23 



Matthias Newell had reported the pest in a fernery in Hilo sev- 

 eral years ago, but we have heard nothing more about the matter 

 since. Knowing about the serious damage that this beetle is now 

 doing in the forests around Tantalus and other localities on this 

 Island, and fearing that if established in ferneries at Hilo it would 

 sooner or later escape into the open and get into the fern forests 

 which are so essential for the conservation of rainfall, I submitted 

 the question to the President of the Board of Agriculture and For- 

 estry and suggested to him to allow me to send Air. D. B. Kuhns, 

 Assistant Inspector, to Hilo, to make a thorough investigation, to 

 which he heartily agreed. The following is Mr. Kuhns' report : 



Honolulu, Hawaii, December 31, 1912. 



Mr. Edward M. Ehrhorn, Supt, of Entomology, Board of Agri- 

 culture and Forestry, Honolulu, T. H. 



Dear Sir: — According to your instructions to investigate the 

 fern weevil, (Syagrius fnlvitcrsus, Pascoe), which was reported 

 found at Hilo several years ago and which is now causing great 

 damage to ferns on the mountains back of Honolulu, I left Hono- 

 lulu December 21, arriving at Hilo on the morning of the 22nd. 

 On arriving I lost no time getting in touch with Brother M. 

 Newell, who had found this fern weevil in a greenhouse some 

 years ago, so as to ascertain the exact locality and from there make 

 my investigations. Brother Newell kindly offered to accompany 

 me to the place where he first observed the pest, namely, on Reed's 

 Island. 



A careful search was made of the greenhouse in question and 

 of all ferns in the yard, but there was no evidence whatever of 

 the work of Syagrius. From here we visited five other places as 

 well as the ferns along the banks of the Wailuku river. 



The Sadlerias and Cibotium tree ferns, as well as Aspidium and 

 the Boston ferns, were commonly found out of doors, while in the 

 greenhouses the various species of Alaidenhair were commonly 

 found. The two first named are the most common outdoor food 

 plants of the pest, whilst it is quite partial to Maidenhair in the 

 greenhouses. Being unable to find the weevil on Reed's Island 

 and adjacent regions, I determined to visit higher elevations which 

 might possibly have become infested. Accordingly, on the 25th 

 of Decembe: I visited Piihonua, making a careful search from 

 Rainbow Falls to an elevation of 1500 feet. 



Having made close observation of the work of the weevil on 

 the leaf stenis of Sadlcria on Tantalus, I paid particular atten- 

 tion to the fronds of these ferns, but found only the young fronds 

 to be damaged to some extent by a fungus disease and the dying 

 fronds and heart of the fern riddled by the larvae of the Tineid 

 moth, Ercunitus. There is no evidence, however, of Ercunitus in- 

 juring healthy plants. The CnrcuUonid beetle, Psciidohis, is quite 

 common in the dead stems of the tree ferns, but I failed to find 



