10 



'I'HE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Janlakv 9, 1909. 



INSECT NOTES. 



Flower-bud dropping of cotton. 



The insect pe.-^t. 'li cuitmi kiinun ;is the flower-bud 

 maocrot (C(n)f(iri.ji id (/rw.sj/y*// ) has again made its 

 appearariL-e at Antiyiia.. Imt im details are yet to hand 

 as to the seventy nt' tiie pie-enr attack. It will btf 

 remenibereii by renlers nf the Aijfiridi n nd Xews 

 that the Entunmlogist on the staff of the Imperial 

 Department of Airticulnire vi>iie(J Antigua during 

 February and March UJOS in conne.xion with the fir.--t 

 outbreak of this insect. His lepuit, which was pub- 

 lished in the Agricidiural Neivs {see Vol. VII, p. 154), 

 gave an account of the insect and its manner of attack 

 on the cotton plant. 



The following brief summary and the accompany- 

 ino' ilhibtralions will serve to present the principal 

 known facts in regaiii to this pest: — 



The insect to which tlie name ('(infaritiid (/nisst/pii has 

 been given is a niiiuite tly, the ai-lnit tciii;ile being about 

 I mm. (.!--inch) in length. The anteninie are about twice 

 as Ion"' as the body, ami tlie s]])ea(l of winys is about 3 mm. 

 (i inch). 



Flc:. 1. Coiitiiiuini (fisni/pii : fianalc tly (cnlargcil). 

 The in.iiu'y to the cotton is caused by the larva, a yellowish 



maKKot, which is found in the flower 



The Female fly 



inserts her eggs into the tissues of the cotlim flower Imd and 



the maajjots which hatch fn 



and I'ausc it to fall to the uronnd. 



iin the eggs feed inside the hud 



V- ''*' 



i-:iid of 



thread like 



body of female fly, sliowinj^ 

 ovipo.sitor (enlarged). 

 Buds which have fallen to the ground very rarely have 

 maggots in them. This is because the maggots leave the 

 buds to go into the ground for the purpo-e of iiu[)ating and 

 developing into the adult winged insect. 



Infested cotton flower buds can geuerallj' be recognized 

 on the plant, because the bracts surrounding the bud always 

 ' flare,' that is, instead of retaining their normal position 

 close around the bud, the}' are turned back so as to fully 

 expose the bud. 



The attack in 1907-8 was very .severe. Cotton in all 

 parts of Antigua suffered severely. Wild cotton was found 

 to be infested, but whether this is the natural food plant 

 from which the flower-bud maggot has spread to the culti- 

 vated cotton is not yet known. The maggot in the bud 

 is attacked by parasitic insects which probably exert a great 

 influence in checking the outlu'eak of this pest. 



Fig. 3. Confurhiin i/i/.isi/pi'i ; larva or maggot (enlarged). 



It was noticed that the first attack of this pest appeared 

 in December 1907, that early planted cotton escaped 

 with nuieh le.ss injury than the late planted, and that the 

 loss WHS greater also on the heav)- damp soils, and in fields 

 where there was a tendency to a rapid growth of weeds. 



No remedial mea.sures have given anj' definite results. 

 The attack subsided naturally during March and April. 



At 



Scale Insects at Dominica. 



a nieniing of the Dominica Agrictiltiiral 



and 

 Commercial Society, held on November 30 last, under 

 the presidency of Dr. H. A. Alford Nicholls, C.M.G., an 

 address was given by Mr H. A. Ballou, M.Sc, Ento- 

 mologist on the staff of the Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture, on the subject of scale insects attacking 

 lime and other citrus fruit trees at Dominica. 



Mr. r.allou referred to the severe attack of scale insect 

 ' bligiit ' which the lime growers of the islan<l had experienced 

 in 1902-3 (see A</iirii/fi(r(il Jcim, Vol. II, p. 232), and 

 mentioned that the two .scale in.sects which were chiefly 

 responsible for the damage were the Mussel .Shell or Piuple 

 scale {.yi/ti/aspis citrico/a), and the Orange Snow scale 

 (Chiuiianjiis citri). Two other scales, very much alike, which 

 were also found on the fruit trees, were the Green Shield 

 scale {Lcmnium viride) and the soft shield scale {Lectniiiim 

 liixpcriduiii). These two insects were soft greenish scale-s, 

 most usually found on the undersides of the leaves and on 

 the young twigs. They are dangerous pe.sts, and every 

 rtfort sliould be made by planters to get rid of them. 



I'articidars were given as to the manner in which these 

 in.sects are hatched, and distributed from place to place, and 

 also as to their manner of life and the way in which they 

 Iced. 



'I'hc S(j-callc(l ■ black blight ' was usually evident on 

 trees infested with scale in.sects. This of itself does little 

 harm to the tree, as the fungus lives on the excretion of the 

 scales, and not on the juices of the leaves. All trees showing 

 the ])resence of black blight should be sprayed with one of 

 the various washes recommended by the Imperial Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture. The dry season was the best time for 

 carrying out spraying operations. 



