722 



THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



A SERIOUS PHILIPPINE ORANGE MOTH. 



Prays citri Mill. 



{Prays nephelomima Meyrick. ) 



By E. O. BssiG, Secretary State Commission of Horticulture. 



Prof. C. F. Baker^ continues to show his keen interest in the protec- 

 tion of California horticulture by his many reports to the State Com- 

 mission of Horticulture relative to the serious insect pests in the 

 Philippine Islands, which should be intercepted in quarantine. Of all 

 enumerated, he has called particular attention to a small moth, con- 

 cerning which he writes : ' ' The little moth works in a variety of native 

 orange here, called the 'cajel.' It practically makes a gall in the rind, 

 causing a tumor-like swelling that is always open at the outside, and 

 which does not seem to penetrate the pulp at all. I get large and small 

 moths from these galls. It is apparently a new pest of oranges and 



^^>' ..^, >>01; 



l^ilWA 



Pig. 389. — Rind of "cajel" orange showing tumors made by the larvae of Prays 

 citri Mill. Twice enlarged. (Original.) 



seems to be widely distributed, and should be taken account of in quar- 

 antine work. The determination, Prays citri Mill., of which Prays 

 nephelomima Meyrick is a synonym, came through Busch from Meyrick 

 himself. ' ' 



The larvae of this moth live just beneath the rind next to but not in 

 the pulp. They produce gall-like tumors, which remain opened at the 

 tips. (Pig. 389.) These tumors are often exceedingly numerous and 

 may almost cover the entire surface of the orange. Both the appearance 

 and keeping qualities of the fruit are thus destroyed, as the openings 



'Professor of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, University of the Philippines, Los 

 Banos, P. I. 



