I.:.i 2.8 2 5 2 8 2 5 1 11111 . :; 11111 . 11111 . 1.0 W ­ 1.0 wW 2 IJ,;W 2.2 II.l II.l ~ ~ ~Ii£ 11& 11& : 1:£ : w 1.1 ......... M 1.1 ...... M I 111111.25 111111.4 111111.6 111111.25 ""'1.4 111111.6 MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART MICROCOPY RESOLUT·ION TEST CHART NATIONAL BUREAU Of STANOARDS-1963-A NATIONAL BUREAU Of STANDARDS-1963-A :''''1. ~. ~ T~M B=- N~. 32" ~'='=::':::==========::A==ugus==t::'::19~32 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF:-.f.GRlCm-TURE WASHINGTON. D. C. o ~/THE:\CITRUS BL;';~:(}KFLY1. IN ASIA, <~~ND R,lt:,o THE IMPORTATION OF ITS NATURAL .~. ENEMIES INTO TROPICAL AMERICA By QURTIS P ••.CIAY.8EN, Semo)' EntomoZog~t, arid l'AULA. BERRY, Junior Ento" i' mOZogist, Division of Fruit and. Shade Tree Insects, Bureau of Entomololl/J' CON:,r.ENTS Paga Page Foreword {by C L. Marlatt)________________ 1 Potential status of the blacldly in the United IntroductioIL_____ ___ ___________________ ___ __ 3 States__ ~ ______ .__________________________ ~ 19 Tht\ citrus blackfly __________________________ 4 Natural enemies 'If the biackfly______________ 19 Distribution____________________________ 4 Parasites in tropical Asia________________ 20 Status as a citrus pest in the Far East___ 7 Predators In tropiC!lI Asia _______________ '" 36 Bast plants_~____________________________ 8 Native predators in Cuba, Panama, and Lite history and habits__________________ 10 Jamaica_______________________________ 45 Mortality factors________________________ 11 Fungous diseases _____________.. __________ 46 Climatic conditions in the infested regions___ 13 Metbods of rearing, shipment. and cola- Relation of meteorologicnl conditions to nization_______________________________ 47 blackfly development__________________ 16 Summary_______________________________ ~___ 56 Comparison with Florida and California_ 17 L!terature cited_____________________________ 58 FOREWOR0 C'~ The introduction and establishment of important Malayan para­ C'.:l sitic and predacious enemies of the blackfly in the American Tropics, ,0.. recorded in this bulletin, is one of the outstandin~ successes in this .~. rapidly growing field. The effort was a cooperative one, supported by Cuba and the United States. The blackfly in Cuba has bean for m!lny years a very serious obstacle to the CItrus industry and had in addition a fairly wide distribution elsewhere in the American Tropics. The interest of the United States was to reduce the risk of entry of this pest into the citrus areas of Florida or other of our subtropical areas, and also as provision for aid in future control 1. AleltroaanthWl wogillm' Ashby. , • The authors wish to acknowledge the mnny courtesies and ·the valuable assistance rendrred during the course of the foreign investigations by the o!llcials of the Departments of Agriculture of the Federated Malay States and ot the Dutc:n East Indies; J. M. :Mc­ Gough haS' assisted in the colonization work In Cuca since June, 1930. and D. W. dones, of the Division of Cereal and Forage Insects, was prl'sellt in an advisory capacity during th« carly work upon the imported parasit~s durin!;, April nnd May, 19:10. James Zetek, in charge of the Bureau of Entomology laboratory at Balboa, Canal Zone, rendered valuable assistance in the preparations for the second trip to Mnlaya and wns responsible for the colonization and establishment of Erctmoccrtl8 serllla Sllv. in Panama. S.C. Bruner, ot the Estacion Experimental Agronomica in Cuba, lind J. J. Bowman, of the United States Bureau of Plant Industry, made the citrus canker inspections of the final shipment. Determinations of the species denlt with in this bulletin are by the following special­ ists:. Chalcidold Hymenoptera by A. B. Gahan, Coccincllidae by E. A. Chapin, Lepidop­ tera. by C. Heinrh:h, and Diptera by J. R. Mnlloch .. 122259-32--1 1 Ti TEC:a:NICAL Bt,LLE.TIN 320, lir. S. DEPT; OF AGRICULTURE i;~ould. th~s pest at any time succeed in esta~lis~lin~ itself in the re:. glOns mdicated. As to Cuba, the present mdICatIOns are that the blackfly proble!Ilaas been solved. -The more important of the in­ tT:oduced parasites is now distributed practical).y throughout the citrus-growing areas of Cuba, and wherever a sufficient time has elapsed, ~ satisfactory commercial control of theblackfly has re­ sulted. This parasite has also been distributed from Cuba to o~her points in the West Indies and Central America where the blackfly occurs. It seems desirable, therefore, both for the purpose of record and wit~ the object of giving ~reditl to. indicate the prElliminary steps whIch led to the undertaking 01: this work. The persons di­ rectly concerned with its e~ecution are the authors of this bulletin. With the introduction and spreild of the citrus blackfly in Cuba, the desirability wasa,pparent of establishing there and at other points in the 'West Indies and. Central America the controls of this new pest, parasitic or predacious, which might be found in its coun­ try of origin, and it was agreed that