2 
During the past few years many appeals for remedies have beer: 
made to the editors of our horticultural journals, to many State exper- 
iment stations, and to the United States Department of Agriculture; 
yet, although it is not, in reality, a difficult insect to control, the 
remedial methods which should be followed are far from being gener- 
ally known among the many greenhouse men who suffer from its 
depredations. 
HISTORY, ORIGIN, AND DISTRIBUTION. 
The records of the greenhouse white fly date back to 1856, 4 when 
Prof. W. O. Westwood, of England, recognized it as a previously 
undescribed species. The first published record, so far as is known to 
the writer, of the existence of the insect in this country was in the 
year 1870, when Dr. A. S. Packard, at that time Massachusetts State 
entomologist, reported it as occurring in abundance on tomato plants 
at Salem, Mass. ? 
Two places have been suggested as the original home of this 
species, viz, Mexico and Brazil, but while presumably the origin is 
tropical American, there is no definite information on this point. Of 
more importance from a practical standpoint is its present distribu- 
tion. Besides its occurrence in Europe, Canada, and Mexico, it ‘is 
known to be widely distributed in greenhouses throughout the eastern 
United States, and without doubt it occurs more generally than the 
published records show. We have specific reports of its occurrence 
in greenhouses in the States of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, 
Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, 
and Michigan, also in the District of Columbia. 
FOOD PLANTS. 
The insect under consideration is notable for its very general feed- 
ing habits, having already been recorded as breeding on over 60 dit- 
ferent kinds of plants. Of these the following are of the most eco- 
nomic importance: Aster, chrysanthemum, salvia, lantana, fuchsia, 
coleus, ageratum, primula, geranium, heliotrope, rose, eggplant, bean, 
melon, lettuce, cucumber, and tomato. The two last named suffer the 
most serious injury from this insect, perhaps more than the other 
greenhouse plants together, although not infrequently there are 
reported serious losses in greenhouses devoted to one or more of the 
other plants mentioned. 
DESCRIPTION AND LIFE HISTORY. 
The mature white flies of both sexes are four-winged insects scarcely 
more than 13 mm. or three-fiftieths of an inch in length. The adult 
@ Gardeners’ Chronicle, p. 852. > Agriculture of Massachusetts for year 1870. 
