73 



iiig for the females to issue, even going so far as to tear away the old 

 pupaskiu and uniting with the female while she is still soft and help- 

 less. Egg laying begins the next day, and is con- 

 tinued during nearly the entire life of the beetle. 

 One that I kept in a breeding-cage and supplied 

 with an abundance of food, deposited 42 eggs in 

 eight days. The total number deposited by one fe- 

 male will probably average from 150 to 200 eggs. 



The adult beetles as well as the larvoe also feed 

 upon the Iceryas, but with this difference, that the ^, , 



*• "^ ' ' Fig. 10.— \edolutcanh- 



attack is usually made from above instead of from ,iazw, adult; euiarged. 



below. (After Eiley). 



I have never seen these Lady-birds in any of their stages feeding 

 upon any other insect than the Icerya. On one occasion I confined six 

 Lady bird larvae in a breeding-cage containing black scales {Lecanium 

 olece Bernard), some of which were quite soft, but after the lapse of 

 seven days none of these scales had been attacked, whereas three of 

 the Lady-bird larvte had been devoured by their comrades. At the 

 same date I placed an equal number of these larvse in another cage 

 containing specimens of an undetermined species of Lecanium found on 

 a peach-tree, several of the scales being still soft, but at the end of 

 seven days none of them had been attacked, while four of the Lady- 

 bird larvte had fallen a prey to their rapacious brothers. I also tested 

 these larvte with a species of plant louse found on orange trees, but 

 they did not attack them. It seems very evident, therefore, that the 

 Iceryas are the natural food of these Lady birds, and they feed upon 

 these in all their stages, even attacking the winged males. 



I have never seen any of our native insects attacking these Lady- 

 birds, although Col. J. K. Dobbins informs me that on one occasion he 

 saw a lace- winged tly larva {Clirysopa sp.?) in such a position that he 

 thought it might hav^e been engaged in feeding upon a Lady-bird larva. 

 The ants do not molest them. 



IMPORTATION AND SPREAD. 



The first consignment of these Lady-birds reached me on the 30th of 

 November, and numbered twenty-eight specimens; the second consign- 

 ment of forty-four specimens arrived December 29; and the third con- 

 signment of fifty-seven specimens reached me January 24, making one 

 hundred and twenty-nine specimens in all. These, as received, were 

 placed under a tent on an Icerya-infested orange-tree, kindly placed at 

 my disposal by Mr. J. W. Wolfskill, of this city. Here they were al- 

 lowed to breed unmolested, and early in April it was found that nearly 

 all of the Iceryas on the inclosed tree had been destroyed by these 

 voracious Lady-birds. Accordingly, on the 12th of April, one side of 

 the tent was removed, and the Lady-birds were permitted to spread to 



