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(Coccineila septempunctata). Both as larve and adults 
Lady Birds devour great numbers of Aphides and Scale 
Insects, and for this reason they should never be 
destroyed. The females deposit their eggs as a rule on 
Aphid infested plants so that their larvee may not have 
far to wander for their food supply. _ The Beetles are 
all very similar in shape and are mostly black and red, 
or black and yellow in colour. They hibernate during 
the winter beneath bark of trees, under rubbish and in 
outhouses, etc. In the following spring they lay their 
cream-coloured eggs closely packed together in groups. 
The larve are black or leaden-coloured, marked as a rule 
with yellow or orange. They crawl freely about the 
plants and consume great numbers of Aphides and other 
Insects. The pupz are attached to the upper or under- 
sides of the leaves and are broad black objects marked 
with cream-colour or yellow. The adult Lady Birds 
appear early in summer and are common objects of the 
field and garden throughout the season. It is note- 
worthy that the destructive Scale Insect [cerya purchasi 
which devastated the orange groves of California 
has been almost entirely destroyed and checked by the 
importation into America of an Australian Lady Bird 
Novius cardinalis. The Scale Insect has thus remained 
permanently controlled, and the Nowiazs Beetle is now a 
regular resident in California. The orange Scale Insect 
has been controlled by a similar measure in Florida, New 
Zealand, Portugal, Cape Colony, Formosa, Egypt, France, 
and other countries. HOVERER FLIES belong to the family 
of the Syrphide. They are often brilliantly coloured, 
being black with yellow bands, and have the appearance 
of small Wasps. They hover in the air, remaining 
stationary, except for their vibrating wings, over one spot 
for several minutes and then, darting away suddenly, 
hover again over a fresh spot. They only fly in sunshine, 
and rest on leaves and flowers in dull and wet weather; 
they feed mainly upon nectar. Most species of Hoverer 
Flies lay their eggs among colonies of Aphides, and 
their maggot-like larvae on emerging feed voraciously 
upon the latter. When fully fed the pupz are to be 
found enclosed in membraneous puparium on the leaves 
and stems of plants close to where the larve lived. The 
greater number of the members of this family are, there- 
fore, beneficial Insects. 
