ENTOMOLOGY. 465 



ENTOMOLOGY. 



Insect pests (Agr. Bvl. Malay Pe/dnsiila [ Gard. and Forest Dept. , 

 Straits Settlemeat], 1900, No. 9, pj). 252-279).— This article contains a 

 general classification of the different groups of insects, with notes on 

 the life history and habits of the members of each group, which are 

 injurious in the Malay Peninsula. 



An account of the bee-hawk moth {Cephonodes hylas) is given by 

 A. L. Butler (pp. 263-266). This insect has caused great damage to 

 coffee in the neighborhood of Petaling. The caterpillars strip the 

 leaves entirely from the coffee trees and feed also upon the green bei'- 

 ries after the leaves have been devoured. The transformation from 

 the caterpillar to the pupal stage takes place just beneath the surface 

 of the ground. The duration of the egg stage is from 5 to 7 days, of 

 the larval stage from -i to .5 days, and of the pupal stage from 10 to 14 

 days. The bee-hawk moth has few natural enemies which are suffi- 

 ciently numerous to keep the insect in check. Only a few species of 

 birds were ol)served feeding upon the caterpillars, and experiments 

 with geckos indicated that these animals do not feed upon the insect. 



Among the other economic insects upon which notes are given, the 

 following may be mentioned: Tinea granella, Attacaft atlas, the l)anana 

 weevil {Sphenophorus sordidus), IlyJotoma mctorlna, the coffee locust 

 {CyrtacantJiacris v!grorar!a)^ and white ants. 



The sweet-potato -weevil (Cylas formicarius), H. Tryon {Qaeen.s- 

 land Agr. Jour., 7 {1900), No. 2, pp. 176-189, pis. ^).— This insect 

 was first mentioned as injurious to sweet potatoes in Colombo in 1856. 

 The distribution of the species includes Ceylon, part of the West 

 India Islands, the southern portion of the United States, and various 

 parts of Australia. Its first injurious occurrence in Australia was 

 reported in 1886, since which time it has gradually l)ecome a formid- 

 able enemy to the cultivation of sweet potatoes. In some cases the 

 insect causes the almost complete loss of a crop of sweet potatoes, and 

 is a serious enemy to the crop in all cases, since even when the infes- 

 tation is of the mildest sort, the presence of the larva3 and adults of 

 the beetle may not always be detected in the sweet potato until it is 

 cut open. The beetle and larva are found in the stems near the sur- 

 face of the ground and later throughout the substance of the tubers. 

 In the worst cases of infestations none of the tubers attain full develop- 

 ment, but are pierced in all directions with the burrows of the weevils. 

 The tunnels made by the larv»- in the tissue of the vines and tubers 

 vary from 2 to -1 mm. in diameter and are not readily recognized until 

 exposure to the air and water has brought about a discoloration of the 

 tissue. 



The author gives a description of the insect in all its stages. In 

 Australia the sweet-potato weevil is found in its mature form at all 



