Fighting Pests with Insect Allies 



These sendings were repeated t'^v several 

 months, and Mr. Kocbclc, on his return in April, 

 1889, brought with him many more living 



specimens which he had collected on his wax- 

 home in New Zealand, where the same Vedalia 

 had been accidentally introduced a 

 before. 



The result more than justified the most san- 

 guine expectations. The ladybirds reached 

 Los Angeles alive, and, 

 with appetites sharpened 

 by their long ocean voy- 

 age, immediately fell upon 

 the devoted scales and de- 

 voured them one after an- 

 other almost without rest. 

 Their hunger temporarily 

 satisfied, they began t>> lax- 

 eggs. These eggs hatched 

 in a few days into active 

 grub-like creatures — the 

 larvae of the beetles — and 

 these grubs proved as 

 voracious as their parents. 

 the scales right and left, and in less than a 

 month transformed once more to beetles. 



And so the work of extermination went <>n. 

 Each female beetle laid on an average 300 

 eggs, and each of these eggs hatched into a 

 hungry larva. Supposing that one-half of these 

 larvae produced female beetles, a simple cal- 

 culation will show that in six months a single 

 127 



Larva? of Vedalia 

 eating White Scale 



They dev 



