Durant weekly news. (Durant, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 190?-1944, 1920-10-15
NEW PEST THREATENS
CROP DESTRUCTION IN SOUTH

A new bean and cowpca pest known
as the bean ladybird or Mexican
beetle (Epilachna corrupta Muls.,)
which has for many years been estab
lishcd in the semiarid Southwest as a
serious pest. has just been reported
from 10 counties in Alabama center
ing at Birmingham during the past
summer. 1t is feared that this in
festation may already have spread
to other portions of the State, if not
to States of Georgia, Tennessee, and
Mississippi. If this pest is not thor
oughly and Immediately eradicated, it
may produce as disastrous results to
the bean and cowpca crop of the
South as the Colorado potato beetle
or the sweet potato weevil to the crops
which they attack. An average of
so per cent loss to the bean and cow
pea crops of the infested counties
is already reported.
Destruction Rapid.
The beetle works with great rapi
dity and in three to six days may
ruin an entire crop. In the West this
pest is confined to edible and soy
beans as food plant. Its new habit
Of feeding upon cowpeas tremen-
dously increases its possibilities for
injury. Since it may also be found
to subsist on velvet beans, the Kuduz
vine, and related plants, there is no
barrier to it's continued spread over
the entire eastern United States. Like
the Colorado potato beetle, it can with
stand any extremes of temperature
which it is likely to meet. The Mexi-
can bean beetle has recently been the
subject of publication, Farmers
Bulletin 1914, in which it's present
known distribution outside of Alaba-
ma has been mapped. If unchecked.
this insect may spread rapidly to
neighboring States. thence northward
until the entire Eastern United
States is overrun, since it is capable
Of breeding wherever beans are grown.
The serious possibilities to the South
through the present outbreak may be
compared relative to the crop with
those experienced on account Of the
boil weevil. While the insect has APP
peared in Alabama apparently
through Commercial jump" pro-
bly, with shipments of western alfal-
ia hay, it flies readily and has
created a problem very similar to that
Of the Colorado potato beetle in the
past.
The most important point in regard
to this eastern outbreak is to deter
mine the exact limits of it's present
distribution. 1t seems probable that
1t has been present in Alabama for
at least 8 to 10 years. if not longer.
and as its known distribution already
extends to the border line of Georgia
and very close to that of Mississippi
this problem must be carefully CON
sidered.
The bean ladybird is native Of
North America and had about the
same distribution as the Colorado
potato beetle in earlier years and at
tracted attention at about the same
time, in 1864, but its methods of dis
tribution has been quite otherwise.
for whereas the potato beetle spread
gradually eastward from Colorado
year by year, the bean ladybrd has
until recently remained confined to
the Southwestern States. and the
present outbreak in Alabama has evil
IDENTIFY resulted from 4 jump over the
States intervening between Colorado
and New Mexico. This outbreak has
been the subject Of a conference held
September 90 and 81 nj Birmingham