Van der Goot (P.). Het Tephrosia-Kevertje. [The small Teplirosia 

 Beetle.] — Meded. v. h. Proefstaiimi Midden-Java, Salatiga, 

 no. 26, 1917, 36 pp., 1 fig, 2 plates. 



In the plantations at higher elevations in Java there has been of 

 late vears a great advance in the cultivation of green manure plants, 

 of which Tephrosia Candida is one of the most satisfactory. In view 

 of its increasing importance, the considerable injury done to it by the 

 Tephrosia beetle led to an investigation on the latter being under- 

 taken. 



The identity of this Anthribid is somewhat doubtful. European 

 entomologists have identified the examples submitted to them as 

 Araecerus fascicnlatus, De G., but the literature on this species almost 

 exclusively describes it as living in stored vegetable products. In 

 Java Zehntner observed it in stored coffee beans and dealt with it at 

 length under the name of " coffee weevil." It is therefore remarkable 

 that while the Tephrosia beetle readily breeds in the pods of plants 

 with Papilionaceous flowers, it refuses to do so in such products as cofEee 

 and cacao beans. These pronounced differences in their life-history 

 would appear to warrant two distinct biological races of A. fascicnlatus 

 being recognised. Excepting for a note by F. H. Chittenden (Some 

 little-known insects affecting stored vegetable products — U.S. Dept. 

 Agric, Bull. No. 8, n. series, 1898), recording A. fasciculatus from 

 the pods of Cassia occidentalis and the seeds of Indigofera sp., it has 

 never been mentioned as an important pest of Leguminosae. 



After a brief description of this beetle, notes on its general biology 



are given. In the case of Tephrosia Candida the eggs are laid in the 



semi-ripe or almost ripe pods — when the seeds are already swollen. 



Oviposition was not observed, but the beetle apparently gnaws a 



hole into which it thrusts its ovipositor. In the pods of T. Candida, 



the hole is usually in the lower seam, sometimes in the upper one, but 



never in the sides. A single egg is deposited in each hole, close to a 



seed. The number of holes seldom exceeds that of the seeds and is 



rarely more than fourteen per pod. The egg-stage lasts only about 



6-7 days. The young larva immediately begins to bore into the 



adjacent seed and often attacks a second one without completely 



eating the first. The skin of the seed is also destroyed, so that the 



larva is nearly always distinctly visible when an infested pod is opened. 



The larval period lasts about 23-29 days. After a pupal period of 



7 or 8 days the adult remains for about six days within the pod, finally 



emerging through a round hole, about ^V inch in diameter, gnawed in 



one of the sides. As the egg is usually laid in semi-ripe pods the beetle 



emerges before the pods open. A premature opening may be fatal 



to any larvae or pupae within by causing them to fall to the ground. 



The beetle at once begins to gnaw the adjoining old or young pods; 



mating takes place after a few days and oviposition soon follows, 



about 11-13 days after emergence. Usually one egg is laid per day ; 



the maximum observed was three. The average number of eggs per 



female is twenty-nine, with an observed maximum of eighty-four. 



Oviposition lasts for about twenty-five days. There are 6 or 7 annual 



generations. The beetles died within fourteen days when deprived 



of food. The average life of a female beetle is thirty-eight days, 



with an observed maximum of sixtv-four. The average life of a 



