FIGHTING PESTS WITH INSECT ALLIES 

 Lelaxd O. Howard 



[Dr. Howard is Chief of the Division of En1 

 the United States Department of Agriculture at Washington. 

 He is a lecturer at Swarthmore College and at Geo:-. 

 University. He has written "The Insect Book," published 

 by Doubleday, Page & Co., New York; and a v. 

 quitoes, issued by McClure, Phillips & Co., New Y< >rk. Both 

 are books of interest from the hand of a master: they are 

 .fully illustrated. The narrative which follows appeared 

 in Everybody' s Magazine, June, njoi.j) 



Some twenty-five years ago there appeared 

 suddenly upon certain acacia trees at Menlo 

 Park, California, a very destructive scale bug. 



It rapidly increased and spread from tree to 

 tree, attacking apples, figs, pomegranates, 

 quinces, and roses, and many other trees and 

 plants, but seeming to prefer to all other food 

 the beautiful orange and lemon trees which 

 grow so luxuriantly on the Pacific Coast, and 

 from which a large share of the income of so 

 many fruit-growers is gained. This b 

 which came to be known as the white s\ 

 fluted scale or the Icerya (from its scientific 

 name), was an insignificant creature in itself, 

 resembling a small bit of fluted wax a little 

 more than a quarter of an inch long. But when 

 the scales had once taken possession of a tree, 

 they swarmed over it until the bark was hidden; 

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