191 



had fought out the battle, and while the carcasses of the vanquished were every- 

 where present to tell of the slaughter, the victors had disappeared almost entirely 

 from the field. I have 35 acres in orchard— some 3,200 trees iu all. I never colonized 

 any Vedalias in my grove, excepting the two consignments which you brought to me 

 yourself— one box on February 22 and two boxes March 20. I noticed the first increase 

 from the lot No. 1 on the 15th of April, and from lot No. 2 on the 24th of the same 

 month. On the 25th of April I found larvas upon several adjacent trees. These 

 facts are from memoranda made at the time. I have a list of the names of fruit 

 growers, 226 in number, to whom I personally distributed over 120,000 Vedalias in 

 coloniesof various sizes between May 31 and July 31. * » * — [J. R. Dobbins, San 

 Gabriel, Cal., October 22, 1889. 



I am glad to report that the lady-birds you sent me are doing good work and in- 

 creasing in this neighborhood, and as soon as all are supplied I will establish some 

 on the mountain where the brush is full of them, also a small patch near the Ocean, 

 and hope the Cottony Cushion-scale will soon be a scarce article in this section. — 

 [Joseph Sexton, Goleta, Cal., August 12, 1889. 



On Hasmatobia serrata. 



I have just received Insect Life, No. 4, Vol. II, for which please accept my most 

 sincere thanks. 



On page 95 I find a passage which calls, on my part, for the following statement : 



On receiving the specimens of Hwmatobia serrata from Dr. Lintner in September, 

 1888, I at once suspected that they might be specifically identical with some Euro- 

 pean Stomoxid, and I communicated them for identification to my frieud, Mr. Kow- 

 arz. He answered as follows: 



"Ich habe mir alle Miihe gegeben, aber ich vermag in dieser Fliege nichts anderes 

 als Hwmatobia serrata R. D. {Ltjperosia End.) zu erkennen. Sie unterscheidet sich 

 von den europiieru nicht im Geringsteu." 



Translation: "I have taken great i)aius with this fly and can not recognize in it 

 anything but the R. serrata R. D. {Lyperosia Rnd.). It does not iu the least differ 

 from the European specimens." 



It is important, in such a case, to have it distinctly stated that the identification is 

 based upon an actual comparison of specimens by the best authority. Mr. Ferdinand 

 Kowarz, in Franzensbad, Bohemia, I consider as the entomologist who, at present, 

 possesses the most extensive knowledge and experience of European Diptera, espe- 

 cially so far as the discrimination of species is concerned. I take, therefore, his de- 

 cision as trustworthy and final, and 1 regret that Dr. Lintner did not mention Mr. 

 Kowarz's name in the first publication which he made upon receiving my answer (iu 

 the Country Gentleman, Albany, N. Y., November 29, 1888). 



My own knowledge of European Diptera is very insufficient, and in all doubtful 

 cases I apply either to Mr. Kowarz or to Professor Mik, or, for Cecidomyise, to Dr. 

 Franz Low (the two latter iu Vienna). 



You will do me a favor by the publication of this letter in one of your next num- 

 bers. — [C. R. Osten Sackeu, Heidelberg, November 20, 1889. 



I 



