143 



QuAYLE (H. J.). Citrus fruit insects in the Mediterranean countries. — 



U.S. Dept. Agric. Washington, D.C., Bull. no. 134, 7th October 

 1914, 35 pp., 2 figs, 10 pis. [Received IGtli February 1915.] 



In Sicily, the author has reared Ceratitis capitata, Wied., (the 

 Mediterranean fruit-fly) from the apple, azarole, fig, Indian fig, 

 lemon, mandarin, nectarine, orange (sweet), orange (bitter), pear, plum 

 and peach. The last-named fruit is the most severely infested. Several 

 authorities have excluded the possibility of this fly breeding in lemons 

 in Sicily, but the author has proved that this does occur, although 

 infestation is very rare, as in Spain. The infested fruit were in such 

 a decayed condition that they would have been useless for export. 

 The larvae and adults of the Nitidulid beetle, Carpophilus dimidiatus, 

 F., and the larvae of the fly, Lonchaea splendida, Lw., also occur in 

 decayed oranges and lemons. Saisseiia oleae, Bern., (the black scale) 

 is generally distributed throughout the Mediterranean citrus regions, 

 and in Valencia, which is the most important of them, it ranks first among 

 citrus-fruit pests. Its chief natural enemy is the Chalcid, Scutellista 

 cijanea, Mots. The CoccineUids, Ghilocorus bipustidatus, L., and Exocho- 

 mus i-pustulatus, L., are the only other foes of importance, and they 

 are general feeders. Rhizobius ventralis, Er., the most important Cocci- 

 nellid on the black scale in Cahfornia, was not seen in Spain or Italy. 

 Chrysomphalus dictyospermi, Morg., occurs in Spain and Italy. Its 

 natural enemies are the above Coccinellidae and an Aphelinus, 

 supposed to be A. diaspidis. Lepidosaphes beckii, Newm., has been 

 considered a pest of Uttle economic importance in Mediterranean 

 countries, and this has been accounted for through the efficient work 

 of parasites, but the author disagrees with this. Just as severe injury 

 has been seen from this scale in Spain, as in California or Florida, and 

 hitherto no internal parasite has apparently been recorded in Sicily. 

 Lepidosaphes gloverii, Pack., (the long scale) seems limited to Spain, 

 where it is particularly destructive in some districts. Parlatoria 

 zizyphus is the commonest of all scales occurring on the lemon tree 

 in Sicily and is also found in Spain. In Sicily, it is not extremely 

 injurious to the tree, nor does it distort the fruit as does Aspidiotus 

 hederae, Vail., which is found throughout Spain and Italy and is an 

 important pest on ripe lemons in the latter country, being really of 

 economic importance there in May and June. A species of Aphelinus 

 is the commonest parasite of this scale in Italy ; Aspidiotiphagus 

 citrinns has also been reared from it. Icerya p)urchasi, Mask., (the 

 cottony cushion scale) was observed in Sicily. It was not seen in 

 Italy, except at Portici, and was not observed anywhere in Spain. 

 A severe infestation in Sicily was so completely checked by Novius 

 cardinalis that the latter disappeared for lack of food. Crypfochaetiim 

 iceryae, Will., an Agromyzid parasite, is the second most important 

 enemy of this .scale in some of the countries where it occurs, but it was 

 not taken by the author in Sicily. Pseudococcns citri, Kisso, (the 

 citrus mealy bug) occurs in almost all citrus districts of Spain and 

 Italy, and in 1913 it was the chief pest in Sicily, so much so, that the 

 fallen fruit and leaves with the insects and cotton still on them gave 

 the ground a distinctly whitish appearance. In Sicily, the natural 

 enemies of P. citri include one Hemipteron, two Neuroptera, two 

 Coleoptera, two Diptera, and six or seven Hymenoptera. The larva 

 of the small moth. Prays citri, Millier, often does serious injury to the 



