608 INSECT PESTS OF FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD 



They are likely to be more abundant in dry weather, spring and 

 fall in Florida. 



The insect is resistant to sprays, being protected by its waxy 

 covering and the young are also resistant to fumigation so that the 

 insect is hard to control. It will however, yield to persistent 

 treatment under the methods to be described. 



Mealy-bugs, like most of the other important citrus insects, are 

 subject to the attacks of many kinds of parasitic and predaceous 

 enemies which may, under favorable conditions, entirely eliminate 

 the necessity for artificial control measures. It has been observed 

 in California that the work of these enemies is interfered with by 

 the Argentine ant * which drives away the parasites or destroys 

 them in some stages. It is therefore frequently of advantage to 

 protect the infested trees from these ants, either by banding with 

 some substance which will keep them out of the trees, as sticky 

 tree-tanglefoot, or by poisoning the ants. This is done quite 

 successfully by the use of the following poison as recommended by 

 Woglumand Neulsf from whom the folio wing directions are quoted: 



" To free trees of ants the ideal procedure would be to eradicate 

 these insects from the area affected. The writers have not carried 

 on any such tests, but the published results of work carried on by 

 the Department of Agriculture against the Argentine ant t would 

 indicate the feasibility of freeing orchards of this pest. 



The procedure followed with noteworthy success in municipal 

 control work was the distribution throughout the affected area of 

 a poisoned sirup in a suitable container. A paraffined paper bag, 

 with perforations for the passing of ants, containing about a gill 

 of sirup, was used as a container for nailing to trees." 



" The sirup is made as follows: 



Granulated sugar pounds 15 



Water pints 7 



Tartaric acid (crystallized) ounce J 



Boil for 30 minutes. Allow to cool. 



Dissolve sodium arsenite (C. P.) ounce % 



* Iridomyrmex humilis Mayr. 



f Woglum and Neuls, Farmers' Bulletin 862, U. S. Dept. of Agr. 



} Barber, E. R. The Argentine Ant: Distribution and Control in the 

 United States, U. S. Dept. of Agr., Bui. 377, 23 p., 4 fig. 1916. Newell, 

 Wilmon, and Barber, T. C. The Argentine Ant. U. S. Dept. of Agr., Bui. 

 Ent. Bui. 122. 



