25 
found at the time of my visit. Both of these gentlemen informed me 
that the insects disappeared shortly after they were placed upon the 
trees, and not a trace of them had since been seen. 
I next visited the orchard grove of Mr. Hiram Hamilton, near Orange. 
Two colonies of Orcus chalybeus had been received by Mr. Hamilton; 
the first colony was received in February, 1892, and consisted of about 
half a dozen specimens ; the second reached him in July of the same year 
and comprised about seventy specimens. A careful examination which 
I made of the tree upon which these insects had been placed, as well as 
a large number of the adjoining trees, failed to disclose a single speci- 
men of this lady-bird in any of its stages. Mr. Hamilton's experience 
with these lady-birds was similar to that of the persons mentioned above. 
Last season it was reported that these lady-birds were breeding, and 
that their eggs had been found on the tree upon which this colony had 
been placed a few days previously, but an examination that I made of 
these supposed eggs of Orcus chalybeus proved that they were in reality 
those of one of our native lady-birds — either Hippodamia convergens 
or H. ambigua. 
It will thus be seen that of the five colonies of Orcus chalybeus above 
mentioned, sent out by the secretary of the California State Board of 
Horticulture, not a trace can be found at the present time. Of course 
some of them may appear again at some future time. The fact that 
two of these colonies contained seventy and one hundred and fifty 
specimens, respectively, indicates how very difficult it is to establish a 
colony of these beneficial insects. 
The colony of Orcus chalybeus, which I placed on a lemon tree in the 
grove then owned by Mr. A. F. Kercheval, but which is now the prop- 
erty of Mr. L. M. Kercheval, successfully passed the winter out of doors, 
unprotected by any other shelter than that afforded by the trees them- 
selves. This colony originally consisted of about 360 specimens, 325 of 
which were received in January, 8 in February, and 27 in April, 1892. 
At the present time I would estimate their number at between 1,200 
and 1,500 specimens, principally adults, but quite a large number of 
eggs, there being very few larvae or pupae. By far the greater number 
of specimens occur on the lemon tree, upon which I placed the original 
colony; on each of the adjacent trees not more than half a dozen of 
these lady-birds are to be found. To the northward of the original 
tree they have spread to a distance of about 200 feet ; to the eastward, 
70 feet ; to the southward, 300 feet ; and to the westward, 100 feet. 
Careful and repeated examinations of the trees outside of this limit 
failed to reveal the presence of this lady-bird upon any of them. I 
estimate that there are at the present time only about one-third as 
many red scales (Aspidiotus aurantii) upon the original lemon tree as 
were on it at the time that I placed the first colony of these lady-birds 
upon it, about nineteen months ago. The tree is about 25 feet high, 
with a spread of branches of about 20 feet. 
