Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-10-12
Fighting Insect Pests

use Of the insect enemies of I'M furious insects Mu'h
of the data in the paper relates to the successful
practisp of parasitsm the science Is shoft! cai
ed in Hawaii. The first beneficial insect mehliohe!
is the Iadvbird the Introduction OF when 10 h"""''
by Prof KOebpIe will be remembered by TIE oiuet
residents this being one of the countries mentloneu
nv DIR. Howard where this insect did good service
In his Introductory remarks he says:
Among the many things which the department OF
agriculture has for agriculture and horticulture
in the limited States very have been as spectacu
lar and as Immediately beneficial the Introduction
of the Australian adybrd, or lady-beeue from Aus
traa in the eighties to destroy the white, fiuted OF
cottony-cushion scale which at that time threaleheu
the absolute extinction Of the orange and lemon som
ing industry in California The immediate and extra
ordinary success of this experiment attracted atIeh
ton all over the civilized world, and although II was
followed by very many impractical and unsuccessful
exneriments of a similar nature remains the initial
success In much beneficial work which since then mas
been carried on both in this country ana others'
Later in the article the failures with the ladyblrd
are explained as having been due to dlsregarding
the fact that the vedaa the scientific name for the
Insect in question, "preys only upon the nuIeu
scale" many fruit growers having supposed that
ii would destroy any scale insect" Florida orange
growers thus had disastrous experience their cor
Respondents in California having sent them specl
mems of the beetle in a box with supply OF the
huted scale for food. The pests the Floridans wish
ed to destroy were the long scale and the purple
scale for which the ladybird proved to have no
appetite When the consignment reached the state
The entire contents of the box were placed in an
orange grove "The result was that the beneficial
insects died and the iuted scale gained feothold
in Florida state in which it had never before been
seen. DR. Howard relates. at bred rapidly and
spread to a considerable extent for some years and
did an appreciate amount of damage before it was
finally subdued."
DIR. Howard tells why the ladybird has been so
snccessfnl in its special field, the reasons condens
ed being that it is active while the pest it attacks
is exceedingly sluggish, it breeds two generations
in the time it takes the scale insect to produce one,
1T feeds upon the eggs of its quarry and it seems to
have no enemy of its OWL Its, success, = DR..
Howard SAYS shas been more perfect than that of
any other beneficial insect which has so far been
tried in this international work, that which comes
nearest to ii being the introduction of the parasites
qf the cane leafhoppers into Hawaii" to which he
at fers Interestingly later under prominent double
be head.
tells of the discovery Of the eafhopper upon
TDyhgar cane here about 1902 it appearing to have
IHttntroduced with seed from Australia about
I'LL 1t is recited how it spread rapidly and in
1Aamaged the crop to the extent of $SOOO,0OO
is were sent to the United States and to Aus
"a VI and in the latter country parasite for the
Skas found. The result of its introduction is
vorentIy told in the following instance: I'm 1907
indicatry large plantation whose crop had dropped
Treat 1854 tons in 1904 to 1920 tons in 1906 and
der 16 tons in 1906 made the next year $50 tons
ot entirely as the result of the parasite intro
q Yonn In view of some presently reported re
"reminiscences of the eafhopper in our fields,
GenA is matter OF reinsurance in the following re-
Washi1s of DR. Howard from his personal observation
cceptede islands:
that h August 1915 the writer visited Hawaii and found
genet the situation with regard to the leaf
obserbper was almost perfect The were not dam
in any respect SO far as could De seen the leaf
Re Ars Where they had laid their eggs these were al
sAost Invariably parastized by one of the introduced
parasites There is 1t is true, an occasional reappear
ance of leafhoppers in numbers following the des
tructon the parasites by trashburning and at the
time of this visit large plantation the island
of Hawaii 1000 acres badly infested that
yield OF only onehalf of normal crop expected.
But such "reminiscences as this are, and probably
viii be, fugitive
Mention is made by DIR. Howard also of other
results almost as valuable accomplished in Hawaii
by the introduction of fly which il a parasite Of
the sugar cane weevi borer. This he mentions was
found in British New Guinea by Mr. F. Muir, an ex.
pert of the sugar planters association, "and after
much hardship and one failure it was successfully
established in Hawaii with extraordinarily bene
fetal results This Hawaiian experience was des
cribed BY Representative Mann in speech made
before congress April % 1916, with the introduc
tory remark Il am going to narrate, very briefly a
fairy story but it was true fairy story
No mention is made in the treatise under review
Of the campaign in which the fruit fly is being com
bated in Hawaii with parasites introduced here
from Africa and Australia by Dr. Sirestri of Italy
and Professors BidwelI and Fullaway of the terri
torial department Of agricultural campaign in
which snecialists from the federal department have