The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-10-13


Marsden were seen yesterday regard
! ing Mr. Wicke's antipathy for the lady
birds and his reported enemy for the
blight. Prof. Koebele had just return
ed from visit to Mr.. Wicke and had
brought with him branch of the mon
keypod tree which was harboring and
supporting both the blight and the
bug.
Both Mr. Marsden and Prof. Koebele
were willing to allow Mr.. Wicke to
treat his monkey pod bush with boraX
water if he wished, but they would
like to have impressed upon the public
that the salvation of the trees and
plants in the Hawaiian Islands de-
pends upon the life of the lady bird.
There are a number of species of lady
birds which feed upon vegetation, but
none have ever reached here, and it is
hoped they never will.
AS this is so, then Mr.. Wicke's state
ment that the lady birds are sucking
out the life of the tree must be a mis-
take. The cottony substance contain
ing the larvae of the mealy bug is
similar to the larvae of the lady bird,
and the mistake of Mr.. Wicke is in
taking one for the other.
Two years ago the mealy bug COW
cred all the monkey pod trees in Ho-
noluiu, but the introduction of the
cryptolaemus soon reduced the num-
ber. This is evidence that the lady
birds have prevented the destruction
of the trees.
Mr.. Wicke was asked to break off a
branch infested by the blight and put it
in the jar containing lady birds and see
if they would not clean off the blight.
This he declined to do, because he is
satisfied that the lady bird does not
lay eggs, and consequently does not de-
posit them in the eggs of the mealy
bug or in it's larvae. Mr. Wicke does
not say by what means they propagate;
he knows they do, and there he is
willing to let the matter rest
In some respects the larvae of the
cryptolaemus so closely resembles the
mealey bug that it is difficult to dis
tinguish them apart until the crypo-
laemus reaches the stage where it be-
comes active and begins to crawl.
From the time the eggs hatch, the
larvae begins to feed upon the mealy
bug, and it continues to feed inces-
sanity for fifteen days
At this point the larvae has become
gorged and it then CLUES itself to a
branch or twig until it changes from
the crawling bug into the winged lady
bird and takes its departure Within
a few days the lady bird is ready to lay
its eggs, and it searches for a tree
containing the mealy bug In this way
the work of determination goes on
The trouble with Mr.. Wicke is that
he has never made a study of the
blights that are here, or their enemies.
He has taken a monkey pod tree and
by simple investigation drawn his
conclusions, and these are final.
Chief Justice Judd was in the Com
missioner's office during the e-discussion
of blight and borax. He, too, has faith
in bOrax for some things, but his ex-
perience with the lady birds on his
fruit trees has given him greater faith
in the enemies to the blight INTRODUCED
by Mr.. Marsden and Prof. Koebele.
The Chief Justice spoke of the con-
dition of the trees up to the time of
the introduction of the lady birds He
had acted upon the advice of the Com
missioner and sprayed the trees until
his yardman was weary of his place.
He bought gallons and gallons of wash,
only to find ants carrying up the blight
as soon as the tree was dry. Spraying
or washing the trees merely brought
temporary relief; the one thing need
full was the lady bird. and directly that
was introduced and he obtained a col
ony, the blight disappeared from his