53 



adjoining islands, and its original food-plants, sago and other palms, as 

 well as bananas. It was probably introduced into the Hawaiian Islands 

 \nth sugar-cane from Tahiti in 1854. Fiji and Bonin probably received 

 it from Hawaii with seed cane, and it reached Formosa from Honolulu. 

 It was introduced into Australia from New Guinea also in seed cane. 



Natural enemies, which have been introduced into the Hawaiian 

 Islands from various sources, include the Histerid beetle, Plaesius 

 javanus, brought from Java to Honolulu, where it has apparently not 

 established itself ; its introduction into Fiji has been more successful 

 [see this Review, Ser. A, ii, p. 507], though the final result has not yet 

 been reported. Another Histerid, Platylister abruptum, has been intro- 

 duced into Honolulu from Amboina via Macassar, Hong Kong and 

 Japan, but this also has apparently not been established. Though the 

 Elaterid, Simodactyhis sp., has not been recovered since its intro- 

 duction, it may yet be found to have established itself. A species of 

 Ckrysopila is numerous, feeding on Coleopterous and Dipterous larvae 

 on palms and bananas, and Jepson has recorded C.ferruginosa attacking 

 larvae of Cosmopolites sordidus and Odoiporus longicollis {Sphenophorus 

 planipennis). The Tachinid, Ceromasia sphenopkori, YiW., is the only 

 direct insect parasite of R. obscurus which has been found. It was 

 first discovered in Amboma and afterwards in Ceram and New 

 Guinea. Its transportation to Hawaii was effected by means of 

 breeding stations established in Queensland and Fiji, puparia being 

 sent from Port Moresby, New Guinea, in the first instance to Queens- 

 land and thence to Fiji and so on to Honolulu. It has also been sent 

 to Samoa and Fiji. The larval stage of this fiy lasts about 20 days and 

 the pupal about 15 days. 



The habits and life-history of R. obscurus are given in detail. In 

 Hawaii its chief food is sugar-cane, especially the softer varieties, 

 though it sometimes attacks palms, bananas, papaw and maize, but 

 seldom does any damage to these. No accurate estimate of the annual 

 loss to the sugar industry in Hawaii by this pest can be given, but it is 

 probably not less than £200,000. The artificial methods of control 

 recommended are : The burning of trash and firing of cane before 

 harvesting ; stripping dead and dying leaves ; the use of baits com- 

 posed of pieces of split cane placed in heaps along the edges of the fields ; 

 hand-picking the weevils by women and children ; and the selection of 

 suitable varieties of cane. The natural enemies present in Hawaii are 

 of minor importance. They include the predaceous Elaterid, Mono- 

 crepidius exul, ants, an Acarid, rats, a mongoose, toads, the mynah bird, 

 and a parasitic fungus. 



The history of the breeding and distribution of Ceromasia spheno- 

 pkori in Hawaii is described fully, and the benefits derived from its 

 introduction up to 1914 are summarised [see this Review, Ser. A, iii, 

 p. 133]. At the present time this Tachinid is considered to have 

 reached its maximum efficiency. A bibhography of 32 works relating 

 to R. obscurus, and eight relating to C. sphenopkori conclude this 

 bulletin. 



In the appendices, which are reprints of earlier circulars, Mr. Muir 

 describes his itinerary in South China when searching for Perkinsiella 

 sacckaricida. This insect was eventually found in small numbers, as 

 well as two new species of sugar-cane leaf-hoppers nearly related to it, 

 viz.: — Dicranotropis muiri. Kirk., and Perkinsiella sinensis. Kirk. Two 



