BENEFICIAL INSECTS 
the work constituting the preliminary 
scouting. 
Whenever a colony is located, we dig 
into the pine-needles, moss, leaves, etc., 
and through past experience we are en- 
abled to estimate about how many pounds 
the said colony will yield. A little map 
is then roughly drawn on a card, a tree 
is blazed marking this spot, and the-col- 
ony numbered with a notation on.the back 
of card, giving conditions, probable 
amount obtainable, together with any in- 
formation the collector thinks would be 
useful. 
It will be understood that the work 
above described is but the beginning of 
the real work of collecting, which starts 
the last of December and continues until 
the last of February. Our field men at 
that time again go into the mountains and 
establish a camp as a center of opera- 
tions, and proceed to make collections 
from colonies previously located. 
When practicable a mule is taken along 
from the camp to carry the ladybirds, two 
men usually working together, and with 
fairly good luck they will collect from 
50 to 100 pounds of the beetles in a day. 
Fig. 9. 
of using sieve. 
Showing method 
Collecting Ladybirds. 
Note the masses. of lady- 
birds upon the rocks and rubbish. 
‘Various methods of separating the 
ladybirds from the pine needles and 
debris have been tried out and discarded. 
The most successful arrangement, and the 
one now in use, has been a canvas sack, 
open at both ends; with a coarse mesh 
Sieve sewed in one end of the sack, com- 
posed entirely of wire, the bottom of the 
sack being tied with a drawstring and 
securely fastened. The use of this is 
quickly seen when the men get to work, 
for the beetles are found in clustered 
masses, often as big as one’s two fists, 
under the leaves and pine needles on the 
ground. Two men usually work together; 
one man scoops them up and throws them 
into the sieve, while the other man passes 
them through, rejecting as much of the 
vegetable and other debris as he can pos- 
sibly get rid of. 
When the sieve-sack is full they are 
619 
Fig. 10. A Single Shipment of Ladybirds. 
The crate holds 33,000 individuals and con- 
stitutes a colony for five acres of melons or 
orchard infested with aphids (plant lice). 
transferred to ordinary flour sacks, se- 
curely fastened at the end, and laid out 
on the snow, later to be taken out via 
the mule pack train to the railroad. 
Inasmuch as the colonies in December 
and January are usually buried beneath 
several feet of snow, it would not be pos- 
Fig. 11. The Ladybirds con- 
(Hinpodamia 
vergens) are Measured in a Chute-like grain. 
slides and 
They are 
The machine is operated with 
counts 33,000 at each operation. 
packed in excelsior. 
