246 



A Guide to the Palm Collection in the Botanic 

 Gardens II. 



Pests. 



Thou<?h not badly attacked as a whole by pests, palms have a 

 number of enemies which have to be dealt with. Tn view of this 

 fact it is felt that a few words concerning thcni, together with a 

 few notes for guidance in dealing with them, would be helpful. 

 These pests are practically all insects, being for the most part 

 Ijeetles and their larvae, the larvae of one or two butterflies, grass- 

 hoppers, scale, etc. The plants do not seem to suffer much from 

 fungus diseases, in fact up to the present only two cases have come 

 to the notice of the writer, these being on two species of Cocos 

 which were attacked by a leaf fungus. 



The following is an enumeration of the chief pests so far 

 noted in the Botanic Gardens : — 



In>iccts. (a) Beetles. 



Tihi/ticoj)ho)-us ferrugiens (Eed Palm Beetle). 

 lihuncophoriis sp. 



Ori/ctes Iihinoreros (Rhinoceros Beetle). 

 A'arious small beetles ^nd weevils. 



{h) Chafer. 



Cefonica mandarinea. 



(c) Butterflies. 



Erionota Thra.r, Larvae of. 

 Amafliusia pliidippiis (Large Coconut Butterfly) 

 Larvae of. 



(d) Grasshoppers various. 



(e) Coccids. 

 (/) Scale. 

 (g) Thrips. 



Fungus. One leaf fungus not yet determined. 



The above is not a very formidable list when compared with 

 •others plants Hevea brasiliensis see Gardens Bulletin, ii (1920) 

 186 for example, and on the whole they are all fairly easily dealt 

 with. The following details are given for general guidance. 



1. Insects. 



(a) Ehyncophorus ferrugiens (Eed Palm Beetle). Attacks 

 the growing bud which is a very vital part in all palms. The eggs 

 are laid in the bud and when hatched the large fleshy grubs burrow 

 into the soft tissue of the bud, often times proving fatal especially 

 to the single-stemmed species. As a rule only large plants are 

 attacked seldom those in pots or tubs. The beetle is 1^ to 2 inches 

 long, black and has red markings. 



