378 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



November 23, 1912. 



INSECT NOTES. 



PROTECTION OF COCO-NUT PALMS 



FROM BEETLES. 



In view of the interest being shown in the devel- 

 opment of coco-nut planting in all parts of the tropics, 

 the following law, which appeared in the Tropical 

 Agriculturist for July 1912, is reproduced for the 

 information of the reader3 of the Agricultural News. 

 At the present time insect pests of the coco-nut palm 

 in the West Indies are not df such a serious nature as 

 to render necessary any legislation looking to the des- 

 truction of insect-infested trees in coco-nut groves; but 

 it may be convenient to know what steps have been 

 found advisable to take in other places. The informa- 

 tion below refers to the Philippines: — 



Act No. 286 of the Legislative Council of Moro Pro- 

 vince, passed April 29th, 1912, is printed herewith and, 

 though a drastic measure, provides the only apparent remedy 

 for the beetle scourge which has already created great havoc 

 in the coco-nut groves of this Province. This Act as pro- 

 posed was given publicity several weeks ago, and discussion 

 of the measure was invited. As every tree infected by beetles 

 is doomed to death and is also a nucleus of infection for all 

 surrounding trees, the sooner radical measures are adopted 

 for the destruction of infected trees and the discontinuance 

 of breeding places, the better for the welfare of the entire 

 coco nut industry. 



We anticipate that there will be much dissatisfaction 

 with the enforcement of this law by those who already have 

 infected trees: but as the safety of remaining, sound trees, as 

 well as future plantings, depends upon prompt and radical 

 measures, it is to be hoped that there may be co-operation of 

 all coconut owners in saving this most important industry. 



Section 1 . It shall be the duty of the owner or person 

 in charge of any coconut tree which is dead or attacked by 

 the E/ii/nchiyphorus ferrugineus, commonly known as the red 

 beetle, to immediately uproot such tree and either to burn 

 the same or to bury it in the ground at a depth not less than 

 one metre or completely submerge it in water so that said 

 tree may not serve as a breeding place for beetles and that 

 the beetle and eggs and larvae thereof which may be contain- 

 ed in the said tree shall be totally destroyed. 



Sectio" 2. Any owner or person in charge of coco- 

 nut trees who shall neglect or refuse to perform the duty 

 imposed upon him by the next preceding section shall be 

 liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pesos [about £5] for 

 every tree in respect to which such neglect or refusal occurs. 



Section .3. It shall be unlawful for any person to keep 

 or permit to remain on premises owned or occupied by him 

 dead cocunut trees or stumps, coconut timber or rubbish 

 heaps, vegetable refuse, or other matter likely to harbour or 

 become breeding places for the Oryctes rhiiioa-ros, commonly 

 known as the black beetle, or the Rhynchoplwrus ferruf/ineus, 

 commonly kaown as the red beetle, and any such person who 

 shall neglect or refuse to remove or destroy the same when 

 requested so to do in writing by any officer of the district or 

 municipality wherein said premises are located, or by any 

 owner Oi occupant of land planted with coco-nut trees and 

 situated within one mile of the premises on which such dead 

 coco-nut trees or stumps, coco-nut timber or rubbish heaps, 

 vegetable refuse, or other matter are kept, shall be liable to 

 a fine not exceeding two hundred pesos [about £20]. 



Section 4. Upon the conviction of any person under- 

 sections two or three hereof the governor of the district 

 wherein such premises are located shall cause such dead coco- 

 nut trees or stumps, coco-nut timber, or rubbish heaps, vege- 

 table refuse, or other such matter to be removed or destroyed, 

 and the costs necessary therefor shall be a lien upon the 

 property and collectable as are other taxes upon real property. 



Section 5. All provincial, district or municipal officers 

 shall have access at all reasonable times into and upon any 

 land whereon any coco-nut tree is growing for the purpose of 

 inspecting such tree and also into and upon any land or- 

 premises where there is' reason to suppose that there are kept 

 any such things as in article three hereof are referred to. 



JUMPING BEANS. 



Mr. R. J. Pocock, writing in The Field for 

 September 21, last, gives in the notes from the Zoologi- 

 cal Society, a brief account of the curious jumping beans 

 from Mexico, which is rej^roduced below. 



In the West Indies, jumping seeds are produced 

 by small weevils which inhabit the flower buds of the 

 Roble tree (Platymisciuin platystachyum). An account- 

 of these was given in the Agricultural Neius, 

 Vol. YII, p. 282. 



Most readers of The Field are probably familiar with 

 the so-called 'jumping beans', which are brought over from 

 Mexico by the bushel and sold as curiosities even in small 

 suburban London shops. Strictly speaking, the seed ia 

 question is not a bean at all, but belongs to the genus Croton,. 

 one of the Euphorbiaceae. It is also tolerably well knowa 

 that the jumping and rolling of the bean are caused by the 

 contortions of a maggot or grub inside it, and that the appli- 

 cation of warmth, such as that which comes from the human 

 hand, is sufficient to set the beans a-going. The purpose of 

 the movement is not quite clear but Sir Kay Lankester has 

 suggested to me that if the seed falls in an expjsed and 

 sunny place the warmth may stimulate the grub to activity, 

 which will only cease when it reaches cool shade, the use of 

 the instinct being, presumably, to save the grub from, 

 desiccation. 



The grub is reallyrthe caterpillar of a moth {Carpoeapsa. 

 mltitaris), one of the tortrices, and about the size of aii 

 ordinary clothes moth.- The eggs are laid on the pods oF 

 the plant when they are green and soft, so that the newly 

 hatched larva can burrow its way into the interior. There 

 it stays feeding on the contents until it reaches full size and 

 is ready to pupate. Before entering upon this period of 

 quiescence, however, it takes steps to ensure the escape of 

 the moth, which with its weak jaws would be unable to bite 

 through the hardened shell of its prison. At one end of the 

 capsule, therefore, the grub eats away the wall from the 

 inside, but ceases operations just before reaching the surface. 

 The result is a circular hole closed and concealed from 

 without by a thin and easily ruptured membrane. 



This done, the grub wraps itself in a case of silk, whiclj 

 is everywhere complete except up against the future exi^ 

 above described. To the area round this the silk is attached, 

 but the membrane itself is not overspun with the material. 

 The grub then settles down cosily in its case, with its head 

 pointing towards the door, and turns into a chrysalis, la 

 due course the moth emerges, and all it has to do to escape- 

 from its cell is to break down the frail membrane which lies 

 between it and liberty. 



