257 



HuTSON (J. C). Insect Notes. — Agric. News, Barbados, xvi, no. 388, 

 10th March 1917, p. 74. 



The commonest pests of the sweet potato in Barbados are the 

 scarabee {Euscepes hatatae), the sweet potato moth {Proloparce cingii- 

 lata), red spider {Tetranychus telarius) and the sweet potato weevil 

 {Cylas formicarius), which also occurs in Jamaica, British Guiana, 

 Cuba, the Bahamas and the Southern United States, but, so far, is 

 not known to occur in the Lesser Antilles. 



E. bafatae can only be controlled by a rotation of crops and by 

 not planting sweet potatoes on land on which they have been gro\vn 

 during the previous two years at least. The best method is to select 

 a piece of land where there have been no potatoes for several seasons 

 and plant it with small pieces of roots taken from fields known to be 

 free from this pest. All roots showing the slightest sign of infestation 

 should be destroyed. This land can be used as a nursery and cuttings 

 taken from these plants for planting in uninfested ground. At the 

 end of six or eight months, the nursery should be forked over and, 

 if still free from E. batufae, may be used for the same purpose. Land 

 badly infested with this weevil can be planted with other crops, but 

 should be cleaned as thoroughly as possible first, all infested material, 

 such as roots, vines, &c., being buried with lime. C. formicarius can 

 also be controlled by these measures. 



Protoparce cinguhta, as well as the caterpillars of Sylepla helcitalis, 

 can be killed by arsenical poisons such as Paris green, or arsenate of 

 lead. Tetranyclius telarius and Euthrips insular is, which is also occa- 

 sionally found on the under-.surface of the leaves of the sweet potato, 

 can be controlled by dusting with a mixture of sulphur and lime. 



Flea-beetles occasionally cause slight damage to the leaves of sweet 

 potato and the grubs of the root borer [Diaprepes] and hard-backs 

 occasionallv attack the roots. 



MozNETTE (G. F.). The Rose Flea-beetle {Haltica probata, Fall.) — 

 Jl. Entom. Zool., Claremont. Cat., ix, no. 1, March 1917, pp. 

 13-19. 1 plate. 



The rose flea-beetle {Haltica probata) occurs along the Pacific Coast 

 from British Columbia to California. At Nelson, B.C., strawberries 

 have been recorded as being attacked by H. evicta, Lee. [see this 

 Review, Ser. A, p. 298], but the author is of opinion that the flea- 

 beetle concerned was in reality H. probata. This species primarily 

 feeds on the wild rose, but has been reported on several cultivated 

 plants and there is some possibility of its becoming destructive to 

 cultivated roses. 



H. probata emerges from its winter quarters as the wild rose leaf- 

 buds, on which it feeds, are beginning to open. The eggs are laid 

 on the leaves, usually on the lower surface. The larvae attack the 

 leaves, which they skeletonise. Pupation takes place in the ground, 

 the adults emerging about August and hibernating. The adult is 

 parasitised by a Tachinid fly, not yet identified. 



