FRUITS 259 



they mtiy be easily picked off by liand, but it is bet- 

 ter to take advantage of the fact that like most of 

 their relatives they fall to the ground when jarred 

 or otherwise disturbed. Jarrino- them onto a sheet 

 stretched over a light frame, such as has been de- 

 scribed for the peach curculio, is tlie most effective 

 method of combating this pest. Spraying with Paris 

 green is also useful, but it cannot be fully relied on, 

 since the beetles, as a rule, only feed on the youngest 

 foliage, and yery frequent spraying would be neces- 

 sary to keep all the young growth effectively poi= 

 soned. So far as known tliis insect is confined to 

 Cuba. Another very similar one is abundant in 

 Porto Rico, feeding on orange foliage, but its life 

 history has not been studied and its larval habit is 

 not known. In Jamaica a much larQ-er and showier 

 curculio (^Prcepodes vittata) does almost exactly the 

 same damage as the Cuban insect, and it has been 

 one of the chief reasons for tlie practical failure 

 of commercial orange planting in tliat island. It 

 could doubtless be controlled by the same means that 

 is being found effective in Cuba. 



Various species of ants are serious enemies of the 

 orange in some of the tropical countries. Differ- 

 ent species of the large leaf-cutting ants (^Atta) 

 that are known as "bibijaguas" in Cuba do much 

 damage in that island and also in parts of ]\Iexico 

 and Central America, but they are not troublesome 

 in Jamaica and Port Rico. A large tree may be 

 entirely defoliated by a horde of these marauders in 

 a single niglit. They live in underground cavities 

 in large " ant-hills " and send out their marching 



