1172 The American Naturalist. [ December, 
— THE remarkable success attending the recent introduction 
of the Australian lady beetle—the Cardinal Vedalia—into the 
orange groves of California to destroy the Fluted Scale, has called 
general attention to this method of checking insect injuries, and 
in many quarters expectations that are hardly justified by our 
present knowledge of the biological laws governing the subject 
"have apparently been raised as to the practical possibilities of this 
phase of economic entomology. While there can be no doubt 
that the introduction of the Cardinal Vedalia has proven one of 
the most significant triumphs in the agricultural annals of the 
decade, it is yet too early to draw general conclusions from its 
history. In cases of this kind the intricate laws regulating the 
interactions of organisms and adjustment to environment must 
be given time to operate before definite conclusions can be 
reached. No organism can multiply beyond the limits of its 
food supply. Reports from California indicate that the Cardinal 
Vedalia, which has so far fed exclusively upon the Fluted Scale, is 
rapidly reaching this limit, and it is difficult to see how there can 
fail to be a reaction upon its own members as fast as this limit is 
reached. Doubtless man can greatly assist in preventing too | 
great a reaction by sending specimens from one locality to 
another. The development of these two insects—the Fluted Scale 
and the Cardinal Vedalia—in the orange groves of California 
will be watched with great interest by the entomological as well 
as the agricultural public.—W. 
—TuE numbers of the American NATURALIST for 1890 were 
issued at the following dates: January, Feb. 3d; February, Feb. 
28th; March, April 3d; April, April 25th; May, June 4th; 
June, July 15th; July, August 8th; August, Sept. 3d; Septem- 
‚ Oct. 14th; October, Nov. 8th; November, Dec. 6th; De- 
> = Teuber, Jan. oth, 1891. 
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