Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-05
Nc,U Arrival StiFs Government
BY C. MORAN

naturalists in many parts Of the world,
il was decided that the white scale was
q native CT Australia and had been
brought over to California accidentally
upon Australian plants. IN the same
way it was found to have reached South
Africa and New Zealand, where it had
gradually increased and had become al
most as great a pest as in California.
In Australia, however, it did not seem to
be abundant and was not known as q
pest, which was assumed to be evidence
of the fact that Australia was the ma.
tive home of the species, and that there
must exist there some natural check
to its increase.
X + + +
GA TRAINED collector of parasites
= was sent to Australia. He found
the existence of small flies which laid
their eggs in the f1uted scales, and
learned that these eggs Matched into
grubs which devoured the pests. He
i also found a remarkable little ladybird,
| small, reddish-brown convex beetle
which breeds with marvellous rapidity
and which. with vorscious appetite and
| at the same time with discriminating
taste, devcuvs scale after scale, but eats
fluted scales only and does not destroy
| other insects. Large numbers of LADY,
birds and Of several other insects were
collected packed in tin boxes and ship
ped in the ice box of steamer TO the
United States.
THE ladybirds reached Los Angeles
alive. and. with appetites sharpened by
the long ocean voyage, Immediately fell
upon the scales and devoured them.
Their hunger temporarily satisfied. they
began to lay eggs which Matched in
few days into active grublike creatures
the larvae of the beetles-and these
grubs proved as voracious as their par
ents; they devoured the scales right and
left, and in less than a month were
transformed into beetles.
Each female beetle laid, on the aver
age, 800 eggs, and each of these eggs
Matched into hungry larva. Suppose
that one-half of these larvae produced
female beetles, a simple calculation viii
show that in five months a single lady
bird became the ancestor of seventy-five
billions of other ladybirdS, each capable
OF destroying very many scale insects.
In less than five years hardly scale
insect was to be found in California"
The probability is. in the opinion Of
the Federal entomologiSts. that similar
measures must be taken against the
Mediterranean fruit fly. Experience has
shown that once an important crop pest
is introduced, 1t is well nigh impossible
to eradicate the insect. and that the
best that can be accomplished is the
limitation of its spread to other areas
and the control of its devastation by
means of suitable poisons and arSen-
icals. as we'll as by setting parasites Of
the insect against 1t in a warfare OF
bug against bug.
To find these parasites involves long
search in countries of origin of the host
pest; they must be nurtured and multi
piled and shipped to this country where
they will be liberated in infested areas.
Should the fruit fly gain strong hold
in Florida, strict guarantees against
the shipment of Florida fruits in inter-
state commerce must be placed in effect,
situation that will just about spell
economic ruin to the Florida fruit In
dustry
Small wonder that the Government
entomologists are thrown into conSter-
nation; that an American President
should urge upon Congress immediate
action in attacking the problem.