128 
and egg mass of acericola nearly complete, and a careful search re¬ 
vealed neither soft maple trees or bark-lice in the vicinity. By what 
means they found their way to these few trees, isolated as they were 
from others of their kind, was a mystery to me. 
Natural Enemies and Parasites. —Nature has made violent efforts to 
destroy the Lecanium acericola , and one of the most effectual ways of 
combatting with this destructive insect is by cultivating and pro¬ 
tecting the natural enemies. To the Lady-birds we are most indebted 
for services in this direction, since unlike many kinds of insects they 
continue their work of destruction throughout their entire active 
life, the larva and imago subsisting upon the same kind of food. 
Three kinds of Lady-birds are found more or less numerous upon 
the infested trees during the summer months. The first we shall 
mention, Hyperaspis signata, Olivier, is, perhaps, the most abundant 
and valuable of the whole. The larva is small, light colored, and 
covered with a peculiar white downy substance. They are found in¬ 
side the waxy mass devouring the eggs before they are hatched. In 
this way many eggs are prevented from hatching, and since they oc¬ 
cur inconsiderable numbers we owe much to them for the valuable 
assistance rendered. The outside of the mass appears entire, but by 
carefully separating it the larva can be observed, by the aid of a com¬ 
mon lens, in the act of devouring the contents of the eggs. Only one 
larva is found in each mass. The larva change to the pupa state 
upon the tree, from which appears a small black beetle, with one 
bright red spot on each elytron. 
The next in importance is the Chilocorus bivalnerus , Muls, as shown 
in figure 29; although not occurring in as great numbers as 
the signata , yet they are exceedingly beneficial, since they 
attack the young larvae. The larvae, as shown in Fig. 80 are 
readily recognized foom the Hyperaspis signata by the larger 
size and being covered with a large number of black spines, 
neras US Muis" an d are not found inside the egg mass. They are ravenous 
after Riley. ’ creatures, and since it takes a great many lice to appease 
their appetite they work much good in the course of their existence. 
The imago subsists upon the young lice, and is simi¬ 
lar to the signata although much larger. It has, how¬ 
ever, the same black appearance, and red spots on the 
elytra. The larvae cluster together when entering the 
pupa state from which the perfect beetle emerges. 
This is effected through a split which opens upon the 
Fig. 29—Chi- 
Fig. 30—Larva; af¬ 
ter Riley. 
back. 
The fifteen-spotted Lady-bird, Anastis 15-punctata , Olivier, is also 
destructive to the Bark-lice, and is even larger than the preceding 
ones, but does not occur in the same numbers. The larvae are fur¬ 
nished with six rows of stout spinulated spines along the body, the 
upper surface of which is black while beneath it is pale, and is about 
half an inch in length. The beetle is black on the head and protho¬ 
rax, having seven black spots on each brownish-red elytron, and a 
black spot on the scutellum; it is seven-twentieths of an inch long. 
Every effort should be made to protect these Lady-birds in all their 
stages, and when applying artificial remedies care should be taken 
that it does not destroy the friends as well as the foes. I succeeded in 