such effort should be made as soon as oppll'rtumt;v and funds made it possible. The finding by the Italian entmnologtst, F. Silvestri, of important parasites of the blackfly in Malaya, and his publications on this S'ubject (1926-27) gave definite information of the existence of such natural controls. These papers, coming to the attention of J. F. Tristan, San Jose, Costa Rica, led him to make inquiry or Professor Silvestri of the possibility of the 'introduction of such parasites, and the latter in reply wrote him September 29, 1927, indicating that in his belief such introduction into the West Indies and Central A.merica could be easily accomplished. Professor Tristan published Silvestri's letter in Costa Rica and presented the desirability of the im;portation to the agricultural society of that country but without actlOn being taken. In furtherance of such importation, however, Professor Tristan transmitted March 5, 1928, a copy of Silvestri's letter to M. M. :Marsh of the United Fruit Co., who in turn gave it toJ.'R. Johnston, director of the agricultural research department of that company. Doctor Johnston sent the letter to the Bureau of En­ tomology, asking for verification of Professor Silvestri's observa­ tions and suggesting the possibility of financial aid from govern­ ments and from individuals in interest, including his own company. Subsequent correspondence with DoctorJolmston brought out the fact that the United Fruit Co. was not in position to assume the full cost of this work. The bureau was unable to furnish funds to adeq1..Iately finance the importation, but as a cooperative project the bureau agreed that it should take the lead and that at least it could furnish by transfer a thoroughly experienced specialist to make the necessary studies and undertake the importation of the para­ ::;ites, if the travel and incidental costs could be cf\red for otherwise, and Doctor Johnston was so advised under date of April 3, 1928. The inter.est of the Government of ·Cuba. in the proposed importa­ tion of parasites of the blacldly was appnrently initiated in June, 1928, by J. H. Montgomery, quarantine inspector of the State Plant Board of Florida, who was in Cuba and had a conference with the Secretary of A.griculture, Commerce, and Labor of Cuba, Eugenio Molinet, and with Ernesto Sanchez Estrada, Chief of the Burean of Plant Sanitation. The idea of such importation was received ".",'':'"'. ' THB OITRUS BLAOKFLY IN ASIA 3 very favorably by these officers of the Cuban Government. Doctor Montgo'mery reported this conference to the State Plant Board of Florida at its July meeting of that year, and this body indicated that it felt t.hat the undertaking should be handled through the B!lreau of Entomology of the United Stl).tes Department ofAgriculture. The followin~ August Doctor Montgomery was in Washington and re­ ported hIS conference with the Cuban authorities to the Bureau of Entomology, and the proposed cooperation in importation of para­ sites of the blackfly was immediately taken up with the Cuban Government through the embassy in 'Vashington. It was indicated through the embassy that Cuba, through lack of trained personnel for the technical features of the work, would be glad to have the United States Department (,f' Agriculture una.erlake the parasite studies in foreign countries and the work of iirtPQrtation and also the handling and establishment if possible of the parasites in Cuba, and this arrangement was made a part of the final s.g!'2ement. The '.-,1 original idea had been to include also importations of parasites of the whlte fly, the importunt citrus pest of Florida, and that Florida should contribute to the cost, and such contribution to the amount of $1,500 to $2,000 was indicated as a possibility in a·letterfrom the plant commissioner, Wilmon Newell, of August 8, 1928. In the workout of the negotiations, however, with Cuba, through the agency of A. C. Baker of the Bureau of Elltomology, it,seemed wiser to confinl;) the undertaking specifically to importations of p~rasites of the. blackfly. A _general memorandum of agreement was·there­ fore drawn up in Cuba with ~he assistance of Doctor Baker and Doctor Montgomery, and these documents, dated November 5, were duly signed by Secretary l\{olinet for the Cuban Department of Ap,'iculture, Commerce, and Labor, and later by Secretary Jardine fm. the United States Department of Agriculture. To carry out this project the Cuban Government made available $10,000 for the fiscal year 1929 to meet the costs of travel and expenses concerned in the parasite studies in Malaya and the collection and shipment of parasites to Cuba via the United States, and this support was con­ tinued into 1931. The contributions of the United States Depart­ ment of Agriculture altogether practically duplicated this expendi­ ture and covered, as already indicated, foreign studies, importation, establishmen~ and early distribution of the parasites in Cuba and elsewhere ill uentral America and the West Indies.