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Henry (G. M.). The Tobacco Aphis.— Tro^j. Agriculturist, Peradeniya, 

 li, no. 1, July 1918, pp. 51-52, 3 figs. 



A wide-spread outbreak of an Aphid on tobacco was reported from 

 the Jaffna district in February and March 1918, similar outbreaks 

 haying been frequent in recent years. This insect, the life-history 

 of which has not yet been worked out, appears in numbers on the 

 underside of yomig leaves or on tender shoots, causing the young 

 leaves to become stunted and distorted. The larvae of Syrphid flies 

 prey upon the Aphids and thus help to reduce an outbreak, though 

 they cannot save a crop when it is severely attaclved. 



A treatment that proved efficacious was 1 lb. tobacco refuse 

 boiled in 6 gals, water, 1 lb. soap being dissolved in the solution after 

 it had stood for a night. Two applications of this by means of an 

 ordinary syringe were made, once early in the morning and again 

 late in the evening. 



Baker (C. F.). Identity of a Coconut Hispid. — Gardens' Bull Straits 

 Settlements, Singapore, ii, no. 1, 4th July 1918, p. 3. 



This note corrects an erroneous identification of a small destructive 

 Hispid beetle occurring on coconuts, that has hitherto been regarded 

 in the Malay Peninsula as Brontispa froggatti, a species which was 

 oiiginally described from the Solomon Islands. The Malayan species 

 has now been identified by Dr. Gestro as Plesispa reichei, Chap., 

 originally described from Malacca. 



BuRKiLL (I. H.). Promecotheca cumingii, Baly, another Coconut 

 Hispid and a Pest in Malacca. — Gardens' Bull. Straits Settlements, 

 Singapore, ii, no. 1, 4th July 1918, pp. 3-5, 1 fig. 



Coconut palms in Malacca were found in July 1917 to be attacked 

 by an insect that caused a scorched appearance in the leaves. Mature 

 beetles were collected in December on the wing and proved to be 

 Promecotheca cumingi. This Hispid beetle feeds in both the larval 

 and adult stages on leaves of the coconut ; the grubs have been found 

 also in leaves of the nipa palm {Nipa fruticans) and of the sago palm 

 {Canjota urens), but do not occur abundantly as yet in Malacca. The 

 adult does not apparently fly far and spreads very little to isolated 

 groves of coconut palms behind the coast, but seems to have the 

 power of extending its range so long as the belt of coconuts is 

 more or less continuous. This insect has previously been described 

 as a pest in the Philippine Islands [see this Review, Ser. A, i, p. 311] 

 and much of the information in this paper is c[uoted from the earher 

 article. 



It is pointed out that control by hand-picking, which was then 

 suggested^ is impracticable on account of the height of the trees, 

 while the same difficulty applies to the use of hydrocyanic gas. The 

 only remedy that appears promising is to protect or increase the insect's 

 natural enemies, for which purpose it would probably be necessary 

 to collect a supply in the Philippine Islands. 



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