38 BULLETIN" 746, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
in Louisiana as compared with Porto Rico makes it more difficult 
to determine its effect on the moth borer. 
EFFECT OF FLOODS. 
Complete flooding of cane fields for long periods seems to have a 
great influence on the infestation of the moth borer. For four years 
observations have been made on a plantation near Morgan City, 
which was under water for some weeks in the spring of 1912. In the 
fall of 1912 the infestation on this plantation was 4 per cent. In the 
fall of 1913 it was 6 per cent, only slightly higher than in the year 
of the overflow. In the fall of 1914, however, the infestation had 
reached 68 per cent, while in 1915 it was 87 per cent. It seems that 
the moth borer was much reduced in numbers by flooding, but that 
the numbers increased rapidly the second year after the inundation. 
EFFECT OF IEEIGATION. 
Though floods seem to reduce the percentage of infestation, it has 
not been observed that irrigation has any effect. Observations have 
been made on the nonirrigated plantations of Louisiana and on the 
irrigated properties of the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. No 
difference in the infestation which can be traced to irrigation has 
been noticed. 
FUNGOUS DISEASES. 
Although a fungous disease on the larvae of Diatraea saccharalis 
was studied by J. R. Picard (120) at the Louisiana State University 
in 1903, its occurrence under natural conditions is very rare. Larvae 
are sometimes attacked in the insectary, especially when kept in tin 
boxes, but all attempts to inoculate healthy larvae have failed and it 
is probable that the fungus is only saprophytic. One such diseased 
larva of D. zeacolella sent in by Mr. A. G. Davis from Chipley, Fla., 
was submitted to Mr. Alden T. Speare, Mycoentomologist of the 
Bureau of Entomology. He reported that " the fungus seems to be 
very close to Aspergillus parasiticus, which I found to be parasitic 
upon the sugar-cane mealybug in Hawaii. There is no doubt that 
the fungus is an Aspergillus, but I would venture no specific name 
at present. A, flavus has been found to be parasitic upon sugar-cane 
mealybugs in Louisiana and in Porto Rico, but this is the first record 
to my knowledge of an Aspergillus on Diatraea, hence I can not 
vouch for its parasitism." 
The fungus parasite Cordyceps barheri is recorded by Van Dine 
(169) from Porto Rico, and by Bodkin (17) from British Guiana 
on both the larva and the pupa of Diatraea. The present writers 
planned to experiment with this disease but they were unable to 
obtain cultures or diseased specimens. 
