UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



f BULLETIN No. 1117 





Washington, D. C. 



December, 1922 



NATURAL CONTROL OF THE CITRUS MEALYBUG IN 



FLORIDA. 



By A. T. Speaee, Mycoentomologist, Bureau of Entomology. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction 1 



Citrus conditions in Florida 1 



Insect enemies of the mealybug, and 

 insects associated with the mealy- 

 bugs and sometimes considered as 



heneficial- 3 



The fungous parasite Entomophthora 



fumosa, n. sp 4 



Page. 



The fungous parasite Entomophthora 

 fumosa, n. sp. — Continued. 



Description 6 



Microscopic characters 6 



Symptoms of the disease caused hy 



E. fumosa 10 



The fungus in the grove 10 



Relation of fungicides to mealybugs- 14 



INTRODUCTION. 



The citrus mealybug {Pseud ococcus citri Risso) is widely dis- 

 tributed in Florida and the Gulf States and infests the several varie- 

 ties of citrus and various other plants cultivated in this region. 

 Wliile it sometimes causes a premature drop of citrus fruit, in most 

 instances more injury is wrought by the sooty mold which develops 

 luxuriantly upon the fruit where the insects are feeding. On the 

 whole, however, the mealybug is considered a pest of secondary im- 

 portance in Florida, as it usually does not appear in sufficient num- 

 bers to arouse the ajDprehension of the gTower. In California, on 

 the contrary, it is looked upon as one of the most serious insect 

 enemies of citrus.^ The object of the present paper is to show why, 

 in Florida, it is usually unimportant and to point out that a knowl- 

 edge of its natural enemies is of direct economic value to the citrus 

 grower. 



CITRUS CONDITIONS IN FLORIDA. 



In Florida, perhaps more than in any other citrus region of the 

 world, are environmental factors conducive to the control of injuri- 



1 Woglum, R. S., and Neuls, J. D. The common mealybug and its control in Cali- 

 fornia. U. S. Dept. Agr. Farmers' Bui. 862, p. 11. 1917. 

 4543—22 1 



