52 



through the groves. The distributions made from the central office in 

 Los Angeles are of bred parasites, which are sent through the mails 

 in small wooden boxes. The abundance of this parasite on the pepper 

 tree is something amazing. Some branches of this tree plastered with 

 scale insects were examined, and every scale contained the parasite, 

 either in the larval, pupal, or adult stage, and they were emerging in 

 the breeding jars b}^ hundreds. 



Later, December 19, the writer, in company with Mr. Jeffre3 T , made 

 an exploration of the region between Monrovia and Azusa, in Los 

 Angeles County, chiefly about the latter place. Various ranches were 

 inspected where the Scutellista had been liberated. The black scale 

 in these ranches was practically cleaned up, and the few remaining 

 scales were parasitized. The natural spread of this parasite from one 

 ranch to another was well illustrated in this region, and all of the 

 ranchers were most enthusiastic over the outlook. Nothing in the 

 way of control by a natural enemy has given such promise or has 

 roused so much interest in California since the introduction of the 

 Vedalia. 



The following day a trip was made, in company' with Commissioner 

 Strong and Horticultural Inspector Edk. Maskew, through the coast 

 region near Long Beach. Here a most interesting outcome was noted. 

 Mr. Maskew, who has been very much interested in the distribution of 

 this parasite, and had failed to get as large a supply from the Los 

 Angeles office as he desired for his local distributions, accidentally dis- 

 covered that the horseweed (Erigeron canadense L.) growing in the 

 neighborhood of some pepper trees bordering an orchard where a col- 

 ony had been placed was thickly infested with the black scale, and, 

 to his surprise and delight, he found that the scale on this weed 

 was extensivel} 7 parasitized by the Scutellista. From this stock he 

 was enabled to distribute quantities of the parasite throughout his 

 district. More interesting still was his discovery that the black scale 

 occurred quite commonly on various other weeds, such as cocklebur 

 and ragweed, and very extensively in an adjoining field of Chili- 

 peppers, and that on all of these plants the infestation with Scutellista 

 was becoming very general, so that he had here an immense stock of 

 parasites for distribution. The writer visited this locality, and con- 

 firmed by a personal examination the abundance of the scale on the 

 plants named, and particularly on the Chilipeppers, and the general 

 infestation of this scale with the parasite. 



The evidence pointing to the partial hibernation of the parasite, 

 already noted, was furnished by Mr. Maskew. He had made consid- 

 erable collections of the scale on the horseweed for breeding and for 

 dissemination in orchards. The weeds were at this season of the } T ear 

 entirely dead and dry. Some of them had been kept in jars very 

 much exceeding the normal time for the emergence of all the para- 



