4 BULLETIN 
eradication of the ant in every instance resulted in a reduction of 
the mealybug infestation to commercial control within a period of 
from 1 to 3 months. This has been largely due to the increased and 
unrestricted activity of predatory insects already established. 
The citrophilus mealybug, Pseudococcus gahani (Green), was first 
recorded as an orchard pest in 1914 and has never been. observed as a 
severe pest in citrus orchards except in localities infested with the 
Argentine ant. 
The influence of the ant on increased severity of scale pests, while 
less important than on mealybugs, must be considered. The black 
scale, Saissetia oleae (Bern.), and soft brown scale, Coccus Jiesperi- 
dum L., have been observed to become decidedly more numerous on 
trees attended by large numbers of ants than in other parts of the 
same orchard entirely free of the ants. Trees severely infested with 
the soft brown scale have been rapidly freed by the action of pari- 
sitic insects following the control of this ant. 
It is entirely possible that the Argentine ant distributes fungous 
and bacterial diseases, although no specific evidence has been noted. 
Attracted as they are by the honeydew of insects, their habit of 
carrying this and various other substances, both animal and vegetable, 
their colonization and movement over the ground, and their constant 
attendance to all parts of the trees offer ready means of distributing 
brown rot, gum disease, and other maladies of citrus. In this con- 
nection ants would appear to be especially deserving of attention in 
pear orchards through their possible relation to blight. 
OTHER RELATIONS. 
Beekeeping in sections heavily infested with the Argentine ant is 
most difficult and proves successful only after a strenuous campaign 
is instituted to control or exterminate the pest. The ant is exceed- 
ingly fond of honey and, furthermore, attacks the bee larvae. The 
ant's small size, great numbers, and persistent effort to reach desired 
food make it an enemy with which the bees are unable to cope long. 
As a household pest the Argentine ant has proved particularly 
annoying. It invades all parts of the house in search of food, and 
the intolerable conditions brought about in heavily infested districts 
render the houses less desirable for places of residence. 3 
DISTRIBUTION. 
The Argentine ant appears to have been first noted in California 
in 1905 by Dr. E. S. G. Titus, at Ontario, although it did not come 
into prominence until 1908, when a general survey of its dis- 
3 The role of this insect as a household pest has been fully described by Mr. E. R. Barber of this 
department in Farmers' Bulletin 1101. United States Department of Agriculture. 
