122 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Ai'EiL -22, 1905, 



INSECT NOTES. 



Report on Injurious Insects. 

 A report by ^h. W. E. Colliiige, M.So., of the Iniversity 

 of Binniiighain, on the 'Injurious Insects and other Animals 

 observed in the Midh\nd Counties during 1904.' deals with 

 a large number of jiests and gives many remedies. It 

 includes, besides insects, the mites, slugs, snails, and eehvorms, 

 all of which, together with many insect pests, Lave been 

 forwarded by correspondents. Five siiecies of eriophyoid 

 mites are dealt with. In the AVest Indies three new species 

 Lave been described quite recently, viz., Erioj/ihi/e? rjouiipii, 

 Banks (the leaf-blister mite of cotton) ; Eriophii'S Moirlsl, 

 Nalepa (the ]uite of the Acacia): and Ei ioj'liijf^ hiicida'; 

 Nalepa (the mite of Buci'la bnrseras). 



The Coffee Leaf Miner. 



A report in the Experiment Stal nm Rvccid on 

 the seventeenth annual meeting of the Association of 

 Economic Entomologists, held at Philadelphia on 

 December 29 and 30 last, contains the following 

 reference to the cottee leaf miner, Lci'ccjitcrti (Cemios- 

 tonnim) rofrdla. a common pest in the West Inilies : — 



This is one of the most injurious coffee pests in the 

 West Indies, causing great losses in Cuba and Porto Rico. 

 On some coffee estates 56 per cent, of the leaves were 

 affected. The life-history of the pest was described by 

 M. T. Cook with special reference to method.s of treatment. 

 Spraying against the larvae in the leaf is of little avail. It 

 is found possible, liowever, to control the insect quite 

 thoroughly by repeated .spraying against the pupa by means 

 of kerosene enud.sioii, containing one part kerosene, one part 

 whale oil soai>, and eight parts of water. When numerous 

 applications of this remedy were made, .slight injury to the 

 leaves occurred, but this injury was not of great importance. 

 On the grounds of the Cuban Experiment Station spraying 

 experiments were begun on Augu.■^t 18 and continued till 

 Kovember 5 at frequent intervals. The results of tlii> 

 experiment indicate that the treatment is quite etfectivi-. 



Destruction of Locusts. 



In t\\(f A(ir(C(dturul Journal cfthf C(-i/ie cj (roi.d 

 Hope for Slarch 1905 there ajjpears an interesting- 

 article on the destruction of locusts, hy ]Mr. C. W. 

 Mally, M.Sc, Acting Entomologist, of which the fdllow- 

 ing is a brief summary : — 



The best time to attack the liicu.->ts i> when the young 

 Sire about twn-thirds grown, when their (iidy mode of 

 locomotion is hopping and when they have the habit of 

 camping at night in compact masses, and travelling in swarms 

 in the day tinie. These habits are taken a(hantage of in the 

 ■svork of destruction, as they are all favourable to the work, 

 whereas it wf>uld be very difficult to do anything in the way 

 of controlling the swarms after the insects had beci'mc adult 

 and developed wings. 



The essential points are emViodicd in the five con- 

 clusions as follo>vs : — 



(1) No one method will enable us to control the 

 situation. An intelligent combination of the different 

 methods .systematically carried out is most likely to give 

 satisfactory results. 



(2) The newly hatched swarms should be destroyed by 

 .spraying (c) their food-suiPi>ly with poisoned bait, or {h) the 

 locusts themselves with Gos.-iage's national blue-mottled' 

 soap, 1 ft), to 5 gallons of water. 



(?<) The land should bo protected by means of a locust 

 fence. 



(t) The swarms of trekking locusts .should be trapped 

 and dried for ))Oultry and stock food. They are thus not 

 (■nly prevented from coming to maturity and laying eggs for 

 the next season, but are made to yield a substantial return 

 for their damage to the veld and the time and money 

 invested in de.stroying them. 



(5) Xatural enemies (especiall}' birds) are already doing 

 their best and .should be protected whenever [lossible. 



The spraying with poisoned bait is done when the 

 young locusts are in compact swarms. All the grass and 

 herbage in the vicinity are sprayed and as the locusts move 

 along they feed on the sjirayed vegetation. The mixture 

 which has been found satisfactory is made as follows: 

 arsenic. 1 lb. : washing soda, h ft). ; treacle or sugar, 5 ft). ; 

 water, 10 gallons. The arsenic and soda are boiled together 

 till dis.*olved and then added to the 10 gallons of sweetened 

 water. 



A soap solution has been succe.ssfully used as a contact 

 poison, sprayed on the young locusts, but most tune and 

 energy seem to have been devoted to the development of 

 a suitable trap. 



The locusts have a value as a stock food. Poultry and 

 ostriches are especially fond of them, while they are eaten 

 by horses, sheep, and pigs. It seems likely that a good 

 market may be developed for dried locusts, if any consider- 

 able supply ever becomes available. 



The method of trapping recommended is this : The 

 trap consists of two fences of cloth, 18 inches high, extending 

 at broad angles from an inclined plane or chute : this is 

 placed in front of a moving swarm, and as the insects come 

 into contact with the fences they are directed toward the 

 chute, up which they travel and when they reach the top 

 they fall into a .sack ; in these sacks they are killed by 

 means of either carbon bisulphide or hot water. The dead 

 locust.N are then dried in the sun and kept for feeding 

 purposes. The trap should be of strong, light material, so 

 that it will be easily pfirtable. Small areas of valuable lands 

 may be protected from the young by fences of zinc or iron 

 18 inches high, similar to the wings of the traji. 



The locust of South Africa is closely related to 

 the common grasshopper of the West Indies, and 

 although they differ somewhat in habits, some of the 

 remedies found useful in Cape Colony may prove of 

 value in case of an ontbreaic in the West Indies. 

 Nearly e\erv year grasshoppers become a nuisance, 

 sometimes almost a pest, in St. Kitt's and Nevis. 

 The poison spray found successful in South Africa 

 might with advantage be applied to the lands where 

 these grasshoppers breed. Trapping and spra}'ing with 

 contact poisons are not likely to be of advantage here, 

 but the natural enemies should be encouraged and 

 protected. 



