448 



1918 and caused serious alarm. It appeared early in 1919 on the east 

 coast of Sumatra, but has not been recorded from other parts of the 

 Malay Archipelago. Its distribution includes Central Africa, the West 

 Indies and Europe (France and Transylvania). 



It is considered thai} S. coffeae, Hgd., and Xyleborus coffe'ivorus, 

 van der Weele, originally described from Africa, are synonyms of this 

 .species. 



It is doubtful whether this pest occurred in Java prior to 1909. 

 According to Dammerman living beetles have been found in cofiee seed 

 imported from the Congo. 



Descriptions of all stages are given. The eggs are laid in heaps ; 

 in green cofiee berries it is rare to find more than 4-6 eggs together. 

 At Buitenzorg the entire life-cycle appears to require about 1 ^"^ '^ 

 a shorter period than in Central Africa. As is the case ^ aaiir ,y, 

 Scolytids, the females predominate. The author has nev :,iCl 



males in green berries ; they occur in small numbers ir , berries 

 and seed-coffee. There is therefore a possibility that the boring 

 females are not all fertilised. The mother-beetle does not appear to 

 leave the infested berry until the larvae are full-gro\VTi ; it then leaves 

 with them, probably through the entrance-hole. In the case of green 

 berries it is not usual for the young beetles to re-infest a berry before 

 leaving it ; re-infestation occurs in berries that have turned black 

 or in seed-coffee. It is not established whether there is a flight period 

 prior to infestation, but at sunset the author has seen beetles issue from 

 coffee berries and make attempts to fly. 



As regards the food of the larvae, van der Weele definitely states 

 that they feed on the soft mycelium of an Ambrosia fungus, but it 

 should be noted that no Cryphaline beetles are known to do this, and 

 furthermore no Ambrosia fungus has been found in the mines of 

 S. hamfei. The author believes that they feed on the debris produced 

 by the boring of the attendant mother and states that her removal 

 has always been followed by the death of all immature larvae and eggs, 

 and that if eggs and larvae are removed to an uninfested berry develop- 

 ment ceases ; the eggs hatch, but the young larvae are miable to bore. 

 It therefore appears that all the boring in an infested berry is done by 

 the mother. 



Coffea liherica and the species allied to it are chiefly attacked. With 

 an increase of infestation the varieties of C. robusta suffer. Java coffee 

 (C. arabica) is the last to be severely infested. In a mixed coffee estate 

 the first signs of infestation will therefore be seen on C. liberica. At 

 the beginning of an outbreak the beetle prefers berries that are withered 

 and black. Not only are such berries early attacked, but they are 

 more abundantly infested than green ones. Repeatedly from 50 to 75 

 livino' beetles have been taken from a blackened berry, and it is quite 

 possible that several individuals had already left. Such a berry 

 usually has several holes, and its infestation by several females is 

 probaiole. Withered berries that have dropped are likewise infested 

 and seem quite suitable for breeding purposes, and this also holds good 

 for " glondongan " coffee. The latter is prepared by sun-drying the 

 entire berry, from which the bean is afterwards obtained by stamping 

 and husking As a rule only berries that are withered and black are 

 treated in this manner. In seed-coffee, which is simply wind-dried and 

 therefore contains more moisture than beans intended for consumption, 



