THREE ALARMING INSECT PESTS 



DR. A. J. COOK 

 POMONA COLLEGE, CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA 



The fact that the owners of a single citrus grove paid out, in a single year, 

 $25,000 to combat the red scale; that another orchardist lost $10,000 in the same 

 time by the ravages of the mealy bug, and that thousands upon thousands of 

 dollars are expended each year to stay the fell work of our orchard pests should 

 arouse every rancher — yea, every citizen of our favored State — to the transcendent 

 importance of this insect question. 



Just now there are three species of insects that menace our orchards and 

 our business interests to an alarming degree, and should cause every one of us to 

 take notice. 



The Mexican Orange-Maggot not only destroys the orange, but the mango 

 and the guava. It is a grievous pest and its natural enemies are most remarkable 

 for their absence. It is hard to suggest any way to control it should it gain a 

 foothold in our groves. Mr. David L. Crawford, it will be remembered, found 

 it widely distributed in the republic to the south of us. It would be easy to in- 

 troduce it by rail or by boat. Quarantine is the only weapon at present available 

 against this formidable scourge, and this should be used with the greatest skill 

 and energy. Ports and railroad stations should be guarded with the most diligent 

 effort and the most thorough vigilance. Any possible imperfection in our pres- 

 ent quarantine should be speedily remedied, cost what it may of effort and money. 

 Everyone sliould know the life history of this insect, so that the finding of several 

 footless maggots in a fruit would at once cause an alarm to be sounded, that ex- 

 tirpation at any cost might be secured. 



The Mediterranean Fruit-Fly belongs to the same family of insects as the 

 above, and in one respect is more to be dreaded than is the above, as it is the 

 fatal enemy of nearh' all — twenty or more — of our most valued fruits ! Its de- 

 struction would be as difficult as that of the other Trypetid. Moreover, it is al- 

 ready present in our island possessions of the west — Hawaii. fVe must keep 

 both these arch enemies from our shores! We have the advantage in this case, 

 as we can search every arrival, as we would a suspect who might be smuggling 

 diamonds or other precious stones into our country or bringing cholera or bubonic 

 plague. We must stand close behind our State Commissioner of Horticulture in 

 his effort to keep this unequaled pest from our orchards. 



The third enemy that must be kept out at any cost is the new alfalfa pest, 

 the Alfalfa Weevil. This snout-beetle bids fair to be a close rival of the terrible 

 Cotton Boll Weevil of our Gulf States. The Cotton Boll Weevil has already 

 robbed the cotton planters to the tune of millions. This new enemy is devastat- 

 ing the alfalfa fields of Utah, and unless we can find some more effective remedy 

 than any yet discovered its presence among us would be ruin to our most valued 

 and profitable forage crop. This little weevil, scarce a quarter of an inch long. 



