56 
me. ^ly successor is i\Ir. Dudley iMoulton and Williams is still 
the inspector. No doubt Mr. Swezey has notified you about the 
various shipments. I understand that he has been successful in 
rearing some home-bred material from the parasites. 
I find things here very fine, but the Pseiidococciis nipae and the 
melon fly need your attention. Governor Cleghorn is very much 
distressed about his trees, which are covered with P. nipae and 
although Cryptolaemus is plentiful, it does not seem to go for the 
P. nipae, preferring P. z'irgatiis and others. A great many com- 
plaints are coming in about the infestation of alligator pear trees 
and other shrubbery with P. nipae and all want a good parasite 
for it. Please advise me what you deem best in this matter. Is 
there anything in Mexico for it? The parasites which Compere 
sent for fruit flies from India did not help the melon maggot, so 
that we are up against it yet and this pest is getting very bad. I 
hope that I will hear from you about all these matters. 
Please give my kindest regards to iNIrs. Koebele and believe 
me ever. 
Yours very truly, 
Edw. ]\I. Ehrhorx, 
Superintendent of Enromology. 
Waldkirch i/Br., Baden, 14/12/09. 
My Dear Ehrhorn : — ?^Iany thanks for your letter of Novem- 
ber 18. To me it is hard to hear that so many of the parasites 
perished on the way and chiefly from material detained at S. E. 
This is a point. This parasite is inactive at a temperature below 
55 deg. Fahrenheit, in consequence would hardly hatch out if 
not kept in heated room. I kept my breeding up until I heard 
from Swezey of the rearing of his first brood — only then I shipped 
my last lot — not even then, still have a few on hand if all should 
fail. 
From iMexico I forwarded some ladybirds — Hyperaspis, if I 
remember rightly, to Kotinsky. The same was found on Pseudo- 
coccus nipae, in the Valley of ^Mexico, but I have never heard a 
word about this as of other material sent — as from Arizona nu- 
merous Coleopterous cocoons which I took to be Histcr destroy- 
ing all dipterous larvae and puparia under cowdung in fields. 
Those larvae would follow the diptera down to two inches or 
more into the ground and devour everything, forming solid, hard 
cocoons out of soil. Only very shortly (on December 6, 1909) 
I mailed two vials with those Coccids on grass (you named one 
specimen for me at Alameda), felt-like, white exudations in 
which eggs are laid. From this I bred Chalcid that may do on 
eggs of Pseudococcus or other related Coccids. We must try. 
The Coccid is American and from these we must get a proper 
parasite. I will yet see to it. 
