414 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL.84 



in the Agromyzid fly against the Latana weed as well as a Spalangia 

 against the house fly. I have an idea that he left Fiji, at least tempo- 

 rarily, since Mr. Robert Veitch was appointed Entomologist of the 

 colony in 1 914. However, the Report of the Division of Entomology 

 in the Annual Report of the Fiji Department of Agriculture for 1919 

 was signed by F. P. Jepson and C. H. Knowles. 



Mr. Robert Veitch landed in Fiji in August, 191 4. On his way out 

 from England, he visited the United States and Hawaii, spending 

 three months on the journey and visiting some of the important 

 entomological stations on the way. He remained in the service about 

 1 1 years, but his work was not confined entirely to the Crown Colony 

 of Fiji, since in 1917 he spent some months in Hawaii and also some 

 months in the sugar cane districts of Queensland and New South 

 Wales. He did a great deal of excellent work during these 11 years 

 and published five illustrated reports dealing with the commoner 

 insects associated with the sugar cane plantations, including the 

 sugar cane beetle borer, wireworms, white grubs, hornets, and minor 

 pests of the crop. He further published other articles in difl:'erent 

 journals. 



Mr. Veitch became interested at an early date in the subject of 

 biological control. This subject had attracted some attention in Fiji 

 before his arrival ; and in fact, when Frederick Muir, on his way 

 from New Guinea to Hawaii, left there a small colony of the Tachinid 

 parasite (Ccroniasia sphenophori) of the sugar cane borer, the colony 

 died out, and in 1912, 1913, and 1917 further colonies were intro- 

 duced ; and from the time of Mr. Veitch's arrival great efforts were 

 made to establish this particular parasite. Twelve of the Company's 

 ofificers were engaged in breeding the parasite at various centers. For 

 a long time failure was feared, but by 1921 the percentage of borer- 

 infested stalks had been very considerably reduced, the percentage 

 dropping from 22 to 4 per cent. Mr. Veitch, however, does not think 

 that this result can be laid entirely to the parasite, and he so stated 

 in his report read at the Pan Pacific Food Conserv^ation Congress in 

 Hawaii in 1924. 



Mr. Hubert W. Simmonds joined the force of entomologists in 

 1919 and went to Tahiti for parasites of the coconut scale (Aspidiotus 

 destructor) . 



The so-called Levuana caterpillar, feeding upon the foliage of 

 coconut trees, had become so destructive in 1922 and 1923 that a 

 systematic effort was made to find natural enemies, and in 1923 Mr. 

 Simmonds visited a number of Pacific islands, searching for the origi- 

 nal home of the Levuana, but unsuccessfully. 



