THE MANGO WEEVIL. 3 
itself, when normally the gnawing and excrement and discoloration 
due to the work of the larvee and weevil can be noted. Therefore all 
seeds introduced for planting in this country in regions where mangoes 
are grown should be opened in this manner and all that indicate infesta- 
tion should be burned. As a matter of further security all the appar- 
ently sound seeds should be germinated in a box under a wire screen, 
so that any weevils which may occur in seeds which show no visible 
sign of infestation may be retained and destroyed. The danger is 
particularly great where, as is now the case, mango seeds are being 
imported for planting in regions in Florida where fruiting mango 
trees occur. Where there are no mango trees, or trees of fruiting 
age, the danger is perhaps negligible, as no other food plant is known 
for the mango weevil. Still, if large numbers of these weevils should 
be introduced and liberated, they are long lived and might easily be 
carried on railway trains to regions where they might find lodgment. 
It is, therefore, desirable in any case to observe all the precautions 
indicated. 
It has already been stated that this mango weevil is the principal 
enemy of the mango practically wherever this fruit is grown. In 
the Hawaiian Islands Mr. D. L. Van Dine, formerly entomologist of 
the Hawaii Agricultural Experiment Station, reports that during the 
first year of his examination he found 60 per cent of the mangoes in- 
fested and the following year from 80 to 90 per cent, in some instances 
as many as four larvee being found in a single seed. While the mango 
weevil destroys, primarily, the seed of this fruit, it is also believed by 
growers to hasten the maturity of infested fruit and thus increase the 
_ percentage of fallen mangoes. 
Inasmuch as this insect passes its entire development within the 
seed, it is beyond the reach of insecticides and fumigation, and the 
only remedy which the’ bureau is able to advise to prevent it from 
becoming a pest in the United States is to collect and destroy all of 
the fallen or supposedly infested mangoes. : 
It is most urgently important now, however, for Florida to keep 
this weevil out. Mango seeds are now probably being imported into 
Florida by various growers, and the danger of such importation should 
be thoroughly understood, and whatever authority the State may have 
to prevent or control such importations should be put in operation. 
Approved: 
JAMES WILSON, 
Secretary of Agriculture. 
Wasuineton, D. C., May 23, 1911. 
[Cir. 141] 
O 
