The herald., 1893-07-22
THE ORCUS CHALYBEuS AGAIN.
The New Ladybug Causes
Great Interest.
A Guardian for Her Appointed by
the Supervisors.
MIR. John Scott, the County Horticul-
tural Offioer, Presented His Con-
servative Views, with His
Reasons for His Opinion.


lady bug, the enemy of the red and black
scale, continues unsbated.
The old fight against Prof. Koebele
will crop out, however, and the faint
praise that damns is being awarded to
the man whose discovery of the vedolia
saved the orange industry in Southern
California. This jealousy and perhaps
some commercial interests concerned in
the production of artificial means OF
fighting the red and black scale, cause
the good work being done by Madame
Oreus Chalybeus to be still treated with
coolness in many quarters. But the fact
remains that everything that Professor
Koebele prophesied about the bug is be.
ing verified.
MIR. scorT's STATEMENT.
Mr.. John Scott, the horticultural
commissioner for this county, is one OF
the ultra conservative experts who seem
to view the O. chalybeus with distrust.
As he has in the HERALD been come
what criticized his statement on the
mattor ia herewith given. 1t will be OBJ
served that according to Mr.. Scott'e
computation the bugs were not Matched
until the latter part of June, go the fact
of there still being red scalee on the
trees is not much of an argument against
the value OF the bugs as they scarcely
have had time to acquire An appetite.
The present bug controversy Is any
thing but personal matter. Quite to
the contrary, it is of much Importance
to California horticulture. no matter
from what standpoint it is viewed. Ow-
ing TO its bearing upon the growing of
economic or ornamental plants, whether
for pleasure or for profit, it should be
carefully studied, and only the truth be
published in relation to the vexed prob.
lem of fighting our insect foes by either
natures remedy (when found efficiently
or by artificial means. The present
controversy is largely brought about by
conflict of opinion.
The best eutomologists express oppo-
site views touching the eficicacy of Mr..
Koebeles' importations of predaceous
and parasitical insects chow about the
Vendolia) while the growers in Austria
liza, in 30 far as 1 have been able to
learn, place no faith in these ladybirds,
bnt free their orchards OF red and black
scale by spraying.
In rebuttaA of this testimony Profess
sor koebele assures US that these lady
birds, In Australia. are again subject to
the attack of parasitical insects, but
that in sending consignments to Califor-
mia he has studiously avoided to also
import the said parasite with them. So
the testimony OF the Australian author
tiles Though none of them mention
this fact in either their correspondence
or their published documents in so far
as my observation goes)' is vitiated to
just this extent, and we are thrown up
on our own experiences with these in
sects and can only await the final solu-
tion of the question: ''Are they effec
tual parasites or feeders upon the red
and black scale to such an extent as to
render artificial means unnecessary ?"
To this proposition the whole matter
SINNERS down regardless of reports and
circulated by persons who
are for the most part opposed to clean.
ing their orchards. Let US now briefly
note the net results of these lady birds
in their new home, and also incidentally
the care and attention that has been
given them by the agent of the division
OF entomology (Prof. d. w. Coquillett)
and the Los Angeles county horticul.
tural commission
The HERALD has been incorrectly in
formed when it says that no attention
has been given to the care of these in
sects, or that there has been an attempt
to not give them fair play.
In your issue of July Goth you quote
from the fruit-growefs' report made and
published in the HERALD of September
"a, 1892, but you fail to quote the last
paragraph, which says that Though not
pronouncing them (the ladybirds) a
failure, we cannot, on the other hand,
pronounce them as effective on the red
and black scales as the vedalia on white
Ia claim made by Koebele.) We sug-
gest that they be given every care and
attention iu the orchards where they
have been placed, in the hope that they
will yet become established in the broad
sense, /. e., as effective parasites. MIR.
Kcebele sage 1t will require four and
possibly five years until they multiply
in sufficient numbers to not only stock
all the orchards in Southern California.
but free them from the red and black
scales. He estimates that by next
April or May, 1898, there will be Hufi-
cient to colonize many orchards. Let
as hope he is correct in his statements,
but we fear that hope is vain." This
position is as tenable today as it was last
September.
Practically the relative merits of Or
Gus chalyb beus as an efeetual means of
fighting the red and black scales are yet
to be agcertained. Alter being in an
orchard upon the original tree for IS
months they have failed to clean it, The
only ray of hope lie that they are breed
ing. Between November OF 1891 and
April, 1892, 442 orcus chalybeus have
been liberated, and from this parent
stock they have only of late shown any
indication of increasing. Careful COM
putation places the number pow availa-
BILE at 1900 beetles. In other words,
they have increased about 800 per cent.
But how about the scale? Here an
other factor enters the problem. While
Just at this season there are many dead
scale, the question is, what per cent
have been parasitized or done away
with by the ladybird? OF course many
have died natural death, others have
been attacked by a fungus. while still
others are devoured by the twice
stabbed ladybirds and species of scym-
nus. Mind you, we are not detracting
from orcus chalybeus one tithe OF its
work, but all of these agencies have con-
tributed more or less to the decrease of
the red and black scale.
But what percentage OF scale has
peeu destroyed on this particular treee
since the advent of orcus chalybeus?
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