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INSSCT CONDITIONS IN COSTA RICA DURING MARCH AND APRIL, 1932 
C. H. Ballou 
San Jose, Costa Rica 
The citrus blackfly ( Al euro can thus woAlumi Ashby) is very abundant and 
injurious in Mac eta and Central. 
Scale insects are quite troublesome on both the older trees and the 
newly-budded stock. Among the species occurring in numbers are Lenido sa- . 
phes b egki i Nevm. , Sai ssetia hcmisphaerica Targ. , and Coccu s hesperidum L. 
Grasshoppers (various species) are very destructive to the tender 
leaves of the newly-budded citrus stock. 
Avocado weevil borers ( Copturas con st rictus Champ. , and Copturpmimus 
sp.) were found damaging avocado trees at San Jose. These insects are at- 
tacked by a microgasterid parasite of apparently a new species and maybe 
a nev genus. 
A mining scale ( Hpvardia biclavi s Comst.) was found causing damage to 
Japanese -persimmon at San Jose. 
A membracid ( Aconophora nail esc ens Stal) was found injuring ycung 
shpots of papaya March 22 at" San Jose. 
A pentatomid ( Thyanta perditor Fab.) causes the blossoms of peach to 
fall. These were active on April 4 at San Jose. 
The White peach scale ( Aulac as-pi s pentagona Targ.) is quite seriously 
infesting peach and mulberry, and to a lesser extent mango, in the San 
Jose area, 
A scale insect ( Pseudi schnaspi s bowreyi Ckll.) was found infesting 
apple on March 22 at San Jose, 
A flea beetle ( Soitrix f us cat a Jac.-Duv.) was damaging tomatoes from 
March 22 to April 23 at San Jose. 
A leaf- footed bug ( l.eptoglo ssus zonat us Ball.) was very abundant and 
apparently quite harmful to tomato fruits during the third week in April. 
A bug ( iSngytatus notatus Dist.) was observed damaging tomatoes at San 
Jose March 22 and Was still active in the field by the end of April. 
