Experiment Station. 589 



Several other species of lady-bird l)eetles were found last year 

 upon infested plum trees at Hector and Geneva, among the most 

 common of which were the following : Coccmella novemnotata^ 

 Adalia tripunctata and Hippodamia 13 — punctata. 



Parasitic insect enemies. — During the winter certain of the 

 young scale insects will be found to have become much more oval 

 through the middle and to have turned to a dark, almost black color, 

 excepting a narrow margin of light yellow. Remove one of tliese 

 peculiar looking scales and examine it carefully and you will find 

 within, a minute parasitic insect of the order Ilymenoptera. If 

 allowed to develop, this little insect would come forth a minute 

 four-winged parasite. In May and June these little parasites may 

 frequently be found moving restlessly upon the branches and 

 leaves of infested trees. Some of the old scales will be found with 

 one or more small round holes in them as illustrated in Fig. 16, 

 which represents one of these scales enlarged. Tliese have also 

 been parasitized, the mature parasites having escaped. 



A number of parasitized scales, taken at different periods of the 

 year, were brought to the laboratory and placed in breeding jars. 

 From these the following species were reared : Blastotlirix longi 

 pennis^ How., Corny s hicolor., How., Coccophagus lecanii, Fitch, 

 Euderus lividus, Ashm, and Aphycus alhiceps, n. sp.^ Ashm. 



Doubtless there are other predaceous and parasitic insects which 

 prey upon the plum scale. They should be left undisturbed when 

 possible, for they are the friends of the fruit grower. Quite a 

 large percentage of the scales were parasitized last year. 



A fungus, Cordyceps clavidatura, is often found in shady or 

 moist places growing upon scale insects of the genus Lecanium. It 

 was very common last year on Lecanium scale insects on maple and 

 iron wood in the gulleys along Seneca lake, in the vicinity of 

 Hector. This fungus is discussed by Mr. R. H. Pettit in Bul- 

 letin 97, Cornell Agricultural- Experiment Station, pp. 341-345. 

 The diseased scales are easily recognized. They soon turn tu a 

 lighter shade, and finally delicate fruiting bodies are given off which 

 soon terminate in a conical head. The fungus is described in the 

 bulletin above referred to. Attention is hero called to it, as we 

 desire to be notified if any of our readers find the fungus on plum 

 scales in their orchards. ' 



