2 INSECTS IN SHIPMENTS OF SUGAE CANE. 



Com])ared with the knowledge which has been gained of certain 

 other insects, little is known concerning the species which trou) le 

 sugar cane. The reason for this lack of knowledge is that the scien- 

 tific study of the various species is a very recent development, and 

 the few workers in di.Terent ]:)arts of the world have not yet had time 

 to make the required investigations. But the several species, with 

 their respective forms of injury, have been differentiated and some 

 of their life habits have been determined, so that more than suffi- 

 cient knowledge has been obtained upon which to base a warning. 

 The very fact that the measures for control are in many cases doubt- 

 ful makes the w^arning even more urgent. 



A list of species liable to dissemination by shipments of sugar 

 cane has been compiled from published and unpublished notes which 

 are on file at the office of the United States Bureau of Entomology 

 at Audubon Park, New Orleans. The various species are considered 

 as follows: 



FOREIGN INSECTS. 



THE LARGER MOTH BORER. 



(Castnia licus Drury.) 



Of the injurious insects which do not now occur in the United States 

 the larger moth borer is perhaps most to be avoided. The injury 

 to the cane by this species is even greater than that which is caused 

 by the moth borer which we have in this country, and the larger 

 species is still more difficult to control. 



Prof. H. A. Ballon,^ entomologist of the Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture for the British West Indies, has published the following 

 statement regarding the pest: 



* * * The larva reaches a size of 2h inches in length and \ inch in diameter. 

 The tunnel is consequently large and the injury to cane very severe. The pupal 

 state is passed in the cane or in the soil near the underground portions. The time 

 occupied in the life cycle ranges from 12 to 15 weeks. The adult insect is a large 

 day-flying moth which in general appearance is very similar to the large butterflies. 



Cas'nia liens is a native of South America. Its original food jjlants were species 

 of the orchid family and of the family of plants to which the pineapple belongs 

 (Bromeliacese). It is distributed over a large portion of the northern part of South 

 America and extends northward to Mexico; it has been known in Trinidad for several 

 years. In British Guiana it has been a serious cane pest in certain localities for a 

 number of years, and in Trinidad it is kno\VTi to attack sugar cane and bananas. It 

 has also been reported, as a cane pest, from Surinam. It is not known at present to 

 occur in any of the islands north of Trinidad, and every precaution should be taken 

 to prevent its introduction into any of those islands. If cane plants are to be imported 

 from any colony or country where this pest occurs, only the tops should be admitted, 

 and these should be carefully examined for any signs of the eggs or larvae at the base 

 of the leaves. Cane trash should never be imported, on account of the possibility of 



'Insect Pests of the Lesser Antilles. By H. A. Ballou, M. Sc. Issued by the Commissioner of Agri- 

 culture. Barbados, 1912. 



