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  NOTES 
  ON 
  THE 
  SMALL 
  MOTH-BORERS 
  OF 
  SUGAR-CANE 
  IN 
  

  

  BRITISH 
  GUIANA. 
  

  

  By 
  L. 
  D. 
  Cleare, 
  Jr., 
  F.E.S., 
  

  

  Government 
  Economic 
  Biologist, 
  British 
  Guiana. 
  

  

  (Plate 
  XXIV.) 
  

  

  Sugar-cane 
  is 
  the 
  principal 
  crop 
  of 
  British 
  Guiana, 
  and 
  during 
  the 
  year 
  1921 
  

   there 
  were 
  65,870 
  acres 
  under 
  cultivation. 
  This 
  area 
  yielded 
  110,985 
  tons 
  of 
  sugar 
  

   and 
  2,228, 
  164 
  gallons 
  of 
  rum, 
  the 
  value 
  of 
  the 
  crop 
  being 
  about 
  $10,355,000 
  {£2, 
  1 
  57,200) 
  . 
  

  

  It 
  has 
  been 
  estimated 
  that 
  30 
  per 
  cent, 
  of 
  the 
  population 
  of 
  the 
  colony 
  is 
  directly 
  

   dependent 
  upon 
  the 
  sugar 
  industry 
  for 
  its 
  livelihood, 
  while 
  if 
  those 
  indirectly 
  dependent 
  

   were 
  included, 
  the 
  number 
  would 
  be 
  over 
  80 
  per 
  cent, 
  of 
  the 
  entire 
  population. 
  

   It 
  can 
  be 
  understood 
  then 
  that 
  any 
  insect 
  that 
  affects 
  this 
  crop 
  to 
  any 
  considerable 
  

   extent 
  must 
  be 
  of 
  the 
  greatest 
  importance. 
  

  

  With 
  the 
  exception 
  perhaps 
  of 
  the 
  giant 
  moth-borer 
  (Castnia 
  licus, 
  Drury), 
  which 
  

   caused 
  very 
  serious 
  losses 
  about 
  twelve 
  years 
  ago, 
  and 
  at 
  that 
  time 
  threatened 
  the 
  

   industry 
  in 
  this 
  Colony, 
  there 
  are 
  to-day 
  no 
  insects 
  of 
  such 
  importance 
  to 
  the 
  in- 
  

   habitants 
  of 
  British 
  Guiana 
  as 
  the 
  small 
  moth-borers 
  of 
  the 
  sugar-cane. 
  

  

  Historical. 
  

  

  So 
  far 
  back 
  as 
  1879 
  small 
  moth-borers 
  appear 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  serious 
  pests 
  of 
  sugar- 
  

   cane 
  in 
  British 
  Guiana 
  ; 
  indeed, 
  records 
  show 
  that 
  in 
  that 
  year 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  meeting 
  

   of 
  the 
  leading 
  sugar-planters 
  of 
  the 
  Colony 
  to 
  discuss 
  the 
  situation 
  and 
  to 
  enquire 
  

   into 
  the 
  best 
  methods 
  of 
  destroying 
  these 
  insects. 
  In 
  the 
  same 
  year 
  Miss 
  Ormerod, 
  

   as 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  correspondence 
  with 
  certain 
  estate 
  proprietors 
  of 
  the 
  Colony, 
  published 
  

   a 
  paper 
  in 
  the 
  Proceedings 
  of 
  the 
  Entomological 
  Society 
  of 
  London, 
  entitled 
  " 
  Sugar- 
  

   cane 
  Borers 
  in 
  British 
  Guiana." 
  This 
  may 
  be 
  taken 
  as 
  the 
  first 
  scientific 
  contribution 
  

   on 
  these 
  insects 
  from 
  British 
  Guiana. 
  

  

  The 
  seriousness 
  of 
  the 
  situation 
  was 
  apparently 
  not 
  fully 
  realised, 
  for 
  little 
  appears 
  

   to 
  have 
  been 
  done 
  at 
  that 
  time 
  in 
  controlling 
  the 
  insects 
  ; 
  indeed, 
  it 
  can 
  be 
  said 
  

   that 
  it 
  is 
  only 
  very 
  recently 
  that 
  it 
  has 
  come 
  to 
  be 
  generally 
  recognised. 
  In 
  1911 
  

   there 
  was 
  a 
  very 
  serious 
  outbreak 
  of 
  the 
  giant 
  moth-borer 
  in 
  the 
  Colony, 
  and 
  Mr. 
  J. 
  J. 
  

   Quelch 
  was 
  engaged 
  by 
  Messrs. 
  Booker 
  Bros, 
  and 
  Curtis 
  Campbell 
  & 
  Co. 
  to 
  investigate 
  

   that 
  insect 
  and 
  recommend 
  measures 
  for 
  its 
  control. 
  This 
  task 
  Mr. 
  Quelch 
  very 
  

   effectively 
  accomplished, 
  but 
  while 
  enquiring 
  into 
  that 
  insect 
  he 
  was 
  able 
  to 
  recognise 
  

   the 
  terrible 
  damage 
  wrought 
  by 
  the 
  small 
  moth-borers, 
  and 
  immediately 
  began 
  the 
  

   study 
  of 
  these 
  insects. 
  

  

  About 
  1913 
  Mr. 
  Quelch 
  gave 
  up 
  his 
  researches, 
  which 
  were 
  then 
  taken 
  up 
  by 
  

   Mr. 
  H. 
  W. 
  B. 
  Moore. 
  Mr. 
  Moore 
  is 
  at 
  present 
  engaged 
  by 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  sugar-estate 
  

   proprietors 
  to 
  advise 
  on 
  methods 
  of 
  control 
  and 
  to 
  superintend 
  the 
  control 
  work 
  

   on 
  their 
  estates. 
  Both 
  of 
  these 
  gentlemen 
  have 
  contributed 
  many 
  reports 
  on 
  small 
  

   moth-borers 
  and 
  other 
  insect 
  pests 
  of 
  the 
  sugar-cane 
  in 
  British 
  Guiana. 
  

  

  Between 
  1911 
  and 
  the 
  present 
  time 
  Mr. 
  G. 
  E. 
  Bodkin, 
  until 
  recently 
  Government 
  

   Economic 
  Biologist, 
  has 
  contributed 
  to 
  the 
  literature 
  of 
  these 
  and 
  other 
  sugar-cane 
  

   pests, 
  principally 
  in 
  the 
  Reports 
  of 
  the 
  Biological 
  Division 
  of 
  the 
  Department 
  of 
  

   Science 
  and 
  Agriculture 
  of 
  this 
  Colonv. 
  

  

  Life-cycle 
  and 
  Habits 
  of 
  Diatraea. 
  

  

  There 
  are 
  two 
  species 
  of 
  small 
  moth-borers 
  that 
  are 
  particularlv 
  injurious 
  to 
  

   sugar-cane 
  in 
  British 
  Guiana, 
  while 
  a 
  third 
  is 
  sometimes 
  found 
  attacking 
  it. 
  The 
  

   first 
  two 
  species 
  are 
  Diatraea 
  saccharalis, 
  F., 
  and 
  Diatraea 
  canella, 
  Hmp., 
  and 
  the 
  

   third 
  species 
  is 
  Diatraea 
  lineolata, 
  Dyar. 
  

  

  