The  fruit  growers  of  the  east  are  now  obliged  to  continue  the 
artificial  method  in  order  to  save  their  plants. 
But  in  Florida  and  in  other  parts  of  the  south,  where  the  climate 
is  warm  and  moist  Aspidiotus  perniciosus  has  found  an  efficacious 
enemy  in  a fungus,  Sphaerostilba  coccophila , which  has  been  in- 
troduced by  Koebele  to  Hawaii  also. 
DISAPIS  PENTAGON  A,  TARG. 
The  scalebug  of  the  mulberry  tree  is  probably  a native  of  China 
and  Japan,  but  has  been  imported  besides  Italy  into  North 
America,  Australia  and  other  countries,  causing  damage  every- 
where but  nowhere  so  serious  and  as  continuous  as  in  our  coun- 
try. The  artificial  fight  and  the  law  which  compels  it  is  well 
known  to  all  in  Italy,  while  the  results  are  hardly  worth  men- 
tioning notwithstanding  the  expense  involved.  At  least  since 
1904,  when  through  a publication  of  Sasaki  it  became  known  that 
it  had  predatory  and  endophagous  parasites  in  Japan,  their  intro- 
duction  should  have  been  attempted  in  Italy.  Instead  it  was 
1902  before  Berlese  pointed  out  a natural  method  of  control 
against  Diaspis  and  having  learned  in  1905  from  Howard  that 
there  existed  in  North  America  endophagous  parasites  of  Diaspis 
pentagona,  he  asked  him  to  send  him  infested  Diaspis.  From 
those  which  were  kindly  sent  to  him,  he  obtained  a species  of 
hymenopteron,  which  Howard  recognized  as  new  and  named  it 
Prospaltella  Berlesei.  The  laboratory  at  Portici,  direction  of 
which  I had  in  1904,  began  in  the  same  year  to  write  to  Japan  for 
vegetable  and  animal  parasites,  and  in  1905  to  North  America 
where  C kilo  corns  similis  had  been  introduced,  but  not  till  1907 
could  I obtain,  through  the  kindness  of  Prof.  L,  O.  Howard,  many 
Diaspis  parasitized  by  Prospaltella , which  were  taken  to  Acerra 
(Caserta),  Grottamare  (Ascoli  Piceno)  and  to  Palombina  near 
Ancona. 
!This  pasaite  has  become  acclimated  in  the  above  named  and 
other  places  of  northern  Italy  and  at  Pisa  where  it  has  been  intro- 
duced by  the  entomological  station  at  Florence,  but  so  far  we 
cannot  speak  about  its  value  in  the  fight  against  Diaspis,  because 
we  do  not  know  well  the  biology  of  Prospaltella. 
In  October,  1908,  I imported  from  North  America  the  two 
Coccinellids,  Rhizobius  lophantae  (of  Australian  origin)  and  Chilo- 
corus  bivulnerus,  good  predators  of  Diaspis.  During  the  current 
year  it  will  be  seen  whether  they  have  become  accilmated  and 
what  contribution  they  can  make  to  the  destruction  of  the  mul- 
berry tree  scale.. 
If  these  enemies  will  not  succeed  in  fighting  Diaspis  it  will  be 
necessary  to  introduce  still  other  species  of  Hymenoptera  and 
coccinellids  which  exist  specially  in  China  and  Japan  and  also 
elsewhere.  Prof.  L.  O.  Howard  informed  me  that  in  1895  he  ob- 
tained a species  of  parasite  from  Diaspis  pentagona  received  from 
