474 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 10 



the commercial importance that it is Ukely to have in the future. 

 More people will come here following the successful operation of the 

 Canal, to engage in agricultural pursuits and it is safe to say that a 

 great many more cocoanuts will be exported than at the present time, 

 as they are one of the safest products to handle in Tropical America 

 provided facilities for transportation and shipping to the markets are 

 convenient. 



After the young trees in a grove are well started the principal care 

 required is to combat the insects that are injurious to them, as the 

 trees in this region are singularly free from the diseases that cause 

 much damage in other parts of the country and it is with one of the 

 injurious insects that this article is concerned. 



The most destructive insect enemy of the cocoanut tree, Cocos 

 nucifera, in Panama is the lepidopterous insect, Brassolis isthmia, 

 in its larval or caterpillar stage. This insect is a native of Panama 

 and as far as can be ascertained is found in no other region. 



I have been studying this pest twice a year (seasonally) for the past 

 two years, but for the most part only during spare hours, and have 

 not been able to devote the amount of time to this work that is neces- 

 sary to make a thorough investigation of their habits, and also have 

 not had the opportunity to do much field work in this connection 

 which is highly essential in a life-history, but I will endeavor to set 

 forth a few results obtained from work done at the Laboratory and 

 observations I have been able to make on the cocoanut trees in the 

 Ancon Hospital grounds. 



History 



Brassolis isthmia was first recorded and described by Bates^ in 1864. 

 It belongs to the genus Brassolis, which, according to Westwood,^ 

 contains four species that are very closely allied, but differ in their 

 habitat. B. isthmia is recorded only from the Isthmus of Panama. 

 B. sophoroe is found in British Guiana, and B. astyra in Brazil. I 

 have not been able to secure much information regarding the habitat 

 of the fourth species, B. macrosiris. 



In 1908, Shultz^ published an excellent article on B. isthmia giving 

 information regarding their life-history, habits, and damage caused 

 by them, which is the only information on the life-history of these 

 pests to be found in the literature at hand. 



1 Bates, The Entomologists Monthly Magazine, vol. 1, p. 164, June, 1864. 

 * Doubleday & Westwood, Diurnal Lepidoptera, vol. 11, p. 350. 

 3 Shultz, Henry F., Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, vol. 

 X, March-June, 1908, p. 164. 



