THE ASIATIC-LADYBIRD ENEMY OF THE SCALE. 67 



peach trees, covering about 75 acres, and adjoined a ver}'^ much larger 

 orchard belonging to the same owner, containing 250,000 trees. The 

 lad3^birds were liberated in August, 1902, in the smaller orchard. An 

 examination of this orchard in July, 1903, indicated that the beetles 

 w^ere rapidly spreading, and that they would soon cover the smaller 

 orchard. An estimate at this time of the number of ladybirds in all 

 stages placed the total at somewhere between 25,000 and 40,000, and 

 from observations breeding evidentlj^ continued at this point up to 

 January. There was therefore in this latitude at least a very 'flatter- 

 ing outlook for good results from the imported beetle. 



None of the colonies sent to northern States, that is, north of the 

 District of Columbia, became established nor gave any useful results, 

 and subsequent experience, and particularly the elaborate tests con- 

 ducted b}^ Dr. J. B. Smith, in New Jersey, would indicate that there 

 is ver}^ little likelihood of usefulness from this beetle for northern 

 fruit regions. That it may be established in the South was full}^ 

 demonstrated by the experience noted in Georgia and b}^ the experience 

 in the orchard attached to the insectary of this Bureau, and in some 

 other similar experiments where the results were perhaps less marked. 



At the time that this beetle began to demonstrate its probable con- 

 siderable usefulness in Georgia and elsewhere in the South, the prac- 

 tical value of the lime, sulfur, and salt wash became fully established, 

 and all commercial orchards were regularly subjected to spraying 

 operations with this mixture. The result was that the scale food of 

 the imported beetle was almost completely destroyed, and this was 

 true in the principal orchards where it was doing its best work. As 

 a consequence all of the beetles starved or their numbers were greatly 

 reduced. 



The local stock of ladybirds in Washington practically disappeared 

 with the gradual extermination of the scale food, and by the action of 

 a native parasite which began to attack it after the first year. This 

 parasite is one that we had previously reared from native ladybirds 

 and had supposed it to be a secondary parasite; but the fact that it is 

 a primar}'- parasite became fully demonstrated, and it attacked the 

 Washington colony with such vigor as to practicall}^ exterminate it. 

 Fortunately this same parasite does not seem to have been equally 

 active in the case of the southern colonies, but it will undoubtedly 

 always be a bar to great usefulness from this and allied ladybirds." 



A very serious difficulty in the introduction and establishment of a 

 predaceous insect like this Asiatic ladybird beetle, which has rather 

 limited powers of flight and is not carried about on nursery stock as 

 are true parasites, is the ver}^ scattering nature of infestation in this 

 country. In spite of the fact that the San Jose scale has becocae so 



«See Proc. Ent. Soc. Washington, Vol. V, No. 2, pp. 138, 139, 1903. 



