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Este trabajo consiste de una lista catalogada y anotada de 210 especies de insectos, representando 11 órdenes y 79 familias, que han sido informadas como existentes en Caja de Muertos, pequeña isla localizada a 8 millas del sudeste de la bahía de Ponce (en la costa sur de Puerto Rico). Contiene también un breve resumen de las diversas exploraciones científicas (mayormente entomológicas) que se han realizado en esa isla.

Forty-four species of insects, representing 8 orders, 25 families and 40 genera, were collected or reared in the course of several years and are being reported from Puerto Rico for the first time.

Resumen en español.

The first part of the work consists of an annotated list of the insects affecting the trees. The host trees are mentioned by their scientific names in alpahabetical order, and the insects are listed under each species of tree. Directly under the name of each tree, the family to which it belongs is cited, followed by notes on distribution, uses or economic importance and common names of the tree species. Then the insects are listed or recorded, following more or less this sequence: insects affecting the flowers, fruits or seeds, twigs, branches, trunk and roots. Often, species attacking the decayed wood or resting on the tree will be mentioned at the end of each 565 tree discussed. Only the insects affecting the trees are recorded, that is, such records as "on the leaves", or "collected on the fruit", "on the trunk", etc., are not taken in consideration in this work. The parasitic forms are only mentioned when the specific host is known, otherwise parasites and predators just resting on leaves or other parts of the trees are not listed. This Survey is based on the insect population studies on 245 tree species, belonging to 169 genera. In the annotated list some trees only show two or three insects records while others might show thirty, forty or more records.

Resumen en inglés.

Resumen en inglés.

Umbonia crassicornis Amyot & Serville, a continental tropical American treehopper or membracid, probably was introduced accidentally into Puerto Rico from the mainland. The manner of introduction is not known, but possibly either with infested plant material hidden in passenger baggage or as a fertile female hitchhiker in an airplane arriving at San Juan from the U.S. where it apparently found suitable breeding conditions in the vicinity of the Isla Verde International Airport. This treehopper mainly attacks leguminous trees. It was seen first in the Santurce area of San Juan, in May 1972, attacking its favorite host, Pithecellobium dulce trees. It since has spread throughout several towns in the interior of the Island, and along the north and west coast as far as Mayagüez. It has been recorded locally thus far on 11 different host trees. Umbonia is considered to be a pest of ornamental trees and thus is of economic importance. Although it has not killed trees thus far in Puerto Rico, it has affected their appearance by destroying many of their twigs and branches. When massive infestations occur, adults of both sexes and their nymphal stages are present by the thousands on the branches of the trees. The insect secretes honeydew, a sugary substance favorable to the growth of sooty-molds. These fungal growths cause blackening of foliage of plants upon which the honeydew falls. The female has a long pointed spinal process on the pronotum. This horny, splinter-like protuberance is a nuisance for barefooted people, as well as for those who catch the insect inadvertently. These treehoppers can be controlled by periodic spray applications of any one of the following insecticides: Diazinon AG-500, Spectracide, Sevin 80, Malathion 57%, Isotox Garden Spray, and Endosulfan.

El pulgón verde, Myzus persicae Sulzer, es una plaga del tabaco en Puerto Rico. Este insecto es también el vector de enfermedades virosas trasmitidas del pimiento al tabaco y viceversa. Durante un catastro efectuado en la Isla por los autores, la lista ya conocida de plantas hospedadoras de esta especie se aumentó al añadirle alrededor de 15 nuevos récords.

El uso del sistema de riego artificial aéreo establecido en la Colonia Juana Díaz, cerca de la Central Cortada, Santa Isabel, P. R., hace posible la aplicación de los abonos disueltos en agua y de los insecticidas para la represión de los insectos que viven en el terreno. Para combatir el taladrador del tallo de la caña, Diatraea saccharalis (Fabricius) se iniciaron dos experimentos durante los años 1950 y 1951, en los cuales se usó este método de dispersión de los insecticidas. Se usaron 13 clases de insecticidas, a saber: Aldrín, Clordano, Dieldrín, Ryania, Rotano, Hexaloruro de benceno, Emulsión concentrada CPR, Gyphene, Marlate, Kryocide, Dilan, Heptachlor e Insecticida Dr. Wolf. Cada uno de estos insecticidas se aplicó en dos concentraciones distintas. Ambos experimentos incluyeron 31 parcelas sembradas de caña, 20 de ellas tratadas con insecticidas y 11 testigos. Los insecticidas se aplicaron a intervalos de 15 días, esto es 4 aspersiones durante la temporada. Los experimentos se llevaron a cabo durante las temporadas de otoño de 1950 y 1951, respectivamente, cuando la caña estaba aún pequeña y empezaba a formar canutos en la base de los tallos. Las tablas y un análisis del trabajo efectuado, demuestran que estos insecticidas, por lo menos cuando se usó el método de riego artificial aéreo, fueron completamente ineficaces para controlar el insecto. En muchos casos la infestación en las parcelas testigos fué menor que en aquellas a las cuales se les aplicaron insecticidas; en otros casos los insecticidas de concentraciones bajas resultaron más eficaces para el combate del insecto que los mismos usados en concentraciones más altas. Es muy posible que la ineficacia de los insecticidas fuese motivada, en parte, por la gran cantidad de agua que se usó en su dispersión. No hay duda sobre que ésto redujo la concentración del insecticida hasta hacerlo completamente ineficaz para controlar el taladrador del tallo de la caña.

