154 



duced about thirty years ago with apple trees from France. It spread 

 rapidly aud developed an extraordinary destructive power, so as to seri- 

 ously' threaten the important apple industry of the province of Valdivia. 

 But fortunately the first shock of the invasion was the worst, and the 

 disease has lost in intensity, although there is even now hardly a single 

 apple tree in the country which is free of this pesl. 



Various species of Coccidce are now acclimatized in Chili, but most of 

 them affect only the plants upon which they were introduced. Thus 

 we find in Chili Coccus adonidimi, C. hesjyeridum, Aspidiotus roscv, A. 

 nerii. Aspidiotus lauri injuriously affects in central Chili the Olive trees 

 and many other plants with leathery leaves, e. g., Myrtus luma and M. 

 ugni, which are famous for their delicious fruits. Besides these Coc- 

 cidae, quite a number of European Aphids have also permanently set- 

 tled, but not a single species of the many Lepidoptera* and Coleoptera, 

 injurious to growing cultivated plants and trees, has ever been intro- 

 duced with its food-plant. Thus, there are never any caterpillars nor 

 flea-beetles on the Chilian cabbage ; there are no w^ormy apples, pears, 

 plums [prunes 1] ; there are no Canker Worms, Cut-worms, no Tent 

 Caterpillars and no Pea Weevils. 



Of other injurious Coleoptera very few have found their way to Chili ; 

 ^itodrepa panicea^ the well-known Herbarium pest, Corynetes violaceus, 

 the Bone Beetle, and C. rujicollis, the Ham Beetle, are economically not 

 very important. Two grain-weevils occur, Calandra oryzce aud G. gra- 

 naria, the damage done by the latter being often enormous ; but an- 

 other grain pest, Tinea granella, has never been heard of in Chili. In 

 houses. Tinea biseliella {crinella) is very common, feeding on carpets> 

 Several Euroi^eau Dermestidae are from time to time brought over in 

 ships, but do not seem to flourish in Chili ; their places are occupied by 

 native species, and the Chilian Eurhopalus variegatus is fully able to dis- 

 pose of any insect collection so as to need no assistance from the kin- 

 dred European Anthrenus. Tenehrio molitor has in quite recent years 

 been intentionally introduced, the larva being used as birds' food, but 

 has not yet spread further. 



As a matter of course, Blatta germanica is also not rare, but Dr. 

 Phdippi found it only in the woods and is inclined to consider it as au- 

 tochthonous. 



The parasites of man, viz, the flea, the bed-bug, and the three species 

 of .lice, are just as common in Chili as elsewhere. The fleas and the lice 

 no doubt accompanied the first human immigrants toChili, while the bed- 

 bug came in all probability only after the arrival of the Spaniards 5 even 

 to-day it is still absent in the province of Valdivia and in the country 

 of the Araukanians. The flea occurs in Chili as elsewhere only up to 

 an altitude of 5,000 feet. The Jigger, Sarcopsyllapenetram, which is a 

 considerable annoyance along the coast of Peru, occurs nowhere in Chili. 



* Plusia gamma which occurs in Chili is claimed by Dr. Philippi as an endemic 

 species. ^^ 



