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The Introduction of Braconid Parasites of Diatraea saccharalis, Fabr., into certain of the West Indian Islands

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Harold E. Box
Harold E. Box
Affiliation:
Entomologist, Agricultural Experiment Station, Tucumán, Argentina.
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Extract

While engaged as entomologist to the Central Aguirre Sugar Company, owners of some 12,000 acres of sugar-cane lands situated on the south coast of Porto Rico, the writer continually recommended the importation into that island of certain larval parasites of Diatraea saccharalis, Fabricius (sugar-cane moth borer), as the one species indigenous to Porto Rico—Lixophaga (Euzenilliopsis) diatraeae, Townsend (Tachinidae)—alone, does not effect a sufficiently high percentage of control of the island's major sugar-cane pest.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 18 , Issue 4 , May 1928 , pp. 365 - 370
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1928

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References

* This species has been referred to as Iphiaulax medianus, Cameron, in most of the works dealing with it in British Guiana and the West Indies.

† Microdus is an internal parasite of its host, and borers can only be recognised as parasitised when the contained Microdus larva has reached a fairly advanced stage in its development, when the host becomes very sick-looking and flabby. The larva of Ipobracon, however, works externally, feeding upon its host by suction through the abdominal integument.

* The parasites were collected for the four successive days previous to the scheduled date of sailing of any steamer for Porto Rico.

† Trinidad, it seems, does not suffer from Diatraea saccharalis to the extent prevailing in the other islands, owing no doubt to the presence there of numerous parasites upon the larval as well as the egg stage, and the conditions under which cane is grown (among which non-burning of the canefields should be mentioned) in Trinidad proving favourable for their natural propagation.