PARASITES FOR INSECT PESTS. 15 



culture, made a trip of exploration in oriental countries, lasting 

 more than a year. He found the original home of the San Jose 

 scale to be North China, where its original host plant is a little 

 haw apple which grows wild over the hills. He found there every- 

 where a ladybird known as Chilocorus similis, feeding in all stages 

 upon the San Jose scale. Specimens of these were shipped to 

 Washington and bred freely, afterwards being sent in colonies- 

 to various parts of the United States. The colonies at Washington 

 were practically exterminated the second year by an American 

 parasite of ladybird beetles, and among the colonies sent out 

 those in the North did not succeed in establishing themselves. 

 In the South, however, the species increased and is still maintain- 

 ing itself although the universal use of the lime, sulphur, and salt 

 washes has prevented it from becoming an important feature in 

 the insect fauna of that region. 



After jNIr. Koebele left California to go to Hawaii, jNIr. George 

 Compere was sent by the State Board of Horticulture of Cali- 

 fornia to make investigations and to send to California such bene- 

 ficial insects as he deemed of probable value. Later he entered 

 the employment of the government of Western Australia, and has. 

 since been traveling in various parts of the world, partly in the 

 interest of Western Australia and jxirtly in the interest of the State 

 of California. Several species have been discovered by him and 

 sent to California, all of them being desirable additions to the 

 California fauna, although the last reports from the Commissioner 

 of Horticulture do not indicate that any of them have as yet done 

 work of any great value. Mr. Compere's latest importation into 

 California is a European Ichneumon fly known as Calliephialtes 

 messor, a species which occurs commonly throughout Europe and 

 which has been recorded as an European enemy of the wax moth 

 (Galleria mellonella). This parasite was found in Spain feeding 

 upon the codling moth larvae, and he imported specimens into 

 California. It is said to have already established itself there and 

 to promise good results. Mr. Compere has also imported several 

 beneficial insects into Western Australia, the one which he thinks, 

 will accomplish the best results being a parasite of the so-called 

 fruit fly {Ceratitis capifafa) which he found in Brazil. 



The speaker described his visit of the previous summer to Europe 

 to originate an extensive effort to import the European parasites. 



