•M-2 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



July 1, 1905. 



INSECT NOTES. 



The Cotton Worm of Egypt. 



The cotton wonn is tlie subject of a small paiii[ihlL't by 

 Mr. George P. Foadi'ii, puUlisheil by the Kliedivial Agri- 

 cultural Society. From tliis it appears that the cotton worm 

 of Egyi>t is (piite different from that of the West Indies. 

 Its name is I'rodenia littwalis. 



The female moth lays the eggs on the lower leaves of 

 the plant, one or two leaves receiving all the eggs laid by an 

 individual moth, sometimes as many as 200 to 300 eggs 

 being found on a single leaf. The pupa is formed in the 

 ground. 



In the.se points the cotton worm of I'^gypt differs 

 greatly from that of the United States and the West Indies, 

 the eggs of the latter being deposited singly on the leaves, 

 while the pupa is to be found in a fold of the cotton leaf. 



In considering means of combating the cotton worm, 

 Mr. Foaden .says: 'The method of picking the leaves and 

 burning them is the best at our disposal.' The height of the 

 Egyptian cotton plant makes it impossible to apply Paris 

 green in the same way that it is apjilied to the Sea Island 

 and Upland cotton.s. 



In localities where irrigation is practised, the Egyiitian 

 cotton worm may be destroyed by flooding the land during 

 the pupal stage, taking advantage of the hal>it of pupating 

 in the ground. 



The Egyptian cotton w(irm (I'lDih-iiid littunilis) is very 

 closely related to the West Indian corn ear worm (Laph;/;/i/ia 

 frv'/ijifi-Ja) which is described and fitcnred in the Ai/ricu/ti/ra/ 

 .\'<-',':<, Vol. TV, o. 90. 



The Government of Bermuda is making efforts, with the 

 aid of the Director of Public Gardens and Plantations in 

 .Jamaica, to introduce and establish the natural enemies of the 

 fruit tlv found in .Jamaica. The fruit Hy has not been rei)orted 

 at IJarbados, and evidently is not a serious pest in the 

 Lesser Antilles. Its occurrence, however, in Brazil and in 

 .lamaica and Bermuda would make it seem probable that it 

 occurs also in the other West India Islands, but the fact 

 that it is not a pest would indicate that it is held in check 

 by natural enemies. 



The fruit Hy attacks a great variety of fruit.s, among 

 others, the orange, lemon, and fig. 



The adult Hy lays its eggs just underneath the skin 

 of the fruit. They hatch in a few days, and maggots at once 

 commence to feed on the puli> or fie.sh of the fruit, which 

 general!}' fall from the tree before they are fully grown. 

 When the maggots are fully grown, they leave the fruit and 

 pupate in the ground, from which the adult Hy emerges 

 later. The adult fly feeds on the juice of injured fruit. The 

 maggot attains a length of about § inch ; the fly is about 



The Fruit Fly. 



The fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata) has for many years 

 been a serious pest in various places, notably in Australia and 

 Southern Africa. A short time ago Mr. Geo. Compere, as 

 agent for the Department of Agriculture of Western 

 Australia, after much travel and careful search, discovered 

 the original homo of this destructive pest in Jirazil. Here 

 the fruit fly was of so little importance that fruit growers 

 liaidly knew of its e.\ist(Mice, and Mr. Comi)ere concluded 

 that the rea.son for this was that the natural enemies of the 

 Hy held it thoro\ighly in check. Accordingly, he took 

 back with him a supply of two of these enemies which 

 seemed to be most influential in the work. These were 

 a species of Ichneumon fly and a species of Staphylinid 

 beetle. 



Since that time the Governments of Cape Colony and 

 Natal have sent their Entomologists, Messrs. Loun.sbury and 

 I'uller, to Brazil to collect the enemies of the fruit fly for 

 the pur[iose of introduc^ing them into South Africa. 



The fruit Hy is known as a pest in Bermuda where the 

 natural enemies do not occur, while in Jamaica it is not 

 a serion.'' |iest, being su|iposed to bo kept in check by the 

 Ichneumon fly and Stai>hyiinid beetle, enemies which are said 

 to be the .same is the I'.razilian siiecies or nearly allied to 

 them. 



] inch long. 



Many methods of control have been tried, including the 

 gathering at least once dailj' of all fallen fruit, and covering 

 the trees with fine mesh to prevent the female from 

 depositing eggs in the fruit. Poisoned baits have also been 

 trieil and have been attended with some success. 



The results of the ettbrts of the Australian and South 

 African Governments to introduce the natural enemies of 

 this serious pest will be watched with great interest as well 

 as the efforts in the same direction by the Government of 

 ]^)ermuda. 



THYMOL FOR WORMS IN HORSES. 



In reference to previous notes in the Ayricidturul 

 NewH (Vol. Ill, pp. 1-57 and 236) on the subject of the 

 use of tiiyniol for the treatment of vermiceous diseases 

 of horses, the following extract from Dr. Cousins' 

 report on the Government Laboratory in Jamaica for 

 the year l!)0-l-.5 is likely to be of interest. 



It will be remembered that Dr. Cousins made 

 arrangements for supplying thymol from tiie laboratory 

 at the small charge of Id. per dose : — 



The sale of thymol powders for the treatment of worm* 

 in horses amounted to 2, .301 do.ses. Highly .satisfactory 

 results have been recorded by horse owners in all parts 

 of the island. This remedy is undoubtedly of great benefit 

 to all horse-kind, and experience indicates that every 

 horse and nnilo in the island would be benefited by a dose 

 every three months. 



It is not a specific for bots and will only eliminate them 

 when they have left the stomach, but it is of great benefit for 

 worms of all sorts, and has besides a remarkable effect on 

 the general condition of an animal. A horse with a hard, 

 staring coat and in poor condition will frequently develop 

 gloss and rapidly improve in condition after a dose 

 of thymol powder even when no worms are i)assed. This 

 service, having passed the experimental stage, has now 

 ceasod, and arrangements have been made with Messrs. 

 Kinkead, of Kingston, to supply the public with the prepara- 

 tion at a reasonable i)rice. 



It maybe mentioned that thymol maybe obtained 

 from Messrs. Knight & Co., Druggists, Bridgetown,. 

 Barbados, at 9(/. per oz. It would be interesting to 

 have the results of the use of thymol in other islands. 



