EXPERIMENT STATION REPORT. 583 



It has survived the winter in some places ; but not in all, even 

 w^here no effective spraying was done. Even at its best in 1903, 

 where thousands of the beetles occurred, they did not keep the 

 scale in such check as toi make it safe to allow the trees to go 

 unsprayed. It is unfortunate, perhaps, that the insects were not 

 given a chance to live over in an absolutely unsprayed orchard, 

 for the only possible chance of effectual work comes in when 

 the hibernating beetles and the first brood of larv^ae can feed on 

 the hibernating scales before reproduction begins. Evei*y scale 

 eaten in April or early May means a breeder gone and an enor- 

 mous reduction oi the late summer broods. 



It seems impossible that in New Jersey this Asiatic lady bird, 

 Chilocorus similis can ever reach a point where it will be able to 

 control the pernicious scale; yet if the insect can be established it 

 will help in those cases where Osage Orange and other hedges 

 are infested or plants outside of cultivated orchards become 

 sources of danger. 



On my way north I stopped over at Washington long enough 

 to learn that their outdoor colony w^as almost completely wiped 

 out. Fully 60 per cent, of the broods in 1903 were parasitized, 

 the severe winter killed off most of the others and what remained 

 was being cultivated in the laboratory. 



Such experiments as were made in our laboratory are recorded 

 by Mr. Dickerson who' also gives a statement concerning the dis- 

 position made of the specimens sent into New Jersey. 



The outcome of this year's work is unexpectedly bad and 

 offers no encouragement to the hope that this particular species 

 will ever be of any ecoiiomic value as an aid in controlling the 

 pernicious scale. 



CHILOCORUS SIMILIS AT NEW BRUNSWICK. 



Specimens of this insect, mostly in the adult stage, were 

 received from Georgia in four different lots which reached New 

 Brunswick Friday, July 8th, Friday, July 22nd, Saturday, July 

 23rd, and Tuesday, July 26th. In each instance the insects were 

 well supplied with food, arrived in good condition, and were 

 apparently healthy, with the exception of a very few pupae of 

 the second lot. 



A few of the specimens, mostly pupae, were retained in the 

 laboratory in order to ascertain whether they would mature and 

 reproduce; but the majority were consigned to an infested fruit 

 farm within a short distance of New Brunswick. This farm 



