INSECTS ASSOCIATED WITH PAPAYA VIRUS DISEASES IN THE ANTILLES AND FLORIDA

The bunchy top disease of papaya is found wherever its insect vector, Empoasca papayae Oman, occurs: Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, Haiti, Jamaica, and Cuba. The Virgin Islands (St. Thomas and St. Croix), Vieques, and the State of Florida, appear so far to be free from this disease. The role of Empoasca dilitara as a vector of bunchy top should be studied in Cuba, since it occurs there along with E. papayae. E. dilitara is common in Puerto Rico, but has never been collected from papaya. Papaya mosaic is found in Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Florida. This disease is transmitted by various species of plant aphids. The symptoms of the disease are similar in all the areas studied, but whether the same virus occurs in all three places must be determined by further investigations. Aphis spiraecola Patch is a potent vector of papaya mosaic in Puerto Rico. The role of the aphids found in papaya in Cuba and Florida should be further investigated