74 



the adjoining trees. At this date I began sending out colonies to va- 

 rious parts of the State, and in this work have been greatly aided by 

 Mr. Wolfskin and his foreman, Mr. Alexander Craw, both of whom 

 were well acquainted with the condition of the orchards in this part of 

 the State. By the 12th of June we had thus sent out 10,555 of these 

 Lady-birds, distributing them to two hundred and eight different or- 

 chardists; and in nearly every instance the colonizing of these Lady- 

 birds on Icerya-iufested trees in the open air proved successful. The 

 orange and other trees — about seventy-iive in number — and also the 

 shrubs and plants growing in Mr. Wolfskill's yard, have been practi- 

 cally cleared of Iceryas by these Lady-birds, and the latter have of 

 their own accord spread to the adjoining trees to a distance of fully 

 three fourths of a mile from the original tree. 



' Besides the three consignments of these Lady-birds referred to above 

 I also received two later consignments. The first of tliese reached me 

 February 21, and numbered thirty-five specimens; these I colonized on 

 an Icerya-infested orange-tree in the large orange grove belonging to 

 Colonel J. R. Dobbins, of San Gabriel. The last consignment of three 

 hundred and fifty specimens arrived March 20; one-third of these I 

 left with Colonel Dobbins, while the remainder I colonized on orange- 

 trees in the extensive grove owned bj^ Messrs. A. B. and A. Scott Chap- 

 man, in the San Gabriel Valley. All of these colonies have thrived 

 exceedingly well. During a recent visit to each of these groves I found 

 the Lady-birds on trees full}" one-eighth of a mile from those on which 

 the original colonies were placed, having thus distributed themselves 

 of their own accord. The trees I colonized them on in the grove 

 of Colonel Dobbins were quite large and were very thickly infested 

 with the Iceryas, but at the time of my recent visit scarcely a living 

 Icerya could be found on these and on several of the adjacent trees, 

 while the dead and dry bodies of the Iceryas still clinging to the trees 

 by their beaks, indicated how thickly the trees had been infested with 

 these pests, and how thoroughly the industrious Lady-birds had done 

 their work. 



EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE. 



Enemies of Diabrotica. 



With this I mail you a spider which I fouutl with a Diabrotica soror in his jaws. 

 Will you please send me the uame of this spider, as also of the family to which it 

 belongs? If new^ would it not be well to describe it, or to have Dr. Marx do so if he 

 will? 



It may interest you to know that I have bred a Tachina tly from D. soror, but its 

 wings never expanded, so it is not tit for study. I have just captured a large number 

 of these beetles, and will try to breed perfect specimens of this dy. — [D. W. Coquil- 

 lett, Los Angeles, Cal., June 19, 1889. 



Reply. — The spider which you found eating Diabrotica is Xysticus (julosum Keyser- 

 ling. It belongs to the family Thomisidie. Your note concerning the breeding of the 

 Tachinid from the Diabrotica is very interestiug. — [July 3, 1889.] 



