from neighbouring wild Leguminosae, and from older plants of 

 T. Candida, either grooving among the new plants or growang close by. 

 Infestation through the seed is not a serious source of danger ; very 

 few beetles will be found in the harvested seed and they will have 

 perished long before the new plants become susceptible to attack— at 

 the time that they flower, i.e., when they are about 8-10 months old. 

 There is a possibility that such beetles may fly to wild Leguminosae 

 (Crotalaria) or to T. Candida growing in the vicinity, but before infesta- 

 tion from such sources can reach the new plants the latter will probably 

 have been infested by other means. No precautions need therefore 

 be taken when harvesting the seed of T. Candida. Infestation from 

 adjacent vegetable substances cannot occur in nature ; it has already 

 been stated that the sole substances involved are the damp seeds of a 

 few leguminous plants and such seeds are not found under natural 

 conditions. Attack by beetles flying from wild Leguminosae, chiefly 

 Croiakiria striata, seems to be the principal cause of land planted 

 for the first time with T. Candida becoming infested. The destruction 

 of neighbouring plants of C. striata is therefore advised, though as the 

 beetles may come from some distance, this measure is not entirely 

 efficacious. While the first attack among newly-planted T. Candida is 

 due to these individuals from C. striata, the infestation is maintained 

 either by the new plants themselves or by other T. Candida growing 

 near-by. When about ten months old, T. Candida remains in flower, 

 so that the beetle has ample opportunities for breeding, and if the 

 plants are allowed to bear fruit undisturbed for some months, the 

 seed-crop will be entirely destroyed. 



As regards remedial measures, a thorough pruning provides a 

 successful means of combating the pest. Collection of the beetles is 

 not a feasible procedure, but if the plants are sprayed witb a poison, 

 the adults will be killed. When pod-bearing twigs were sprayed witb 

 a one per thousand solution of Paris green, 75 per cent, of the beetles 

 on them died within six days. Dolichoderus bitubercidatus (black 

 cacao ant) has proved useless as a check. Another method is the 

 simultaneous removal from the trees of every pod susceptible to attack 

 or already infested. By keeping the plants free from semi-ripe pods 

 for a sufficiently long period the beetle disappears. Experiments 

 show that if vigorous plants, more than a year old, are pruned of all 

 pods, flowers and flower-clusters, a period of seventy days elapses 

 before semi-ripe pods are again present, while an even more thorough 

 pruning naturally results in a still longer interval. WTien oviposition 

 is_ possible, the female beetle has an average life of thirty-eight days, 

 with a maximum of sixty-four ; if there are no opportunities for 

 oviposition the maximum rises to eighty-one days — the average 

 renaaining unaltered. If therefore all pods are removed, the only 

 individuals left will consist of a few newly-emerged adults and of a 

 majority of older ones. As no opportunity for oviposition is afforded 

 these will be nearly all dead within forty days, which is very much 

 less than the time required for semi-ripe pods to reappear. The 

 prunings must either be burnt or buried under an 8-inch layer of earth, 

 and the whole area must be completelv pruned, if re-infestation is to 

 be prevented. As the beetles are good flyers it is necessary to have 

 a distance of from 500 to 1,000 yards between pruned areas and 

 uupruned ones. 



