80 PROCEEDINGS ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



Medicago, the larvae feeding on the foliage. The species is present 

 over Europe. Euscepes batatce Waterhouse, the so called "scara- 

 bee" or "Jacobs" of the West Indies, is a very important pest of 

 the sweet potato, the tubers of which the larvae tunnel. It is 

 also present in Hawaii. Cryptorhynchus gravis Fabr. is the mango 

 weevil of eastern Bengal and Assam, while C. mangiferce Fabr., is 

 the common species in South India and Ceylon. Mango weevils 

 are, without doubt, the most serious pests of the mango in oriental 

 countries. The latter species is said now to inhabit all the mango 

 regions bordering the Indian Ocean, and adjacent islands, and 

 occurs through the East Indies, the Philippines and other groups of 

 South Pacific Islands. It is present in South Africa, Madagascar 

 and other places. Ceutorrhynchus pleurostigma Marsh, ranging 

 over Europe, is destructive to cruciferous plants, as is also C. 

 assimilis Payk, of similar habits. Another species, C. napi Gyll., 

 is also injurious to cabbage. Two species of Baris also attack 

 cabbage, namely, B. cuprirostris F. and B. chlorizans Germ. Rhyn- 

 chophorus ferrugineus F. is the red palm weevil of India and Cey- 

 lon, infesting the toddy and coconut palms. The eggs are placed 

 at a wound or cut in the soft tissues at base of leaf sheath, the larvae 

 tunnelling through the tissues in all directions, making a cocoon 

 of twisted fibres. R. palmarum L. is the palm weevil of Brazil, 

 Cayenne, Surinam, the West Indies, and probably occurs on 

 tropical coast of South America generally. The palm weevil is 

 recorded as also attacking sugar cane in Trinidad. R. cruentatus 

 Fab. occurs in Florida. 



Sphenophorus obscurus Boisd. is the destructive sugar-cane 

 borer in Tahiti, Hawaii, New Guinea, Fiji, etc., It is widely 

 spread but is not on the mainland of the United States. It also 

 attacks the coconut. The female enters between a leaf sheath and 

 the stem. A small cavity is cut with the mandibles, in which an 

 egg is placed. The resulting grub tunnels upward in the cane, 

 making occasional apertures to the exterior. S. sericeus Oliv. is 

 a well known enemy of sugar cane in the West Indies, where it is 

 designated the weevil borer. S. sordidus Germar injures the 

 banana in the West Indies and is especially complained of in Fiji. 

 The young suckers are attacked and quickly killed by the larvae 

 boring in the base of the plants. It is said to occur from the South 

 Pacific Ocean to the Islands of the Indian Archipelago. 



Balaninus nucum L., the nut weevil of Europe, is commonly 

 injurious to the filbert, cob and wild hazelnut. Other species 

 present in Europe are of more or less importance, as B. cerasorum 

 Hbst., attacking sour and sweet cherries, and B. elephas Gyll., 

 attacking chestnuts. 



On of the weevils of Europe which has not yet reached the United 

 States, and which is without doubt a first class pest of the apple is 



