18 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO SUBTROPICAL FRUITS. 



West Indies, where it had been the cause of considerable damage to 

 the cacao. Giard piibhshed some account of its damages and stated 

 that it was the same species that Maxwell-Lefroy^ had recently 

 reported as injuring cacao in the island of Grenada. In this report 

 Maxwell-Lefroy considered the conditions then existing in Grenada 

 and gave an account of the sprajang experiments against this insect. 

 Probably the first mention of this insect was that of W. E. Broadway,* 

 in 1898, when attention was called to the "blight" of the cacao. 



A. Elot,* in 1901, gave a very clear account of the injury caused 

 by this insect and of its habits and repubhshed the description of 

 Giard. According to tliis writer the different stages fed on the 

 foliage and pods of the cacao and caused damage not only by destroy- 

 ing the leaves but by so changing the appearance of afl'ected pods that 

 it was impossible to distinguish them from the mature pods; thus 

 great damage resulted from picldng the pods prematurely. 



In 1902 an editorial review^ of this article by Elot appeared in a 

 West Indian Bulletin, and also one by W. Fawcett^ on the work 

 of Maxwell-Lefroy appeared in a bulletin of the botanical department 

 of Jamaica. During 1903 and 1904 several short articles were pub- 

 Ushed, and these are given in the bibliography. 



In 1905 A. Elot '^ published another article on the injury to cacao 

 by this thrips. In tliis he repeated a good part of the information 

 used in his former article. lie stated that cultivation, pruning and 

 fertiUzing would be very beneficial to trees attacked by this insect. 



The next year H. A. Ballou ** published a short article on Pliy- 

 sophus ruhrocincta, which was largely abstracted from the earlier 

 one of Maxwell-Lefroy. This same writer between 1906 and 1909 

 published a number of short articles that are listed in the bibliography. 



Mr. H. J. Franldin,** in 1908, published an article in which he 

 redescribed the female and also described the male for the first time. 

 He recorded it as feeding on cacao and kola in St. Vincent Island, 

 and also pubhshed a bibliography of the species. 



In 1909 ^^ Maxwell-Lefroy reported that it occurred in Ceylon, 

 and that it was probably introduced into the West Indies from there. 



F. W. Urich,^* in 1910, reported a serious outbreak during Novem- 

 ber and December in the island of Trinidad. The same author,^ 

 in February, 1911, published a bulletin on tliis insect. He gave very 

 good colored plates showing the adult, larva, and pupa, and the 

 appearance of injured leaves and pods of the cacao. The different 

 stages and habits were described and the life history studied to some 

 extent for the island of Trinidad. Urich recorded it as feeding on 

 the cacao, guava, roses, almond, and mango. 



J. E. Higgins,^^ in 1911, recorded it as injuring mango seedlings 

 in the greenhouses at the Hawaii Agricultural Experiment Station. 



