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Felt was originally described from dry castor-bean stems from India; Melana - 
gromyza ricini de Meij . attacks seedlings in Java. 
The larvae of an undetermined sawfly have been observed feeding in 
Costa Rica. 
Termites cause serious injury in India. 
Ants, Formic a r uf ibarbi s F. . F. cinerea Mayr, Lasius niger aliena 
(Foerst.), and Tetr amorium c aespitum (L.), taken together, damaged 17 percent 
of the plants in experimental plots in North Caucasus. 
The common red spider, Tetran y chus telarius (L. ) , is a serious pest 
of the plant in Cuba and India and has been recorded, with no statement as 
to the severity of the damage, in Java, Formosa, Iraq, Palestine, the Khar- 
toum district of Anglo-Egyptaan Sudan, and Egypt. T. t elarius russeolus 
Koch causes considerable injury in Sicily. T. bioculatus Wood-Mason occurs 
in India and Anychus orient alis Zacher in Palestine. An undetermined red 
spider mite causes some damage in Costa Rica. Bryobia sp. has been observed 
on the plant in Cairo, Egypt. 
Insects Attacking the Castor-bean in the United States 
The outstanding record of damage to the castor-bean by an insect in 
the United States was the outbreak of the southern armyworm, Prodenia eridania 
(Cram.), in Florida in 1918. The insect appeared suddenly and threatened 
the new industry. Extensive plantations were defoliated. The Bureau of 
Entomology and the entomological agencies of the State of Florida cooperated 
with growers in combating the insect, and the losses were checked. The in- 
sect was also observed in southern Georgia during the season. Prodenia 
ornithofiall i Guen. and P. doli cho s (F.) were found in association with 
P. eridania (Cram.) in Florida, and P. ornithogalli was also taken in south- 
ern Georgia. 
Heliothis o bsoleta (F.) was fairly common in Florida. It fed on the 
green fruit chiefly, although it was sometimes found feeding on the leaves. 
It also occurred in southern Georgia. The insect has been previously re- 
corded from the plant in the United States. Heliothis virescens (F.) was 
taken in Florida. 
Laphygma f rugiperda (A. & S.) caused considerable injury in Florida 
late in the season of 1918. Damage was reported from other places in the 
South, without definite location or amount of damage. L. exig;ua (Hbn. ) at- 
tacked the leaves in the Sacramento Valley in 1918, when the castor-bean was 
estensively planted in California. 
An unidentified cutworm attacked the seedlings in northern California 
in 1918. 
