PARASITE PESTS.
Some short time ago attention was directed in these columns to the presence in this Colony of Mr Koebele of California, who was on an expedition to capture pest parasites for the Californian fruit growers. His previous visit to these colonies was to find an antidote to the white scale blight of California. He was successful in finding an Australasian ladybird, vedalia cardincetis, a deadly enemy to the cottony cushion scale (icerya) of the orange. Oil this last trip Mr Koebele searched for parasites to destroy the red scale and the woolly aphis. In this quest ho was successful, and at Parramatta he found two types of ladybird ; one, cocci nollidole, he was satisfied would destroy the red scale ; the other, lois confoi'mis, he was confident would greedily lunch off woolly aphis The best arranged plans of men often go wrong. Mr Koebele has had this sad experience. He sent from Sydney by the Mariposa two boxes containing many specimens of the above insects. The case of the latter insect was opened on its arrival in San Francisco and found to be a perfect mass of wet mould, and of the thousands of insects shipped only two with signs of life could be found. These died two days afterwards, despite all care and attention. Of the box of red scale parasites only twenty-six were alive when the box was opened. It appears the insects were put on ice during the voyage that their development might be checked. From a scientific standpoint this was a good scheme, but practically it did not work. The ice gave out, the frigid leaves became damp and then mouldy, and the tiny insects starved to death. The next lot Mr Kcebele sends will be packed perfectly dry.
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New Zealand Mail, Issue 1037, 15 January 1892, Page 25
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294PARASITE PESTS. New Zealand Mail, Issue 1037, 15 January 1892, Page 25
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