ENTOMOLIGICAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1934, 19 March 1891, Page 5

ENTOMOLIGICAL.

By. Entomologist, ICERYA PURCHASI AT NELSON AND THE NORTH. At Nelson this destructive pest has lonf been felt and baß done much damage, bul owing, it is supposed, to the importation of i parasite fly, its progress has bo far beet checked that it has not spread quite so rapidlj as it otherwise would have done. In some other districts in tho north of the Middle Island it is also on the increase. In the neigh' bourhood of Auckland, where it once swarmed in millions and was apparently extinguished by the little beetle " vedalia oardinalis," it if returning, and in some places has already increased to an alarming extent, the Auckland people having very foolishly declined a present of the same fly, so useful at Nelson, to save the few pounds expenses of freight, &o. A( Whangarei the case is assuming a very seriouE aspeot. Mr ft. Allan Wight, entomologist tc Borne of the more northern societies, vibited Whangarei in their interests in December last and found that although the pest had barely shown itself in two of the leading orange groves, ifc was present in the Whau whau Valley, swarming in hordes or the neglected aoacia hedges that have spread over a large extent of ground, and also upon the furz-oovered lands in the othei directions, and that it was making vast accu mutations, wbiob, if neglected, will oertainlj burst upon the new and thriving citrus plantations and destroy them. He considered il his duty, in the interests of other districts tc .report the situation to the Honourable the Minister of Agriculture. In this case, as ai Wairqa South, not a torn or empty ovasao, oi any signs of a natural enemy was to be seen amongst the vaat numbers of uncommonly healthy scales, the females of which had the ovasacs loaded with eggs and young, larvae, These dangerous insects might have been got tinder at one time at a very small cost, as there was then a large number of vedalia to be had both at Napier and Wairoa South; aa also al other places. Some beetles were indeed pro cured, but there ia every reason to supposed that those Bent were not of the proper variety, The experiment therefore failed, and the opportunity has been lost, as there are novs none to be had. Professor Riley, whose kind' ness in such matters is never failing, hat written to say that there are in California twe propagating houses for this invaluable beetle, but as ioerya are now hardly to be procured k California alive to feed it upon, and as it will eat nothing else, it is very difficult to keep c supply on band, and he doubts if it can be spared. It ia very much to ba regretted thai the Government of New Zealand do not Bee their way io expend the small sum neceasarv to defray the expenses of attending to auob matters, because there are many scientific men who would take a pleasure in doing so, were even their expenses out of pocket paid, As things are now, everyone has heard of the millions of pounds' worth of losses inflicted upoc both California and Cape Colony by Icerya purchasi j and a child can see that these insects, against which all human means failed even in energetic America, will Boon crush out new and flourishing orange industry in the North, as the phylloxera will the vine j but i( seems impossible to get anyone to take an in. terest in the subject, and even those who arc in the moßt danger cannot refrain from expressions of indifference to what is ooming to them, The Whangarei fruit-growers, taken individually, are a very enterprising get of men, whe understand and thoroughly attend to then business; but as a body, taken collectively, they are nowhere — tb<%t is "to say, they are formed into a fruit-growers' association, but they neither attend meetings nor act in any vr&y in coccert for their mutual good, except in the matter of fruit shows. The result is that beoauso they each one kuop the various pests down in then own orchards, they ignore the existence and resent the mention of large numbers of injurious insects, which are ever collecting in the smaller gardens, waste lands, and amateur fruit-growerB 1 places, So long as these are confined to snob as the blcck scale, the mealy bug, the American blight, the pear saw fly, the green and bronze beetles, tho codlia moth, the red and other small ceases, the borer b >efcle, &0,, &c, even tho worst of them may be kept out ; but when it comes to the phylloxora, the cottony cushion scale, the case ia much more serious. No amouct of indignation at the mention of such insects, which certainly abound in the district, will euffica to save either vine or orange ; and unless they are willing to give up a portion of their time and incur reasonable expenses in combination for mutual defence, it is not very re&*ouf*bla to expect either Gfovsvament or private assistance, unless upon the prinoiple of looking af tor the interests of other dietriota, likely to be injured by their neglect, and more willing to help themselves. With regard to Icerya it is remarkable in Whangarei that when the attention of a fruit-grower ie drawn to the great and near danger banging over the district he too often replies i " Oh, it matters not to me, I have no pranga trees j

h my orchard is of vines, applea," &0., &o, Yet '„ the terrible pest is well known to be so omnie yerous that hardly any vegetable ia free from 1 1 its attack, and certainly no fruit tree or culiq nary plant, and few if any flower or ornamented tree or shrub.