CONTROL OF THE ARGENTINE ANT 1 IN ORANGE 



GROVES. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction and importance 



How the presence of the Argentine 

 ant favors increased infestation by 



scale insects 



The ant and soft scales in Cali- 

 fornia 



The ant and soft scales in Lou- 

 isiana 



The ant and armored scales 



Page. 

 3 



Page. 



The ant and the orange aphis 



The ant and the citrus white fly 



Prevention of injury to orange trees- 

 Better orchard culture as a pre- 

 ventive of injury in Louis- 

 iana 



Trapping the ant in Louisiana- 

 i >f poisoned baits and ant 

 harriers 



9 



9 

 10 



10 

 12 



18 



INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE. 



THE ARGENTINE AXT was introduced first into the United 

 States on ships arriving at New Orleans from tropical Amer- 

 ican ports. It has been known in New Orleans far at least 25 years, 

 and probably has been reintroduoed many times during that period. 

 It made its way from Orleans Parish into Plaqueniines and St. 

 Bernard Parishes, along the lower Mississippi River, by rail and on 

 coal barges, and now occurs in slightly more than one-fourth of the 

 orange groves of Louisiana. It has become established widely in 

 California orange orchards, and is especially numerous in some 

 orchards in Los Angeles and Riverside Counties. 



This ant is of first importance as a pest in houses, groceries, and 

 candy and meat shops. It not only causes great annoyance by per- 

 sistently getting into all foods containing sugar, fats, or fruit juices, 

 and into meat, but sometimes gets into beds and into the mouth and 

 nostrils of infants. It probably ranks- near to the house fly as a 

 disease carrier, as it is a frequent visitor at feces and. other sources 

 of infection and doubtless often nests in contaminated soil. 



It has been rated as a very important pest of field and truck crops, 

 on certain of which it is said to cause great increase of mealybugs 

 and aphids. Sometimes it removes the seeds of certain kinds of 

 vegetables from the ground before they have germinated, necessitat- 



Iri<loinyrtnex Jut wills Mayr. 



