401 



found dead, apparently as the result of the seahng by a white fungus. 

 of the perforations made by the beetle. This fungus does not belong 

 to the group known to attack insects. S. hainpei is also parasitised 

 by a small Hymenopteron. 



In Costa Rica defoliation on a wide scale, such as is caused by the 

 larvae of M. glauca in Uganda, is unknown. A Limacodid and a 

 Saturniid, Automeris sp., are the only larvae occurring in any abun- 

 dance, and they are only of importance in as much as the\- cause great 

 annoyance to picking gangs owing to their urticating hairs. Defoliation, 

 is chiefly caused by ants of the genus Attci, which make very large 

 subterranean nests, from which they emerge to attack the coffee 

 trees and also oranges. The usual method of destroying them is to 

 pour half a pint of carbon bisulphide into the nest and explode it by 

 fire, but the results of this treatment, as is the case with ant-destroying 

 machines (which produce gas by the addition of some sulphurous 

 compound to a small charcoal fire), are very uncertain. 



The effect of shade on insect and fungous pests is as yet undeter- 

 mined. 5. hampei is apparently more abundant in shaded areas, 

 though unshaded coffee is just as liable to attack. 



Ramachandra Rao (Y.). Pests of the Date Palm in 'Iraq. — 



Mesopotamia Dept. Agric, Basrah, Memoir 6, 1922, 12 pp., 9 figs. 

 [Received 7th June 1922.] 



The life-history of the Pyralid, Batrachedra amydraiila, Meyr., causing 

 the " hashaf " condition of dates in Mesopotamia [R.A.E., A, vii, 189 ; 

 i.x, 91] has been studied and is given in detail. There are apparently 

 two generations in a year. The place of hibernation has not yet 

 been discovered ; it is thought that some soft part of the trunk of 

 the palm may be bored into, but cocoons were never found in such 

 situations. The caterpillars disappear after the first week in July, 

 some changing into pupae and emerging as adults a few days later, 

 some hibernating as quiescent larvae. Investigation into the economic 

 importance of this pest has 1^ to the conclusion that dropping of 

 immature dates is caused far more through lack of fertilisation than 

 the presence of B. amydraula. It is thought that if a dilute arsenical 

 spray were applied to the bunches about one week after the fruit has 

 set, and again a week or ten days later, many of the larvae would be 

 killed, especially as each larva eats its way into three or four fruits 

 before it reaches maturity. In a few cases, cocoons of a parasite, 

 probably Habrobracon kitcheneri, Dudg. & Gough, were observed. 



The pest that ranks next in importance is the larva of the Cerambycid, 

 Psetfdophilns testaceus, Gah., which enters the leaf base and tunnels 

 about, eventually entering the trunk and causing exudations of sap. 

 Pupation occurs in the tunnel, and the adult escapes by making a 

 circular hole in the bark. The life-history occupies a year, and the 

 only remedy that seems at all feasible is the collection of the adults 

 at light traps, to which they may be attracted in June and July. 

 Thorough cleaning of the palm and removal of the leaf bases and fibre 

 in December and again in July, when oviposition is over, should free 

 the tree from grubs. Any affected offshoots about the base of the 

 tree should be pulled out and burnt. 



Oryctes elegans, Prell, is said to breed in the tops of living trees ; 

 it has been noticed at lights in April and May, and in July bored into 

 the top shoots of palms at the bases of the leaf-stalks and central 

 shoots. The beetles can be hooked out with a stiff wire. A mite. 



