154 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS, 



May 19, lyiT 



INSECT NOTES. 



INSECT PESTS IN BARBADOS IN 

 1915-16. 



The Report of the Barbados Departmeut of Agriculture 

 for the year ended March 31, 1916, has been published as 

 a Huppienient to the Barbados Official Gazette of April 16, 

 1917. 



The portions of the above report which are concerned 

 with insects will be dealt with in the following notes. The 

 Superintendent of the Department, Mr. J. E. Boveli, refers to 

 the establishment of the parasite of the brown hard back 

 (Phytalvs smifhi) in Mauritius, while Mr. J. S. Dash, 

 Assistant Superintendent, gives an account of the more 

 important pests of sugarcane and other cultivated crops. 



TIPHI.V P.VRALI KLA IN .M .'\UEITIUS. 



The brown hard back (Phi/talus smithi) has been 

 a serious pest of .sugar-cane in Mauritius for several years, 

 and the Government his been spending large sums annually 

 in fighting it. Mr. F. A. Stockdale, Director of Agriculture 

 in that island, has stated that for the year ended June 30, 

 19 1 4, nearly .36,000,000 beetles had been caught and paid for, 

 and in addition the planters had caught over 1,000,000, but 

 in spite of all they were only just keeping the pest in check. 

 Mr. Boveli publishes a report from M. d'Emmerez deCharmoy, 

 Entomologist in Mauritius, stating that Tiphia 2MraUelaha.s, 

 become established in two distinct localities in that island. 



It is of interest to note that the adult Tiphias were 

 observed feeding on the nectaries of C'oriha interrupta. 

 Although the numbers of Tiphia in Mauritius are at present 

 small, there is every reason to expect that this parasite, given 

 suitable conditions will spread throughout the grub-intested 

 area, since the supply of fond is still apparently unlimited, 

 in spite of the unceasing collections of Phytalus grubs and 

 adults that are being made. 



(In this connexion it may be mentioned that the para- 

 sitism of Phytalus smithi by Tipiiia paraUula was first 

 discovered in Barbados in 1912 by Mr. W. Nowell, then 

 Assistant Superintendent, and it was mainly through his 

 efforts that a shipment of Tiphia material was subsequently 

 made to Mauritius.) 



SUGAE-CANE INSECTS. 



There are three pests of sugar-cane which require the 

 constant attention of planters in Barbados. The.se are the 

 root borer (DiKfirepes abbreviatus), the brown hard back 

 (P/iptalvs siinthi), and the moth borer (Diatraea saccharalis). 



The root borer has for several years been most prevalent 

 on many estates situated on the lower levels of the island, 

 and does most damage in fields where no thorough system of 

 crop rotation is practised. The recommendations for control 

 given in former reports are again emphasized, namely, 

 collection of adults and egg masses, rotation of crops, and 

 digging up of stumps in infested fields immediately after 

 the reaping of the crop. 



The brown hard back is apparently kept down by its 

 parasite in some districts, but even in these localities it is 

 always to be reckoned with as a potential pest, since it 

 cannot be reasonably expected that Tiphia will keep it under 

 conqjlete control. There are other districts, however, where 

 Pliytalus apparently occurs without its parasite, and attempts 

 to introduce Tiphia into these districts have not, so far been 

 altogether successful. The beetles begin to appear at night 

 about May or June and should then be collected and 

 killed. 



The moth borer is generally distributed without being 

 a serious pest in any one locality, but taking it as a whole, 

 this insect is probably not behind the above-mentioned pests 

 in actual damage done to sugar-cane. Mr Dash again uryes 

 the systematic collection of the egti masses and preservation 

 of the egg-parasites as measures of control, but these methods 

 to be effective must be generally and systematically carried 

 out. 



Other pests of sugar-cane observed durins; the year are 

 the mealy bugs Pseudococcus calctolai iae and /'. saccfiari. 

 Delphax was not noticed This leaf-hopper is probably 

 checked by its parasite Ana(/ns flavescens. 



I'ESTS OF MISCELLANEOUS CROPS, 



These were not as prevalent as usual. Mention is made 

 of injury done to tomatoes by the larvae of a cut worm 

 (Prodenia dolichos), which were found boring into the fruit. 

 Scale insects were not as abundant as in the previous year. 

 The scale fimgus Ce/ ha/osporitmi lecami is being cultivated 

 and will be distributed as occasion demands. 



THE PINK BOLL WORM IN BRAZIL. 



In the Agricultinal A^ews of April "21 . 1917, mention was 

 made of the appearance of the pink boll worm in Mexico from 

 Egypt, and of the danger to which the cotton-growing districts 

 of the Americas and of the West Indies are now exposed. 

 The following note taken from the Journal of Econumic 

 Entomology for A[iril 1917, is given as an illustration of the 

 importance of quarantine against injurious insects: — 



Early in 1914 Mr. K. Q. Green, an American engaged in the 

 encouragement of eotl:)ii culture by the Brazilian Government, 

 made a careful survey of the cotton belt of Brazil. He was look- 

 ing especially lor the boll weevil and the pink boll worm. 

 Neither insect was found in the course of considerable travel 

 and extensive examinations of seed. Late in 1916 Mr. Green 

 made another trip over the same territory and found that 

 the pink boll worm was generally and throughly established. 

 The way in which the insect was introduced is clear. In 

 1913 the Brazilian Government agitated the cultivation of 

 Egyptian cotton in that country. An agent was sent to 

 Egypt and large quantities of seed were shipped to Brazil. 

 No i)recautions were taken as to the seed obtained, and it was 

 all admitted to Itrazil without fumigation or other treatment. 

 The Brazilian Government has inspectors located in every 

 State capital. The seed was distributed to these inspectors 

 and in turn by theiu to local representatives. This was 

 probably as thorough a method of disseminating an in.sect 

 as is possible. The Brazilian Government now realizes what 

 has been done and various Senators seriously consider an 

 enactment requiring the burning of all the cotton fields ia 

 the Republic' 



