165 



of our agents, whom we seut to Australia for the purpose of studying 

 and collectinfj the native parasites of Icerya purchasi with a view of 

 introducing them into California; but just as we are going to press 

 the Australian mail arriv^es, and the following letter from Mr. Koebele 

 covers the ground so much more satisfactorily that we print it in full: 



So far my work has beeu much more successful thau I expected. I uot only found 

 the dipterous jjarasite withiu Icerya in large numbers, but also three predaceous 

 larv;e feeding upon the eggs of Icerya. One of these is a Chrysopa larva, which I 

 first discovered in numbers, it having almost destroyed all the eggs of the infested 

 Icerya at Mannam, 28 miles up the Murray River from Murray Bridge Station, South 

 Australia; the others are larvieof a small Coccinella. I have collected and sent with 

 this steamer, Mariposa, probably 10,000 Iceryaj, of which at least 50 per cent, are in- 

 fested with the dipterous larvje and pupje. Dr. Schomburg, director of the Botanical 

 Gardens of Adelaide, kindly furnished me with a wardian-case, in which I placed 

 three young orange trees and nine of Pittosporum, securely packed down. The 

 Iceryai were placed in this on sticks of orange placed in earth, so the smaller, half- 

 grown insects can easily crawl up on the fresh plants, and the flies that hatch en 

 route may be able to go on breeding. Beside these, I send a large lot in tin and 

 wooden boxes, chiefly taken off of twigs; these latter I have placed in ice-box, so 

 that none will be able to hatch during the voyage. As it looks now, for all are on 

 steamer already, the latter experiment will be the best to follow. Notwithstanding 

 the care and labor I have spent in getting this case here in such condition, I fear 

 that the packages will suffer greatly through the handling of the steamer hands. 

 However it may be, I assure you that success will attend your effort, and I expect to 

 land several thousands of flies in pupa state with every steamer landing at San 

 Francisco. 



In regard to the case with plants, this is a bulky thing, weighing 240 pounds, 

 while the same number of scales packed in boxes would make only a few pounds. 



The most difficult matter is to get Iceryai in such large numbers. As yet I have 

 found them only in iirivate gardens, but I know of sufiQcient for another sending. 



On coming on here I also discovered the flies withiu Iceryae in Victoria, and am 

 certain that they will be found all over Australia, or wherever Icerya is present. 



They are uot only j)arasitic upon Monophloebus and Icerya, but I am almost cer- 

 tain also upon Dactylopius. I found many empty iiuparia wathiu dried-up Dacty- 

 lopius, and also have several fresh ones at Adelaide. 



Will remain in New South Wales for about a week or so and make a careful ex- 

 amination of the ground, then proceed to Victoria in search of Icerya, but will be 

 in Adelaide in time to make up a larger shipment. 



Economic Entomology in India. — An esteemed correspondent writes us 

 from Calcutta with regard to Insect Life as follows : 



I am much interested m your new venture " Insect Life," which is the practical car- 

 rying out of a scheme that I have beeu urging on our people here for years. This is 

 what a jiractical man wants, the history of an insect and a name or ticket by which 

 it can be recognized by others and by which their observations can be correlated and 

 made use of for all time. In all countries economic entomology must have more at- 

 tention paid to it than hitherto. Competition and pressure of population both de- 

 mand every effort of science to reduce the cost of production, and it can be done to a 

 greater extent than has hitherto been thought of. I have encouraged an assistant in 

 our museum to precis and distribute your papers. But it is slow work and I should 

 be glad of any papers on the organization of your Department, to found a similar 

 one here. No paid agency can be entertained for other thau the scientific work, and 



