216 
and rare insect in its own country, and that it was in New Zealand that it first 
shone out in all the glory of a conqueror of one of the greatest of known pests. Soitis 
now that in New Zealand must be written the last pages of its interesting life. 
Having been very lately sent by the New Zealand government to Auckland, to col- 
lect some of these insects for Icerya-afflicted districts, [had a good opportunity of 
observing the stages Vedalia and Icerya had passed through. Some two years ago 
everything seemed white around Auckland with the clustering Icerya, a great many 
orange and lemon trees (including one entire lemon orchard) were dead, and the 
prospect was as gloomy as could be, till Vedalia (which had been accidentally im- 
ported from Australia) appeared on the scene. Astonishing as it may seem to be, 
and incredible, within one year hardly any of the scales were ljeft, and the ladybirds 
had also disappeared. The little beetles are rank cannibals when pressed by 
hunger, and as no one was able to discover any other food but Icerya upon which 
they will feed, it was feared that, in the absence of Icerya, they would become ex- 
tinct. Therefore considerable uneasiness was felt when, some time ago, the scale 
again began to increase rapidly, and spread everywhere, and, as yet, no Vedalia 
were to be seen. 
On the 8th of April last I arrived in Auckland to see whether it would not be 
possible to procure a few, when I found that in the meantime they had appeared 
and cleared off the accumulated Icerya with an incredible celerity, and then van- 
ished for a second time. Even in a district some 30 miles from the city, where only 
at the end of last December I had seen many thousands of Icerya females, with full 
ovisaes and larve without number, only nine ovisacs of eggs and about 50 seales 
could be obtained wherewith to feed any Vedalia that might be procured on a voy- 
age. On all the Acacia hedges around Auckland in every direction for miles and 
miles, where formerly buckets full of ovisacs could have been gathered in a few 
chains, there was not a scrap of even a torn one to be seen, and in all the nurseries, 
whose owners had formerly been in despair, not one single specimen of either insect 
was to be procured. Only after many days of fruitless search an Acacia hedge was 
come upon where 79 Vedalia were procured and sent to Nelson, an intended ship 
ment to the Cape of Good Hope having been abandoned. From observation, 
which itis needless to particularize, the following conclusions were arrived at: 
(1) That Vedalia has unquestionably some other food resources besides Icerya and 
its cannibal practices, although it could not be determined at the time; (2) that in 
its first attack upon Icerya it runs over the enemy and leaves a few eggs (two or 
three) in some 5 or 6 per cent of the ovisacs, and it is these and the few larve which 
escape that found the second Icerya invasion; (3) that the beetles keep on the 
hedges all through the winter months, although so hidden as not to be easily eap- 
tured, without a net; (4) that Vedalia larve soon perish for want of food, but in the 
imago state they will live for a very long time, probably nearly throughout their 
natural life, feeding upon their own eggs, which they devour as soon as laid; 
(5) that this exhausting system of warfare will very soon cause both insects to be- 
come exceedingly rare, but that Icerya will always have a great advantage in its 
food being abundant and always at hand, whereas that of Vedalia is at best uncer- 
tain and doubtful. 
These conclusions are little other than a fulfillment of Prof. C. V. Riley’s predic- 
tions written in the pages of INSECT LIFE. 
THE CHINESE INSECT-FUNGUS DRUG. 
Through the courtesy of Mr. A. C. Jones, United States consul, sta- 
tioned at Chin Kiang, China, and the commissioner of customs of that 
port, we have received specimens of the officinal preparation of the par- 
asitic fungus, Cordyceps chinensis. This Cordyceps is parasitic on a 
