286 kcoxomic extomology ix morambiquk. 



Imi'outance of Entumulugv. 



Very few people realise the all-important role which insects 

 play and the intiuence they exert upon the development of agri- 

 culture, besides their effect upon practically all lines of human 

 endeavour. The amount of injury caused by insects, and the 

 financial losses sustained yearly through their depredations, is 

 truly enormous and beyond calculation. In all its stages a crop 

 is subject to the attacks of insects — from the sowing of the seed, 

 throughout the growing period, during harvesting, storing and 

 shipping the insects exact a heavy toll, often ruining the crop 

 entirely or reducing the jDrofit to a minimum. Other insects, 

 again, inhabit the dwellings of man, destrojnng his food or belong- 

 ings, or sucking his blood and annoying him in various ways, or 

 by carrying disease and transmitting disease germs, endangering 

 his life. Others, again, attack the food stored in warehouses, or 

 ruin a great many valuable substances, or undermine the build- 

 ings themselves. Orchards and timber plantations often suffer 

 very serious damage through insect depredations, and on all sides 

 man finds himself beset by these implacable enemies, small, but 

 powerful through their enormous numbers, disputing with him his 

 title of monarch f)f the world. 



Now, the ultimate aim of the economic entomologist is to 

 give advice as to the best methods either to prevent these insects 

 from becoming a menace to man, or, if tliey are once established, 

 to check their increase and put a stop to the damage which is 

 being inflicted. To be able to give such advice calls for not only 

 a thorough knowledge of insect life in general, but special training 

 in the practical application of the science and considerable experi- 

 ence of local conditions and their influence upon the habits and 

 propagation of the insect under consideration. Insect life and 

 development are greatly dependent upon climatic conditions and 

 local vegetation, and until we know these we cannot successfully 

 undertake the control of the injurious species. 



It is my intention to summarise very briefly what has been 

 done in the way of economic entomology in this Province, the 

 problems to be faced, and some suggestions as to the methods 

 to be pui-sued in solving these. 



Earliest Woiskers in Entomology of this Province. 



For our earliest information on the insects of this country we 

 are indebted to missionaries and travellers who collected the most 

 striking forms and made some desultory obsei'vations on their 

 transformations, food plants and habits. Amongst these we find 

 the name of Monteiro and Junod as the outstanding figures. 

 Thanks to their efforts we were supplied with data on the occur- 

 rence and, to some extent, the distribution of the more common 

 species. But these captures and obseiwations were made practi- 

 cally from the collector's viewpoint, and the economic aspect was 

 entirely lacking. With the appointnu>nt of Howard as Ento- 

 mologist to the Department of Agriculture conditions changed. 



