1 38 First Report on Economic Zoology. 



been observed in branches of a kind of ginger from China, eating the 

 woody parts, making long galleries deep into the branches, wliich 

 become full of dust (frass). Wlien they are ready to pupate they 

 make a large nest or cell near the bark, so that the beetle can escape 

 easily. The pupal stage lasts from ten to fifteen days. The beetles 

 are very agile, jumping often nearly an inch ; they also fly readily, 

 so that they might soon spread themselves over a storehouse. They 

 also feign death when touched. They were breeding in the coffee 

 berries sent as well as having damaged them by eating them. If 

 such a consignment is not destroyed, it should be treated at once to 

 kill the beetles. This may be done either by heat (if possible in 

 this case) or by fumigating the mass with hydrocyanic acid gas in 

 closed receptacles. 



The life-history of this pest has been fully described by 

 M. E. Lucas in tlie Annales of the Entomological Society of France 

 (tom. 1, 4th se., p. 399, 1861). 



The other sample of coffee berries (Fig. 16, c) was received at 

 Kew from Uganda and sent on to the British Museum. The follow- 

 ing note was sent back to Kew regarding the cause of damage : — 



" Some coffee berries from Uganda have been handed to me by Sir 

 George Hampson. They have been damaged by Scolytidoi. Mr. 

 Waterhouse says it is most probably a new species. As only a few 

 fragments of the beetle could be found, it is not possible to refer to 

 it in detail. Could you obtain fresh specimens of the beetle and 

 have them sent here ? I can find no record of any similar pest 

 attacking the berries. 



" A Ehyncota — StacJiia geometrica, Motsch (MS,)— attacks young 

 coffee berries in Ceylon and does some harm." 



These berries were eaten into, many hollowed right out, the outer 

 shell often perforated in two or three places. 



Weevils [Hypomeces squamosus, Fabr.) Defoliating 



Rubber. 



Some Weevils sent by the Curator of Selangor JMuseum that 

 were reported to him as defoliating Para Rubber {Hevca hrasiliensis) 

 proved to be the Hypomeces squamosus of Fabricius. 



