The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-09-17
INVASION Of
ANTS FEARED
EntomoIOgist Warns Honolulu
to Keep Lookout
for 1t.


sion of new kind of ant, and Ento
mologist Kotinsky of the Board OF
Agriculture is anxious that importers
of groceries and other food supplies
take hand in preventing its introduc.
ton. The entomologist Is not thor.
oughly acquainted with the prospective
pest himself, and although he might
give a technical description of the ant
to those who might come in contact
with it, yet it is so much like other
ants that possibly the grocers at al.
might not know Mr.. Ant if they came
face to face with him. In his report
to the Board of Agriculture yesterday
Mr. Kotinsky stated:
| 1.-The so-called Argentine Ant
Idiomyrmex humilis Mayr), so named
because of the country of it's supposed
origin was recently reported discovered
| in and about Oakland, California The
discovery is important because during
the four years of its presence in Louis.
lana, the first state of the Union. IN
vaded by it, it has proven to be most
formidable household pest, though it is
apparently quite injurious also to horti,
culture. / gather this information
from a paper in the first number Oh
the Journal of Economic Entomology.
new periodical, by the Louisiana
State Entomologist, who made careful
observations on it's habits. The dis
covery is important to us because the
locality is SO near the port from which
we receive most of our supplies and
are therefore in danger of an early in
vasiOn by the pest. That the discovery
is authentic we had recently confirmed
by specimens and letter from Mr.. E. M.
EhrhOrn, the California chronological
inspector. The condition requisite for
the insect to be established here is that
a complete colony including a mated
queen be brought over. Such colony
would be located either in the ship or
in the cargo. Were the ant to confine
its life among plants we could be rea,
sonably certain of keeping it out. But
since it is more likely to locate in
groceries and just as likely to be in
lumber or hardware cargo, the question
assumes a different aspect. 1t is up to
the grocefs to look out for thf pest
perhaps more than upon anyone 'else :"
Campaign Against Pests.
Other items in his report were as fol-
lows:
tWe are somewhat engaged in cam
paign against the grade of turnips ship
ped here. With very few exceptions
these are heavily infested with the cab
bage maggot (Phorbia brassieae) ana
bear, in addition, heavy mats of fine
rootlets more or less mixed with soil.
At vet this fly is not known in Hawan
and to our advantage to keep out. The
mating of roots and soil is not safe.
Such are. therefore. invariably con-
demned either to be burned or returned.
In the majority of cases the former is
chosen by consignees. We are de-
termined to insist upon absolutely
clean, pest-free turnips. -
AS to plants received here from other
ports, Mr. Kotinsky reports:
cit is an established fact in our prae
tice that fruits and plants collected by
private parties in their own gardens or
orchards and sent to friends here we
are almost invariably obliged to burn
owing to heavy infestation with hosts
of pests. Such people would avoid
much trouble and expense by sending
none but clean, pest-free products.
. A month ago the entomolOgist had
occasion to state in report that scale
bugs (Diaspinae), stem borers and a
colony of a black ant were collected on
a lot of Dendrobium (Orchids) brought
from Manila by the Sheridan on the
9Th. We fumigated the plants to kill
the scale and hand-killed the bOrers.
The only adult borer found was killed
in a cyanide bottle and placed in the
collection for subsequent determination.
The ants were preserved in alcohol
and sent to specialist to be named.
A japanese merchant not yet fam
liar with our practice of excluding
scabby potatoes had lot of 100 sacks
of badly infested potatoes come from
Seattle on the 9th and at our instance
destroyed. His petition to be allowed
to feed these potatoes to pigs was re-
fused for tactical reasons and because.
as DIR. Cobb has proven. spores are not
inoeuous by passing through
the alimentary canal of an animal.
Mangosteens Destroyed.
q" Mr. MacIntyre of the Moanalua gar