ENTOMOLOGICAL

Otago Witness, Issue 1950, 9 July 1891, Page 8

ENTOMOLOGICAL

NEW INSECT PESTS 4)N ORNAMENTAL TREES.

~ "Whilst employed in procuring Vedalia cardinaliß for Nelson »nd Blenheim, Mr R. Allan Wight observed in the suburbs of Auck. land that two inßeotß, not native to New Zealand, were killing several of the most beautiful varieties of the ornamental trees, and he Besured speoimena to transmit to the Minister of Agriculture, with 1 a statement of their work. These have been submitted to Mr Maskell, who recognises them as the two insects whose life history and habits he had technically describedin the "New Zealand Xranaactiona " (vol. zvii) as " damaging pines, throughout the colony." The one is a scale insect known as Dactylopius auritanatua. This Mr Wight found upon all the varieties of the araucarias. On A. lancelata, A. imbricata, A. bidwillii, and A. exelsa, the scales were in many instances so very thickly spread over all the branches and twigs that it was impossible the trees could long sustain the strain upon their resources, and in several instances the bidwilliis had already succumbed and were dead and dry. The bidwillii seems to be the most affected, but the others era co -nuch so that unlesß some steps are taken to afford relief that class of trees are doomed. Even the graceful favourite of all suburbs n plantations, the Araucaria exelsa, or Norfolk Island pine, is severely attacked. The other itiseot is ope cf a still more repulsive aspect- , a kermapbis, known technically as •'Kermaphfa pini," an insect allied to and not together unlike the so-called Amer can apple blight;. This attacks the pines (properly so called). At present it seems confined to the Pinu" halepensis, or Levant pine, whioh is by no means a favourite tree, but there is no reason why the universally grown and deservedly esteemed Pious insignia should not also become its prey, and there is much reason to fear, or rather there is an absolute oertatoty, that in a few yean, if these pests are not dealt jritb, th« suburbs of Auckland, will b« stripped.

of these beautiful ornamental plantations whioh at the present time form bo distinguishing a feature in our New Zealand surroundings, and call forth bo much admiration from our tourist visitors.

VEDALIA CARDINALIS.

Already a letter has been received in Auckland from the president of the Nelson (fruitgrowers' Association, to say that the Vedalia ladybird beetles have arrived safely at their destination, with the exception of a few which were lost, no doubt from insufficient food, on the voyage, which was unduly prolonged by some post office' arrangements ; and that they have already destroyed a great many of the cottony cushion scales that they were sent to act againßt. Seventy-nine speoimens were transmitted to Nelson, and since then an agent of Mr Wight's (who has been supplied by hi 3 arrangements witb ample stores of ioerya to serve as food in transit) has been able to collect and forward for the telief of Blenheim 10 healthy specimens; bo that we may hope that terrible scourge, the worst of all insect pests, the cottony aoale, will very soon be routed in all those districts of New Zealand where it yet maintains a footing. A great prinoiple in economic entomology has been clearly and most practically demonstrated by this most useful little ladybird— that the easiest, most natural, and most effeotive method of getting rid of destructive insect peats is to employ their natural enemies to destroy them. Every injurious insect has some one or more deadly enemies, which hunt them and live upon them ; and it is a singular fact that the more abundant those injurious insects are, the more rapidly do those whioh live upon them increase. It would seem, then, that the greatest benefit the Government of a country can oonfer upon its agricultural interests, upon whioh undoubtedly the national prosperity is founded, is to take steps to provide such ineeot friends to the farming oommunity. In the case of New Zealand it is to be hoped that some judicious means will be employed to prevent us from losing our good friend the Vedalia oardinalis, and also to seek for and prooure oures of the same effectual kind for some of our other inseot pests. There are carnivorous insects which attack the oodhn moth, the apple blight, and several other pests. There are even inseots whioh attaok obnoxiouß weeds, one of which devours the green seed of the thistle to such an extent as to make it very soarce in some countries, in fact, there is no direotion in which the experiments Ja acclimatisation could be more benefioially earned on than in the introduction of useful inseot friends, and yet this is just the very direotion ' in whioh no steps are ever taken in New Zealand.

ENTOMOLOGI6T

PHILI.OXBBA.— The Department of Agriculture have just issued a handbook on this subject, containing "correspondence and extracts reprintedyfor publis information," a sopy of which baa been torwarded to us.