26 REPORT OF SEARCH FOR ENEMIES OF CITRUS WHITE FLY. 



possible successful operations. Not only were there a great number 

 of citrus trees in this region, but the infestation of the white Ay as 

 well as the percentage of parasitism exceeded that of any other place 

 visited. This was also one of the few places in India in which 

 young nursery trees were available in large numbers. Being also 

 the seat of a large botanical garden which contamed many citrus 

 trees, it afforded excellent facilities for the purjDose in hand, and 

 thus was the logical place in which to concentrate efforts. 



A stop was made en route at Saharanpur, where success had been 

 achieved the previous year in the collection of Cryptognathajiavescens, 

 the predator}'' eneni}^ of the white fly. Diligent search this time 

 revealed very few living iUeyrodes; so after employmg from ]\£r. 

 Hartless, the superintendent of the garden, a "moUe" or gardener 

 who had assisted the ^^Titer the previous year, the journey was con- 

 tinued to Lahore. 



A careful canvass of the orange and lime trees of the Lahore" 

 region was at once started m order to ascertain the prevalent condi- 

 tion of the white-fly infestation. Several days of laborious endeavor 

 covering much of this locality i^esulted in the finding of a very light or 

 scattering infestation of livmg Aleyrodes, The number was so 

 small as to be worthless for use m breeding or parasitic work. 



Confronted with this discouraging outlook, a trip was made to 

 Gujranwala, about 50 miles north of Lahore and the greatest com- 

 mercial orange-producing center in northern India. The condition 

 of the white fly on citrus trees here was quite comparable with that 

 at Lahore. Few living insects could be found, although the number 

 of dead specimens on some trees was large. The previous autmmi 

 a small garden of an ornamental bush (Jasminum samhac), whose 

 flowers are valuable for making perfumed oils, was found surrounded 

 by orange trees. These Jasmmum bushes were severely mfested 

 with Aleyrodes citri; in fact, it was the most severe infestation seen 

 in all India, so much so that the leaves were blackened with a crust 

 of sooty-mold fungus. As he felt confident that this garden would 

 furnish a splendid breeding ground for the white fly, the discourage- 

 ment of the writer can be well imagined when on examining this 

 garden it was found that the extreme temperature of the previous 

 winter had frozen back most of the bushes and almost eradicated the 

 fly. Returning to Lahore, a most careful search was continued, vdih 

 the ultimate result of discovering m one part of the botanical garden 

 a weU-protected hedge which was well infested with the white fly. 

 This fortunate discover}'' constituted the basis of future operations. 



Discovery of Living Parasites, 



Immediate attention was next devoted toward the discovery of 

 the parasite Prospaltella laliorensis, which the work of the previous 



