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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Oct. 1, 



primary wiLgs are thickened and are called Elytra. This 

 gives the name Coleoptera — which means sheathed-wings, and 

 refers to the fact that the upper wings sheath the lower or 

 functionally perfect wings. The word Hymenoptera means 

 membranous wings, and this, too, is a good name, for we 

 know that all four wings of the bee are membranous. 



These lady-birds should be called beetles, not bugs. Bugs 

 are quite different. They do not go through complete trans- 

 formations. The young or larval bug looks very like the 

 mature bug, but has no wings. No person who closely ob- 

 serves them would fail to detect that they were closely re- 

 lated, if not the same insect of different age. On the other 

 hand, no one would think of a larval bee as the baby of its 

 parent unless they had learned such to be the fact. 



The lady bird beetles belong to the family Coccinellidie. 

 These lady-birds are generally pets. Many who look with 

 abhorrence on most beetles, fondle the little lady-birds with 

 much of gratification and pleasure. These little beetles are 

 very short, often as broad as long, and the outline is usually 

 almost circular. Occasionally, however, we find them some- 

 what elongated, reminding us of the leaf-beetles to which 

 family belongs the celebrated potato-beetle and the little 

 striped melon-beetles. It is very easy, however, to tell the 

 lady-bird beetles from the leaf-beetles, as they have very short 

 and knobbed antenna;, while the antennoe of the leaf-beetle 

 are long and cylindrical. The number of joints of the tarsi, 

 the last division of the legs, are only three, while in the leaf- 

 beetle, there are always four joints to the tarsi. The tarsi 

 are the portions of the foot which rest on the ground as the 

 insect walks. 



With very few exceptions the lady-bird beetles are our 

 good friends. They belong to the great group of beneficial 

 insects known as predaceous. That is to say, they feed upon 

 other insects and eat them up, just as the cat eats the mouse. 

 It is probable that all over the world these lady-bird beetles 

 do immense good. They destroy hosts of injurious insects 

 which otherwise would "eat every good thing from off the 

 face of the whole earth." But in arid regions, such as South- 

 ern California, where the scale or bark lice thrive so remark- 

 ably these lady-birds become more than ever our friends and 

 abettors. From the limited observation which I have had in 

 Southern California, I think we can hardly over-estimate the 

 real value of these lady-bird beetles. 



The so-called twice-stabbed lady-bird (Chilocorus bivul- 

 nerus) is very common in California, as it is also in the East, 

 and does untold good. In the East, a few years ago, the lin- 

 den trees were seriously attacked by the linden scale (Leucan- 

 ium tilise), and there seemed no escape. While the Chalcid 

 flies probably did the most to extirpate this enemy of one of 

 our best bee-plants, it is certainly true that these lady-bird 

 beetles played no inconsiderable part in the glad riddance. 

 This twice-stabbed lady-bird is very common in Southern 

 California, and feeds very largely upon the black scale, 

 which is one of the most harmful of our insect pests. Thus 

 we can hardly praise too highly the work of these little lady- 

 birds among us. 



A few years ago the white scale, also called the cottony- 

 cushion scale, fluted scale, and, scientifically, Icerya purchasi, 

 was so common in Southern California, and so appallingly 

 destructive to the citrus trees, that it began to look as if the 

 orange and lemon orchards would be entirely destroyed in this 

 section of our State. What made the case all the more dis- 

 couraging, these cottony-cushion scales were not confined to 

 the citrus trees, but went on to almost all of our vegetation, 

 making it almost impossible to destroy them by artificial 

 means. As there are two and possibly three broods a year, 

 their prolificness is something astounding. No wonder the 

 fruit-growers of Southern California were in despair. 



During the time of the Melbourne Exposition, through the 



influence of enterprising fruit-growers of California, a little 

 red and black lady-bird, Novius (Nedalia) cardinalis was im- 

 ported from Australia. This little beetle seems quite insig- 

 nificant. It is hardly larger than the head of a good-sized 

 pin, and yet it has been mighty in its good work. Hardly two 

 years had elapsed after its introduction into the orchards of 

 California before the white scale was almost entirely banished 

 from the fruit-groves. Now this scale is so rare that the later 

 ochardists do not know what it is, and scarcely a week goes by 

 that I do not receive specimens from some orchardist, wishing 

 to know what it is, and whether It is likely to become a dan- 

 gerous foe. 



There is another very gratifying fact easily observed in 

 our orchards. "Where the carrion is, there the eagles are 

 gathered together ;" so where this fluted scale is, there we 

 will always find these little lady-birds. They are quick of 

 scent, and are sure to find out the scale upon which they 

 greedily banquet. Many a time the past year I have received 

 these scales in a box sent me for identification, and upon open- 

 ing the cage T have found one, two or more of these little 

 Australian lady-birds. They are here evidently to stay, and 

 because of their presence, the old cottony-cushion scale finds 

 its lot a hard one. This case is not only very interesting, but 

 it gives a hint as to very practical operations in our warfare 

 with our insect foes. For does it not stand to reason that 

 there are more Novii in the world, and that without doubt we 

 may by importing insects from other countries do most to 

 banish some of our worst insect foes ? I believe this field in 

 entomology which has hardly yet been cultivated at all, is very 

 big with promise. 



Another insect which has also been brought from Aus- 

 tralia is the little black lady-bird, Khizobius ventralis. In 

 limited localities this little beetle has done as much to destroy 

 the black scale as has the other to wipe out the cottony-cush- 

 ion scale. For some reason we do not seem to succeed so well 

 in introducing this insect into new localities in California, as 

 we did in spreading the Novius. Why this is we can hardly 

 say. It is very likely owing to peculiar enemies. It may be 

 that this insect is harder to acclimate, and thus more time 

 will be needed In its introduction. It is to be regretted that 

 our fruit-growers are so impatient. They can hardly wait for 

 this new friend to put in its valuable work. Of course we 

 cannot surely state that this insect will ever become general 

 and such a benefactor as was the Novius, but I think we have 

 great reason to hipe, and I believe the chances are in favor 

 of its becoming one of our most valuable aids in dealing with 

 the black scale. 



Last week, while in attendance at a farmers' institute at 

 Santa Monica, a gentleman brought into the room a small 

 twig of lemon to inquire of me what scale was working upon 

 it. It proved to be the common black scale, although the 

 form and color of the scale was considerably modified from 

 the type. To my great gratification no less than surprise, I 

 found three larvfe of Rhizobius ventralis. Thus this little 

 friend is spreading among us, and I believe there is great hope 

 that we may wake up some morning and find that it has cap- 

 tured the black scale, and is holding the fort against this 

 terrible pest of Southern California. If it is true that this 

 insect finds it difficult to endure the dry, hot air away from 

 the ocean, it is more than probable that it will gradually 

 spread from the ocean, and adapt itself to the dry, hot atmos- 

 phere farther inland. 



There are other lady-birds, some native, and others intro- 

 duced from Australia, which are also helping us grandly in 

 our fight against the insect foes of our orchards. Some of the 

 more common red and spotted lady-birds are great foes to the 

 Aphides or plant-lice, and last year when the plant-lice were 

 so very common and abundant, these red lady-birds could 

 often be gathered by the pint. No one can over-estimate the 



