THE 



GARDENS' BULLETIN, 



STRAITS SETTLEMENTS. 



Vol. I. Issued dune 20, 1914. No. 7. 



THE SIRANGOON OUTBREAK (I9I3) OF 

 BRACHARTONA CATOXANTHA. 



About the middle of the year, 1913, a few moths of Brachartona 

 catoxantha — the coconut pest — (vide Agricultural BuUelin, Straits and 

 F.M.S., viii, 1909, page 357, and Bulletin, Department of Agriculture, 

 F.M.S, No. 4) were observed near Singapore tov^rn ; but no outbreak 

 followed their appearance at that place ; instead a severe outbreak 

 followed in the coconut plantations about the head of the 

 Sirangoon river. The centre in the early part of the outbreak 

 was near the Mission church at Sirangoon, and in the small 

 Chinese holdings between it and the Trafalgar Estate ; the Trafalgar 

 Estate was rather badly attacked, and also coconut palms about 

 duck farms between the Ponggul Road and the river; while 

 towards Singapore town the caterpillars were to be found 

 sporadically for three miles. They occurred in addition on the leaves 

 of a species of Calamus and on those of the Areca pahn amon-; the 

 coconut palms in the badly affected area. 



A generation of moths was found to be emerging from the pupae 

 on November 1st ; and several hundred pupae were collected in order 

 to ascertain the degree of parasitisation, as well as the nature of the 

 parasites. The degree was found to be only 4 per cent, and the 

 parasites were in the first place a Tachinid fly, and in the second a 

 Brachonid ichneumon. 



As it was evident that these were far from getting the attack 

 under, preparations were made for trying to confine the moth to the 

 area it occupied and for seeking the co-operation of coconut palm 

 owners in the extermination of the pupae. A circular was printed in 



