6 
shall soon have in force a legal prohibition on the importation 
of any more pineapple plants. If my estimation of the situation 
is correct, then it appears that the chief aim and purpose of the 
pineapple growers should be to keep the present insect population 
of their fields at a low level, and the question arises. Can it be 
done under the stress of a rapid expansion, accompanied as usual 
by a striving for maximum production with minimum effort and 
expense? I will develop this point more, later. 
In the meantime let me tell briefly as possible what is known 
of the nature and habits of our present pineapple pests. 
I will discuss the mealybug first. This insect, while invariably 
found on the pineapple and known as a pineapple pest for many 
decades, is not confined strictly to the pineapple. It is also found 
on sugar cane, bananas, roots of grasses, and some other plants. 
You are probably all familiar with this insect, for it has a charac- 
teristic appearance and is recognizable at once. It is a small, louse- 
like creature with a white waxy covering, secreted from glands 
lying under the derm and poured out in beautifully arranged 
filaments. It is most commonly found in clusters at the base 
of the fruit or leaves, where the adults congregate to produce 
young. The young come from eggs which are hatched within 
the body of the female. The progeny of one individual is com- 
monly from fifty to one hundred. For a time they rest beneath 
the body of the mother, but gradually they move out and their 
naked bodies soon develop a waxy covering. The younger indi- 
viduals are rather flat. They are active also, and have a tendency 
to disperse over the plant, so that they are often found scattered 
through the crown or over the outer portion of the leaves. They 
are sometimes found also on the stem and roots. The insect 
moults its skin a number of times during its development to 
accommodate its enlarging body, but the actual number of moults 
has not yet been accurately determined. Growth proceeds slowly. 
Several months are consumed in reaching the adult stage, so that 
only a few generations can occur during the year. Mature indi- 
viduals have rather swollen bodies, and their tendency is to hide 
in obscure parts of the plant, particularly where the epidermis is 
very thin. This habit is responsible for their being more de- 
structive than the scale, as I shall presently explain. Males are 
sometimes seen. Their cocoons are elongate and loosely con- 
structed of white waxy filaments. Their occurrence, however, 
is very uncommon, and I believe the insect reproduces itself for 
the most part asexually. While there are many mealybug ene- 
mies, they are not seen to any great extent on the pineapple 
plant, and the colonies of the mealybug found in sheltered spots 
usually appear to be in a flourishing condition, never mussed up 
as if they had been disturbed by these enemies. Occasionally 
the mealybug-devouring Coccinellid or ladybird beetles, Crypto- 
laemus montroumeri and Scymnus bipiinctatus are observed on 
the plants searching for food, and I have more than once seen 
