PREVIOUS WORK WITH INSECT PARASITES. 
33 
secured leave of absence and started for America, carrying with him 
a box of parasitized scales, and landed at New York on June 2. 
His box of parasites was at once forwarded to Washington, and the 
Bureau of Entomology notified Mr. Ehrhorn by telegram, repacked 
the box, and sent it to California. Mr. Ehrhorn succeeded in tem- 
porarily establishing the Scutellista indoors and out around his home 
at Mountain View, Cal. September 19, 1900, Mr. C. YV. Mally, 
Lounsbury's assistant, sent two more boxes by post direct to Cali- 
fornia, addressing them to S. F. Leib, of San Jose, notifying the 
senior author to wire Mr. Ehrhorn to be on the lookout for them. A 
third lot was sent October 31 of the same year. These later sendings 
were small, and both failed to yield living parasites. More were 
requested, and on Lounsbury's return to South Africa a box was 
shipped in cool chamber to England and thence direct to California 
by express, Lounsbury's letter of February 28, 1901, to the bureau 
stating: "To avoid extra delay in transmission the box goes direct 
to California, but will you kindly have a message sent to ( raw to 
advise him of its coining ?" rnfortunately the box was detained by 
a customs odicer at New York, but the bureau secured its release by 
the Government dispatch agent, Mr. I. P. Koosa. A tew parasites 
emerged after arrival, but failed t<> propagate. October 1, 1901, 
Lounsbury started another sending by letter post to insure quick 
transit and noninterference by customs. These boxes were delivered 
to Mr. Craw on October 31. Only four females of the Scutellista 
were reared by Mr. Craw, and probably to these four females are due 
all of the Scutellistas subsequently occurring in California. This is 
the full story of the introduction of the species, taken from the letter 
files of t he Bureau of Entomology and the letter files of Mr. Louns- 
bury iu ( 'ape Tow ii. 
Mr. Craw was remarkably successful in his rearings, and during the 
following three years constantly distributed colonies in different por- 
tions of California. By July, 1902, he had distributed 25 colonies. 
It was in the southern part of the State that the parasite did its best 
work, and there for a time it surpassed the most sanguine expecta- 
tions of everyone. It was established in every county south of Point 
Conception and had become very plentiful in Los Angeles, Orange, 
and San Diego Counties. In the colonization districts by midsum- 
mer, 1903, it was estimated that over 90 per cent of the black scale 
had been destroyed. A year or so later there was great mortality 
among these parasites caused by a sudden increase in numbers of 
a predatory mite, Pediculoides ventricosus New]), (fig. 7), which 
destroyed the larvae in vast numbers. The Scutellista gradually 
recovered from this attack, and is at present to be found in very 
many localities in California, keeping the black scale partly in check. 
95G77 — Bull. 91—11 3 
