Inseets Attacking Cordia macrostdchya (Jacq.) Roem. and Schult in the West Indies

Abstract

This is the second of a series of papers dealing with the life-histories of a number of insects attacking the black sage, Cordia macrostachya, in the West Indies, where search is being made for suitable species to use in an attempt at the biological control of the weed in Mauritius (Simmonds 1949).Schematiza, like Physonota alutacea, is a leaf-eating beetle, sometimes occurring in relatively large numbers on Cordia. It is very heavily parasitized in Trinidad, and as it appeared to be very suitable for introduction into Mauritius it was investigated in detail, both in the field and in the laboratory.