70 



INSECT ENEMIES OF THE BOLL WEEVIL. 



in hollow stems, sticks, and galls and is commonly seen at the necta- 

 ries of cotton or attending aphides, membracids, etc. Prof. F. E. 

 Brooks has recorded this ant as an enemy of EeliotJiis obsoleta, the 

 cotton bollworm. 



Solenopsis geminata Fabricius. The ''fire ant" (fig. 16) is very 

 common in Texas cotton fields, where it is always an enemy of the 

 boll weevil, as well as of the cotton bollworm (Heliotliis ohsoleta) 

 and the cotton leaf worm {Alabama argillacea). In Louisiana, 

 Arkansas, and Mississippi it is very seldom seen in cotton fields, 

 except in southern Louisiana, where unfortunately it is in danger of 

 extermination by the Argentine ant, Iridomyrmex liumilis Mayr. 

 This species divides credit for the greater part of the ant control of 

 the boll weevil mth the other species of Solenopsis, two species of 



Monomorium, and with the various spe- 

 cies of Pheidole. Its nests are placed in 

 the cotton fields, generally near the base 

 of the plants, and from these the foragers 

 go out in all directions in search of food. 

 The workers have learned to detect the 

 presence of the boll weevil in the squares 

 and in a short time can effect an entrance 

 into the weevil cell from which they either 

 draw the weevil bodily or conve}^ it in 

 parts to their nests. This ant is some- 

 times found on the plant, but most com- 

 monly it does its work on the ground. 

 The species is parasitized by (JPseudac- 

 teon) PlastopTiora crawfordi Coquillett at 

 Dallas, Tex. 



Solenopsis molesta Say {dehilis Mayr) . 

 This minute ant was taken in the act of 

 attacking a boll-weevil larva by Mr. Cushman at McAlester, Okla. 

 This species and the next are so similar in appearance that they 

 may be easily confused. Prof. F. E. Brooks has recorded it as an 

 enemy of Craponius inxqualis. 



Solenopsis texana Emery. This minute ant is a common enemy 

 of the boll weevil in Texas, Louisiana, and ^lississippi. The entrance 

 holes are very minute, but sometimes the ants enter the squares in 

 great numbers. On October 31, 1907, at Thornton, Tex., Mr. 

 Cushman found 85 individuals attacking a weevil larva in a single 

 square. It is mentioned in the investigation records as attacking 

 the weevil at Alexandria and Monroe, La., and Cuero, Lampasas, and 

 Llano, Tex. It is also recorded as an enemy of EeliotJiis ohsoleta. 



Monomorium minimum Buckley. This common house ant (fig. 17) 

 is a very valuable enemy of the boll weevil and is common in cotton 



Fig. 16.— The "fire ant" {Solenopsis 

 geminata), an enemy of the boll 

 "vveevil: Worker. Enlarged. (From 

 Hunter and Hinds. ) 



