390 



plants up to 3 or 4 years old may also suffer ; important damage to 

 older palms has not been noticed. P. reichei develops between the 

 folds of the opening fronds, where the larvae and adults feed upon 

 the leaf-tissue, neglecting the veins running to the top of the leaf and 

 eating the cross veins, so that a striped effect results which is very 

 different from the window-like appearance of injury due to Brachartona 

 catoxantha, which leaves the cross veins. The leaves become reddish 

 brown, black spots appear and severe infestation results in the leaf 

 turning entirely brown ; in many cases the young shoots decay and 

 the plant dies. The damage done by the larvae and adults of 

 P. reichei appears to be increased by a fungus, Pestalozzia palmarmn, 

 which seems to penetrate the leaf-tissue at the injured spot. 



Descriptions are given of the egg, larva, pupa and adult of thLs 

 beetle. The egg-stage lasts 7-10 days. The young larva measures 

 about 2 mm. in length and is white ; it begins to feed immediately 

 and reaches its maximum growth in 31-38 days. When full-grown, 

 it measm-es 8-9 mm. in length, is dirty \A^hite or yellow in colour, very 

 flat, slow-moving, and nearly always hides between the folds of the 

 fronds. The pupa is of a butter-yellow colour. The pupal stage 

 lasts 7-9 days. The adult beetles are long-Uved, a period of 6-^ 

 months being observed in the laboratory. The largest number of 

 eggs laid by one female was 93. 



Experiments with insecticides showed that tobacco-soap solution 

 or a plain 3 per cent, soap solution were not effective against the eggs, 

 though fairly so against the adults and larvae. These were, however, 

 best dealt with by using a 2 per cent, solution of lead arsenate. As 

 a preventive measure it is well to spray young infested plants in the 

 nursery before planting them out. 



Leefmans (S.). De gestreepte Dikkoprups van den Klapper (Hidari 

 irava, Moore). [The Striped Skipper Caterpillar of the Coconut.] 

 — Meded. Laboratorium voor Plantenziekten, Buitenzorg, no. 35, 

 1919, pp. 15-31, 4 plates. 



The Hesperid butterfly, Hidari irava, Moore, has been several 

 times recorded on sago and cocoiuit palms in the Dutch East Indies, 

 but its life-history and parasites have not been studied hitherto. The 

 author has found it on coconut and Livistona sp. In the laboratory 

 the caterpillars also fed on the leaves of sago and Arenga palms. 

 "\^Tien given the choice between coconut, Arenga and sago they fed 

 to about the same degree on the two first-named and almost neglected 

 sago. 



The egg, caterpillar, pupa and adult butterfly are described. The 

 egg-stage lasts 8-9 days. On the coast of Sumatra the entire life- 

 cycle requires 50-57 days, so that 6 or 7 generations may occur in a 

 year. Two other Hesperids, Erionota thrax, L., and Gangara thyrsis, 

 F., may be mistaken for H. irava, but their caterpillars are very 

 different, being covered — even in the active period — with a thick, 

 white, waxy coating. H. irava is crepuscular in habit and seldom flies 

 by day. It is but little attracted by light. The caterpiUars were 

 found to be parasitised by a Tachinid, a Braconid and by an Ichneu- 

 monid (Ophionid). The pupae are parasitised by a Chalcid. An 

 egg-parasite was also observed. These parasites have been submitted 



