108 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol.l5 



The method used in Mississippi and Florida of supplying slips has given some trouble. 

 The farmers in the infested area depend upon sweet potatoes for much of their food 

 and when bedding time comes they are afraid to wait for sHps which the plant board 

 promises to send them later. For this reason many out-law slip beds are planted. 



In one case nine reinfestations were traced to an out-law slip bed. Instead of 

 supplying slips as in the past, the farmers will be supplied their sweet potatoes and 

 will be allowed to bed them down for their own supply of slips. 



The eradication work has involved, all told, about 900 farms. In Florida only 

 30 infested premises remain out of 300. In Alabama eradication is complete in 

 practically all areas where potatoes are grown commercially. The largest amount of 

 eradication work is still ahead. In Texas the weevil occurs more or less generally 

 in all that territory east of a line drawn due north of San Antonio and extending to 

 the Red River. It might be of interest to state here that Mr. Sanborn said that 

 he had recently found the weevil at Antlers, Oklahoma and Mr. Jones stated 

 that it had reappeared at Shreveport, Louisiana. 



One of the difficulties of eradication work was to complete it after the weevil had 

 become almost exterminated in an area. When weevils have been reduced to the 

 extent that they no longer cause any damage farmers lose interest in the work. 

 Thus it is practically necessary to visit infested farms at least once a week. The 

 inspector virtually supervises the growing of seed potatoes for the entire season. 

 Extension work should be more vigorously pushed in connection with eradication 

 and farmers should be thoroughly impressed with the destructiveness of the pest. 

 _ There are two times of the year to scout for the weevil. One is in the fall at harvest 

 time, the other in the spring when the potatoes are to be bedded. In the fall the pest 

 is detected by tearing the vines apart; in the spring in the potatoes. During the 

 time that potatoes are in curing, development of the weevil is doubtless accelerated. 

 Wild morning glories are known to harbor the pest. In general any large rooted 

 morning glory will make a good host. Of greater importance than the abundance of 

 wild hosts is climate. But for this Mr. Graf thinks that the pest would be destructive 

 in California. 



In regard to the size of a safety zone around an infestation, five miles is considered 

 ample. The biggest factor is preventing the weevil from being carried from one 

 place to another in seed. The ordinary "visiting distance" is not more than about 

 five miles for the average farmer. Inspection of potatoes for the weevil at harvest 

 time is considered worthless. 



Eradication of the Argentine Ant 



Mr. Barber discussed the life-history and habits, economic importance, method s 

 of control, including the making of the poisoned bait and application of same. The 

 control of this pest is fraught with many technicalities. Eradication work shoul d 

 be carried on under the immediate supervision of an entomologist and the entomologist 

 will do well to get instructions from Mr. Barber. 



The economic significance of the Argentine Ant is so overwhelming and the control 

 measures have been so thoroughly worked out that entomologists should find eradi- 

 cation work to be an unusually profitable project. Fortunately it can be accomplished 

 at a small cost and the funds can, in most instances, be raised locally. A few carefully 

 conducted eradication problems will do much to popularize entomological work. 



The Argentine Ant causes at present an annual loss of not less than $25,000,000. 

 It has been conservatively estimated that this is only about I % of what it is capable 

 of doing. In orange groves and sugar plantations its injury comes indirectly. Its 

 presence in orange groves is noticed by a large increase in infestations of all kinds of 

 scale insects which under normal conditions are not an economic factor. In sugar 

 plantations mealy bugs become unusually injurious. In cities shade trees are killed 

 by scale insects which are hardly noticed before the appearance of the ants. 

 In the citrus growing area which is infested by the ant, groves have been planted over 

 and over again only to be killed out by scale insects which become abundant because 

 their natural enemies are being kept away by the ants. In addition to these losses 

 there are heavy losses to food products in storage. It is almost impossible to raise 

 chickens or keep bees in infested areas. 



Eradication is now being carried out in New Orleans and Baton Rouge on a large 

 scale. About 150 cans of poison are being used to a city block. The complete cost 

 for one treatment is about $12.00 a block. Funds for this amount can usually be 

 secured without any difficulty. Eradication can be done in the fall or in the spring 

 but the best time is from about August 15 to October 15. After the first year the 



