253 



ceeded in destroying all of the Iceryas ou these trees he was to receive a certain re- 

 muneration for his trouble. A few days after the trees had been iuoculated, one of 

 the county inspectors of fruit pests placed a number of the Vedalias in these trees 

 without apprising the experimenter of this fact ; at the appointed time the tree* 

 were carefully examined and not a living Icerya could be found on them. The experi- 

 meutor claimed that it was through his inoculating the trees that the Iceryas had 

 been destroyed ; the owner of the trees, however, thought that the credit belonged 

 to the Vedalias, and therefore refused to remunerate the quack for his work. There- 

 upon the latter gentleman brought suit against the owner of the trees and won it, 

 the jury deciding that the fatality among the Iceryas was produced through the in- 

 oculation which the infested trees had received, notwithstanding the testimony of 

 the inspector to the contrary, and the fact that the empty pupa cases of the Vedalia 

 were still on the trees! This happened several months ago, at a time when the 

 workings of the Vedalia were not so well known as at the present time. — [D. W. Co- 

 quillett, Los Angeles, Cal., December 12, 1889. 



Two interesting Parasites. 



I send some bottles containing larvae in alcohol, and a few more slides with speci- 

 mens for the microscope. Among the latter is an interesting parasite ou Aspidiotua 

 uvw, which seems to be doing good work in keeping this pernicious scale-insect in 

 check. More than a dozen of these little flies have emerged from the scales on a bit 

 of cane not 5 iuches long. In one of the bottles is a section of a Plusia larva 

 found on Chrysanthemum from which thousands of the minute flies inclosed with it 

 issued. I never saw a more extreme case of parasitism. After spinning up the poor 

 worm lost all semblance to itself. A myriad of the parent flies must have attacked 

 it at once. — [Mary E. Murtfeldt, Kirkwood, Mo., November 23, 1889. 



Reply. — Your parasite on Aspidiotua wra; is a new species of the genus Centrodora, 

 and the Plusia larva had evidently been attacked by Copidosoma truncatelliim, which 

 you will find mentioned as a parasite of Plusia brassicce in my annual report for 1883, 

 p. 121, Plate XI, fig. 6. 



Work of White Ants. 



I mail you a box to-day containing insects that have done remarkably good work. 

 They bored through paper, then through a full bolt of Conestoga ticking into wood 

 about one-fourth to three-eighths inch deep. The marks in ^ood were exactly the 

 same as in the ticking I send you a sample of. When alive and killed with naptha 

 (benzine) they drop a brownish fluid from the anus, which I suppose turns into dirt, as 

 it shows on the ticking, lumps being attached to it where eaten, this extending 

 through the whole bolt. The ticking was lyiug on a shelf (a place not very dark 

 during the day) lor about one month. Please let me know their name and habits. — 

 [EugeueR. Fischer, 2707 Wiunebago street, St. Louis, Mo., December 21, 1889. 



Reply. — The insect which has done this damage is the commonest of our so-called 

 White Ants, and is known as Termes flavipes. This species bores in the woodwork 



j of old buildings, and often does considerable damage. It is a difiicult insect to fight, 

 and about the only thing which you can do is to inject steam or hot water or kero- 

 sene wherever an opening seems to lead into their burrows in timbers. — [December 



I 27, 1889.] 



Importation of Orange Pests from Florida to California. 



i I am inspector of the Pomona fruit district. There will be a great many orange and 



j lemon trees shipped from Florida this season. I would like to have you inform me 



of the places that are infested with Red Scale {Aspidiotus ficus) or other scales that 



would be dangerous in this climate, so that I can be on the lookout. Last winter I 



found Red Scale on trees that came from Orlando, Fla. I treated them with hydro- 



