315 



of $1,000 to $1,500 per year had at that time not a single tree wliieh bore 

 fruit. The lower leaves die first and fall off, the flowers fall, or the nuts, 

 if they have been formed, dwindle away and do not arrive at matu- 

 rity. Ultimately budding leaves are attacked and the crown drops off, 

 leaving the withered trunk. This work, however, was not to be attrib- 

 uted entirely to the Aleyrodid, since a bark-louse occurred also upon 

 the leaves. Curtis described the former insect as Aleyrodes cocois, and 

 accompanied his description by a fairly recognizable figure of the larva 

 and adult male and of the abdomen of the female. 



In the Entomologhfs Monthly Magazine 

 for February, 1892, Mr. J. W. Douglas, in 



connection with an article by Mr. A. ( '. F. ^^^ 



Morgan, erected for this and one other ^' ' - 



species, the genus Aleurodicus, the prin- 

 cipal character separating it from Aley- . 

 rodes being the bifurcation of the median > ///--' 

 nervure of the wings. The locality given i ; ■ 

 is Demerara. 



Up to the present time this insect has (-c 



been found only upon cocoanut palm, but 

 we have to record its recent appearance 

 upon Guava in the Island of Trinidad. 

 The cocoanut injury alone would have 

 been sufficient to warrant the presenta- 

 tion of some account of this species in * | 

 this journal, since the growth of the cocoa- }' 

 nut palm as a fruit crop in south Florida ., '" • 

 is fast reaching considerable importance; 

 but the fact that the species attacks 

 Guava also adds to the insects imi^ortance. 

 Several species of the genus Psidium, in- 

 cluding a number of varieties of Guava 

 of economic importance, are now grown 

 in Florida and the industry is increasing. 

 Up to the present time, as we notice from 

 Mr. H. E. Van Demau's report on the con- 

 dition of tropical and semi-tropical fruits 

 in the United States, no insect enemies of 

 the plant have been known in Florida. 



The injury which this new insect is doing in the West Indies 

 seems to be considerable, and its importation into Florida is probably 

 only a question of time, if not already brought about. The Guava is 

 even less fitted to withstand the attacks of a rapidly spreading species 

 like this than is the cocoanut-palm ; and there is, therefore, every reason 

 to forewarn Guava growers of the appearance and habits of the insect. 



The Trinidad specimens which we have received (through the kind- 



/- 



Fig. ia.—Alenrudicus cocois Curt.: a, 

 full-grown larval skin from below; 

 6, same from above — enlarged (orig- 

 inal). 



