302 



BoNDAR (G). Os Insectos damninhos. XX. Cahida prematura dos 

 Cocos causada pelo Homalonoius coriaceus, Gyllenhal. [Injurious 

 Insects. XX. The Premature Fall of Coconuts due to H. coriaceus.] 

 — Chacaras c Quintaes, S. Paulo, xxxv, no. 3, 15th March 1922, 

 pp. 205-208, 5 figs. 



A healthv coconut palm should produce at least fifty nuts a year, 

 but this minimum is often reduced to ten nuts from a very small number 

 of clusters. Other clusters die prematurely or lose their fruit. The 

 cause of this is a Curculionid, Homalonoius coriaceus, Gyll., the adults 

 of which five in the axillae of the leaves, chiefly of those protecting the 

 inflorescence. They mine the bracts in order to feed on the unopened 

 flowers. If there are 10-15 holes in a bract, the entire flower cluster 

 within is killed ; such extensive injury is, however, exceptional. 

 When the fruits are newly formed, they are pierced by the weevil, 

 which sucks the sap. Such fruits drop, many of them being holed 

 in four or five places. Furthermore, the female oviposits in the coconut 

 palm, preferably in a bract where feeding has occurred. About 

 four or five eggs are laid in the bract, and one or two of these develop. 

 The larva first feeds on the bracteal tissues, but soon passes to the 

 floral peduncle, and then descends to the trunk. The sap-channels 

 leading to the flowers and fruits are obstructed, and the nuts fall 

 prematurely. If the larva attains maturity before reaching the base of 

 the peduncle, it makes a case in the cavity where the peduncle was 

 situated and pupates. Otherwise the larva mines the trunk where 

 it is enveloped by the leaves. When the latter fall, the mines appear in 

 the form of superficial furrows about 1^ inch wide by \^-^ inches long. 

 This is a sure indication of the presence of the pest in a coconut 

 plantation, and the number of mines denotes the gravity of the attack. 

 A palm with more than ten mines to three feet of trunk is likely to 

 yield nothing in the year in which the infestation occurs. Tall palms 

 are less subject to attack. 



For the present no advice can be given regarding insecticides. It is 

 suggested that the larvae and adults should be searched for in the palms 

 about four times a year and killed. As the adult cannot fly well this 

 should have a permanent result. 



ScHELLENBERG (A.). Dic Bedeutung der Reblausversuche von Prof. 



Dr. Schneider fiir den Weinbau der deutschen Schweiz. [The 



Import of Dr. Schneider's Vine Louse Experiments to Viticulture 



in German Switzerland.] — Schiceiz. Zeitschr. Obst- it. Weinbau, 



Frauenfeld, xxxi, no. 7, 8th April 1922, pp. 102-106. 



Dr. Schneider-Orelli's experiments have proved that some American 



vine stocks, planted in the open, are resistant to Phylloxera as found 



in Zurich \R.A.E., A, x, 79]. It is, therefore, no longer necessary 



to aim at combating the Aphid. The object to be attained is the 



reconstruction of infested and threatened vineyards before the injury 



becomes such as to necessitate their compulsory destruction. Local 



legislation needs amending in accordance with this new principle. 



Dean (G. A.). How we may increase the Effectiveness of Economic 



Entomology. — Jl. Econ. Ent., Geneva, N. Y., xv, no. 1, February 

 1922, pp. 44-53. 



To maintain the entomologist's present position of service and to 

 make the solution of future problems possible, fundamental training 

 for research will have to be insisted upon, and an agreement must 



