

THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



August 14, 1915. 



INSECT NOTES. 



INSECT PESTS IN BARBADOS, IN 1913-14. 



The Report on the Barbados Department of Agriculture 

 for the year ended March 31, 191 I. has been issued aa a Sup 

 plement to the Barbados Official Gazette of July 26, L915. 

 The last report in this series, that For 1912 13, was revi 



with rei to those portions relating to insect pests and 



fungoid diseases, in the Agricultural News for Maj 23, 191 I 

 (Vol. Mil, p. lT(i). 



The sections of the report which deal with insect pests 

 of cultivated crops are mostly considered in the portion pre- 

 pared by Mr. J. S. Dash, Assistant Superintendent, whilst the 

 Superintendent of the Department, Mr. .1. II. Bovell, [.S.O., 

 contributes a few remarks on the fumigation of plants, 

 millions, and insect pests and fungoid diseases. 



Mr. 1 >ash assumed the position of Assistant Superintend 



cut on February 21, 1914, less than tw onths previous to 



the end of the period covered by the report, and consequently, 



there is but little new n 'ded in the work On insects pests. 



TERMITES ATI u KIV. SUGAR-! \\ I . 



An interesting account is given, however, of an attack of 

 termites on sugarcane in Barbados. This is probably the 

 first reci. i'il of termites attacking sugar-cane in Barbados. 



It is suggested that this insect is a species of the genus 



Eilteiines. 



The attack was noted during the reaping season in both 

 old, i.e., ripe, and young canes. The attack appears to have 

 lieen .i severe one, Imt the area over which it occurred is not 

 given. Prompt action in fumigating the nests and burning 

 the infested trash, stumps, and other refuse appears to have 

 checked the attack. It was recommended thai the young 



canes which wet attacked should be re ved and 



replaced l>v another crop, such as cotton, which would not be 

 attacked. 



Trial was made with an ant-destroying machine in 



;ating these termite nests. The machine consists of 



a cylinder in which a mixture ol arsenic and sulphur is burnt 



by means oi a charcoal fire, the fumes being pumped into the 



v mean- 'it a [iiiui|> and flexible tubing. [This would 



appear to i trine as that described in the 



Agricultural A'ews, Vol. \l, p. 122. under i he heading \ New 



Method ..I ( lontrolling Term; 



I.IMI -i i.ein i; mini 



Another interesting note in the report i- the mention ol 

 the us.- of a lime sulphur paint for hilling scale insects on the 

 trunks of trees The idea apparently comes from Queensland. 



The paint is made bj boiling together 2 lb. sulphur and 



1 Hi. unslaked lime in 2 gallons water for One and a h Ji 



of this time 3 B>. more unslaked linie is added and 

 boiling continued foi mother half hour. The mixture then 



should amount to 2 gallons, and boiling water should be 



added to bring it up to this a unt. Flour or fine clay 



should be added to bring the mixture to the consistency of 

 a thin paint. It is applied with a paint brush to the trunks 

 and large branches of tree- infested with scale insi 



This paint is said to exercise a caustic acti< n the 



scales, causing them to fall off. [The caustic action might 

 be too much for tree- with thin bark, and planters would do 

 well to try it cautiously on one or two trees before making 



a general application.] 



SUGAR-' \M i\-ia I's. 



Very little is added to the information given in former 

 reports in regard to insect pests of sugar-cane. Mention is 

 made of the brown hard back | Phytalus smithi ) and the fact 

 that it had become more numerous in certain districts in the 

 island and that efforts were being made to transport the 

 parasite. Tiphia parallela, from those districts wheie it was 

 abundant to those when- the brown hard back was becoming 



more troublesome. 



The I'm, t borer (Diaprepes a s) also is ntioned 



as an important pest This insect non (at the time oi the 

 report) occurs in nine parishes in the island as a pest. This 

 would indicate a much wider distribution than has been 

 formerly recorded. 



The occurrence of the Leeward Islands rout borer 

 (Exophthaliuus esurieris) in Barbados is mentioned. In June 

 a specimen was recorded Ir St. Andrews parish, and in 



July a number were received fr tin- smith coast (see also 



Agricultural News, Vol. Kill, p. 250). 



[NSECT PESTS OF Ml- VNE01 - I EOPS. 



Under this heading reference is made to the occurrence 

 "i the red spider of sweet potatoes {Tetranychus telart 

 the corn ear worm (La/ , and a new sp 



of scale insect on cassava. 



II. \.i:. 



CATERPILLARS ATTACKING 



SUGAR-CANE. 



[n the [terns of Departmental Interest from St. Lucia, 

 for June last, mention is made of an attack of caterpillars 



on sugar cane ..n one estate in thai island. The worm was 

 believed t" be the corn ear worm i Laphygma frugiperda) and 



the attack was successfully cunt rolled by the Use of I ' iris 

 green. 



Such attacks on -ago cane an- not frequent in the \\V-t 

 Indie-, although in British Guiana and Trinidad there are 

 several caterpillars which are known to Feed on the leaves of 

 sugar cane One of tin-.- is thegrass worm (Mo* it . Ri migia] 

 repanda), which foi med the subject of Insect Notes in a recent 

 ,-siie of the Agricultural Xt<>> (June 5, 1915). 



A lew j ttack of caterpillar.- ,ded 



on young sugar-cane plants on om ■ Antigua, It was 



suspected that the-.- insects bred in th .ml bush grow- 



ing on adjacent lands, and that they invaded the cane-fields 



aftei th ginal 1 1 became scarce. It may be that the 



worm, "i even the , -,, worm, might have been 



responsible for this attai 



Paris green dusted on to the cane plants in the same 



manner as when used oil cotton ought to provide a s itisfactory 



mean- of checking such outbreak-. 



