HAWAII EXPERIMENT STATION. 415 



procautioiuirv measures to subdue theui, accounts for the unusual num- 

 bers ill which they occur. 



It is ol)vious why no active measures have been considered for these 

 various pests. The dominant in(histrv lias been a single tield crop and 

 it has yielded until now such unusual returns that it has not been neces- 

 sary to grow alarmed over tiie k^ss through insect pests and other 

 sources. Moreover, the sul)jection of pests to Held crops depends not 

 so nuich on iuti\ c measures to destroy them as })r('ventative methods 

 in cultivation. Until the recent alarm over the leaf hopper {Perklnsi- 

 ella saccJiiii-'ddd) the sugar cane has been particulai'ly free from insect 

 pests, the cane l)()rer {Sj'hi'nopJioniK ohxctt/'irs) ])cing the principal 

 source of loss. 'Die persistence of tlie Cliinese gardeners has enabled 

 them to raise the few conunon vegetables they offer on the market de- 

 spite the onslaught of pests. The pineapple and sisal industries already 

 established are free from any serious pests, as are also the taro and 

 rice, while the banana and cotlee industries have not been checked by 

 insect attacks. With the attempt to encourage and establish other 

 paying crops, for example, the more choice varieties of vegetables, 

 field crops such as watermelons, corn, potatoes, etc., the tropical fruits 

 which tlii-ive so well here, and the citrus fruits, comes the necessity 

 of studying their foes to be found here and methods of their control. 



Th(> work on Hawaiian entomology in the past has been purely 

 technical with the exception of ascertaining the native home of certain 

 pests and determining, collecting, introducing, breeding, and dissemi- 

 nating their predaceous and ]xirasitic enemies. Work of this character 

 has been carried on here for the past ten years luider the direction of 

 Prof. A. Koebele, the eminent entomologist of the Territory. This 

 work is highly desirable and has added greatly to the knowledge of 

 the importance of the predaceous and parasitic forms in checking 

 injurious species. Without going into a discussion of the limitations 

 of this line of work, it is suflicient to say that the control of the 

 injurious insects can not be left to this method entirely. The many 

 ie(|uests for help before and since organization of this department is 

 proof of that fact. A study of the life history and habits of the inju- 

 rious in.sects, the extent f)f their injury, the symptoms of their attack, 

 and the comparative resistance of dirt'erent varieties to the attack, along 

 with reuKMlies, both active and precautionai'v, to check them is. to .say 

 the h'ast, an e(iually important line of investigation. 



There was an entire lack of literature on economic entomology, and 

 despite th(> fact that an inunense amount of technicnl literature on 

 Hawaiian entomology is in existence, it was not a\ail:ible Aside from 

 various reports l)y Mr. lvoel)ele in The Planters' Monthly, dealing for 

 the most part with his introductions from abroad of beneficial species 

 and several refer«Mices in Insect IJfe, the balance consisted entirely of 

 foreign publications widely separatcnl as regards place and time of 



