SECTION IV. LEGISLATION IN OTHER COlfXTi; 1 ES. H) 



BRITISH HONDURAS. 



In 1883 in a report on "The Colony of British Honduras" p. 35-56, 

 Sir Daniel Morris mentions a froghopper damaging tlie sugar-can ■ \'\ 

 that Colony. He describes the white froth on the cane roots which 

 appears about the end of July and from which the mature insect 

 emerges in August. "While affected in this manner the canes bee >ins 

 stunted in growth but even afterwards with the mature insects they are 

 not free from injury, as the fly attacks the leaves and cau-;es them to be 

 spotted and eventually to die off. Tlie lower leaves appear to wither 

 first, but the upper are soon attacked and sometimes so severely as to 

 cause the whole to fall off, leaving nothing but the bare canes standing. 

 Even among the canes not severely attacked the joints are short and 

 poor. About the end of September and October the fly disappears. The 

 canes after a time, relieved from the attacks of the fly, make very f lir 

 growth, their joints become long and full and they continue to devel jp 

 until cutting time. The fly is more severe in damp and wet lands, in 

 lower portions of fields, than in dry powdery lands." 



Urich (1913 C. p. 8) suggests that the insect is probably T. postira. 

 which is known from British Honduras and which has been recorded 

 as damaging sugar cane in Mexico. (See below.) 



Since the above was in print I have had the opportunity of examining 

 specimens collected in British Honduras by Mr. W. R. Dunlop, according 

 to whom the insect continues to do severe damage to sugar cane. 

 The insect is not Tomasins postica but is very close to T.jugata 

 Fowler, known from Guatemala and also to T. cnntigna from Honduras. 



MEXICO. 



According to Urich (1913 <_'. p. 7) damage in the state of Vera Cruz, 

 Mexico by the froghopper Tomaspls postica (Plate I Fig. 13) has been 

 known since 1880. It usually injures tlie grass lands and pastures, but 

 in 1903 it was found to attack sugar-cane also. In August and 

 September the adult insects are in abundance, as well as later during 

 the dry season in October and after, causing considerable damage to the 

 pastures. It was controlled by burning the pastures in April and May. 



Mr. Urich visited Mexico in 1911 and a short report was given to the 

 I'oard of Agriculture at the meeting in January 1912 (Ball. Dept. of 

 Agr., Trinidad and Tobago Vol. XL No. 71 p. 298). He stated that the 

 froghopper was abundant on cane and grass in low lying damp ground, 

 and was less numerous on porous friablj sjilo. I ^ was not so c^iniuju 

 as in Trinidad, which he considers as due to the absence of boucans 

 (rows of unburied trash) in the fields. 



No egg parasites were found, but a Beduviid bug {Castolus plagiati- 

 collis) was found feeding on the adults. This was introduced into 

 Trinidad but unfortunately did not survive {see p. 81). The green 

 muscardine fungus was common on the adult froghoppers and in a later 

 report Urich (i913 B. p. 249) further records a fungus of the genus 

 E)npusa which was also killing the adults. 



U. S. A. 



A froghopper, probably Tomaspls {Moneepltnra) bicinctits, has been 

 found in the Louisiana district on sugar-cane but has never done any 

 appreciable damage. 



In the New York district, Timothy and other grasses have been 

 damaged by two small froghoppers Philaenus Uneatus and P. spumariiis. 

 Felt (olst Kept. State Entomologist, New York p. 87) recommends 

 rotation of crop to prevent further damage. 



