INSECTS DAMAGING ORANGE TREE. 123 



well as to the scale insect, and if so should not be 

 encouraged. 



Another insect resembles, when young, fine 

 corn-meal dusted over the tree, but when the case 

 in which the insects are inclosed is full grown it 

 resembles the small barnacles clinging to a wharf 

 built in salt water. When these cases are turned 

 over and examined with a glass they disclose 

 under each a multitude of small insects resembling 

 lice. They do not exhaust trees so rapidly as the 

 scale insect, but their presence is damaging. The 

 leaves of the trees infested change after a while to a 

 dark sooty appearance, and the tree does not grow 

 so rapidly. 



An enemy to this insect also has appeared. I 

 am informed by the entomologist of the Agricultu- 

 ral Department, to whom I sent specimens of this 

 and the other insects mentioned, that the ' ' insect 

 is the Evagoras Rubidus, which destroys the plant- 

 lice on the cotton and orange, at least I have found 

 it in the act of sucking out the juice of a plant- 

 louse/' As I finished the above sentence I laid 

 my pen down to go out and capture some of these 

 insects, that I might give a more accurate descrip- 

 tion, and found a full-grown insect which had just 

 pierced with his proboscis a full-grown house-fly. 

 He continued his feast for a few moments as I 

 watched, and when frightened retreated, carrying his 

 prey with him. This insect when young resem- 

 bles a red spider. As it increases in size it changes 



