Nov., 1907.] 



Insect Pests in Other Lands. 



685 



Acacia deciirrens, and the Casuarinas have been planted in considerable 

 number at the ranches, the last-named in many of the parks and gardens, 

 where they are called " ironwoods." 



From all the reports I had read I had expected to find no scale or 

 mealy bugs about rhe parks and gardens, but this is not the case, for 

 tnough great numbers of Australian and other country ladybird beetles 

 {Coccinellidce) have been introduced into the Hawaiian Islands there are 

 plenty of scale insects upon many different trees and shrubs. In the parks 

 leerya -purchasi is common on the ironwoods- {Casuarinas) — trees it never 

 infests in Australia. Though there is a very strict import Act in force 

 in Honolulu as regards the introduction of insect and fungus pests, there 

 IS no internal Act whereby the local gardens and farms can be dealt with ; 

 therefore there is no inspection of pests beyond the port of entr) . Another 

 factor in the spread and increase of introduced insects is the absence of 

 all insectivorous birds. The only birds one ever sees are the common 

 sparrow, Indian minah, and the Rice bird, all introduced and all more or 

 less destructive — at times. 



The introduction of the Yellow Fever mosquito into Hawaii and the 

 abundance of the common cosmopolitan species in the stagnant water about 

 the town of Honolulu has led to a great deal of interest being taken in the 

 control of these insect pests. Under the able supervision of Mr. D. L. 

 Van Dine a mosquito crusade was taken up in 1902 to find out their 

 breeding places, and oil or fill up all stagnant pools. In this survey of 

 Honolulu and vicinity it was found that in the business part of the town 

 that the mosquitoes were bred in immense numbers in old cans, tubs, 

 broken crockery, and such like receptacles. Prison labour was obtained, 

 all such things were gathered up and taken out to sea and thrown over- 

 board, and instructions issued to householders to look after the water about 

 the yards. In 1904 the Citizens' Mosquito Campaign Committee arranged 

 to introduce " Top minnows " {Mollietiesi latipinna) handy little fish 

 common in the shallow waters of IMexico and Texas, which feed upon the 

 mosquito larvae and eggs. Late in the following year these fish reached 

 Honolulu and were liberated in several ponds at Monalua, where they have 

 smce increased in immense numbers, and can live in just such shallow 

 warm water that mosquitoes frequent, and there is no question that in 

 the districts where these little fish have been introduced the mosquito 

 pest has been greatly abated. It is now proposed to appoint an officer 

 under the Board of Health as Mosquito Inspector. The question of stock- 

 ing all our waterholes with small fish of this or other kinds is worthy of 

 consideration by our Fisheries Department, as the mosquito pest could be 

 much more easily dealt with in most parts of Australia than in Hawaii. 