Diplodia natalensis was isolated from the diseased cankers of Casuarina equisetifolia in Puerto Rico. A stem-puncture technique was employed to inoculate Casuarina seedlings. Sunken areas or cankers appeared on the bark 3 months after inoculation. The causal organism was reisolated. Among the fungicidal chemicals tested (Dithane M-45, Thiodan, Captan, Benlate and benzoic acid), Benlate seemed to be the most promising for inhibiting mycelial growth of D. natalensis in vitro.

Resumen en inglés.

This is a supplement to the "Aphididae of Puerto Rico." (12) The key to the "Aphididae of Puerto Rico" has been revised. A new Field Key to the Apterous Aphididae of Puerto Rico is also included, with a photograph of each species. Five additional species are recorded: Capitophorus hippophaes javanicus H. R. L., Macrosiphum rosae L., Picturaphis puertoricensis Smith, Rhopalosiphum padi L., and Tetraneura nigriabdominalis (Sasaki), bringing the total known species of aphids from Puerto Rico to 51. Macrosiphum mesosphaeri Tissot is listed as a new synonym of Macrosiphum (Sitobion) salviae Bartholomew.

En este trabajo se informan 38 especies de plagas, que incluyen insectos, ácaros, caracoles, lapas y ratones, las cuales se han encontrado atacando orquídeas silvestres y cultivadas en Puerto Rico. En casi todos los casos se informan la localidad en que se encontraron, el daño que ocasionan, las orquídeas afectadas y una breve descripción de las plagas.

Since February, 1930, the Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras, P. R., has been engaged in collecting and shipping mole-cricket parasites, with the purpose of establishing them in Puerto Rico, to aid in the control of the Puerto Rican mole-cricket or “changa,” Scapteriscus vicinus Scudder. At the beginning of the work, Dr. George N. Wolcott traveled in various countries, such as Trinidad, Haiti, the Guianas, Venezuela and Brazil. Except in Brazil these searches were unsuccessful, because Larra americana Sauss., was not present at all or not in sufficient quantities to make shipments of value. Later on, the author was sent to Belem, Para, Brazil, to collect there during the month of January-February, 1938. Taking as a basis the previous experiences in shipping parasites from Brazil and by including live parasitized mole-crickets with the wasps, exceptionally good results were obtained. Dr. Wolcott returned to Brazil during May-June, 1938, and even better success was obtained as the methods were further perfected.

Much more careful collecting and rearing needs to be done in this group before anything nearly complete can be presented for this area. The primary object of this paper is to lay a basis for the future by summarizing our limited knowledge of the psylliids of Puerto Rico and their relationship to the rest of the neotropical fauna. Other than accidental or incidental records there has been no effort to determine the fauna of the Caribbean region with the possible exception of Cuba and Puerto Rico. The recent records contained herein were acquired incidental to a survey by Caldwell and Martorell relative to bunchy-top disease of papaya, (Carica papaya). More nearly complete data from this survey for the auchenorhynchus Homoptera have been submitted for publication elsewhere.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION AND HOST PLANTS OF THE CACTUS MOTH, CACTOBLASTIS CACTORUM (BERG) IN PUERTO RICO AND THE UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS

The first section of this paper furnishes a discussion of the origin of the name Desecheo, notes on the geology of the Island, a chronological history of the scientific investigations conducted there and a detailed account of the different plant communities. The second section is an annotated checklist of the plants of Desecheo, representing 43 families in the Angiosperma and only one in the Gymnosperma. Of 128 plant species hereby recorded, 65 are new records for Desecheo, the remaining 63 had been mentioned previously in Britton and Wilson, Flora of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF PESTICIDES FOR CONTROL OF BANANA ROOT BORER, COSMOPOLITES SORDIDUS GERMAR (COLEOPTERA: CURCULIONIDAE)

The important disease of rice, "hoja blanca" is transmitted by the fulgorid, Sogata orizicola Muir. The vector was found breeding in rice fields at the eastern region of the Island of Puerto Rico. A brief description of the insect, as well as a plate illustrating the same are given in the article.