THE WHITE-GRUBS INJURING SUGAR CANE IN PORTO RICO

Abstract

The larvas of all injurious Scarabaeid beetles are known popularly as white-grubs, and those occurring in Porto Rico are injurious either as grub, or as adult to the sugar-cane plant, particularly in the drier sections of the Island. An economical way of controlling these grubs is much desired, and it has been with the object of finding some ultimate method of control that the intensive studies of the life-histories of the species have been made.Up to the present date ten distinct species of white-grubs have been segregated and studied. Of these, four belong to the genus Phyllophaga (better known as Lacknosierna) and one to the genus Phytalus in the tribe Melolonthini, while the other five belong tothree genera in the tribe Dynastini, which includes the large rhinoceros beetles. The present paper deals only with grubs of the first tribe, known as May-beetles, and is an accumulation of data compiled from observations and life-history studies made by the author during the past four years. The work was conducted at the South Coast Laboratory, located near Guánica Centrale, which is in the heart of the district suffering most from the attack of white-grubs.