122 



Jepson (F. p.). a Tour of the Coconut Districts of Fiji. — Dept. Agric, 

 Fiji, Suva. Pamphlet no. 16, 1915, 4 pp. [Received from the 

 Colonial Office 16th February 1916.] 



This is a report of the visit of the Government Entomologist to 

 the chief coconut districts of Fiji between January and April 1915. 

 The spathe-boring moth was found to be common throughout the 

 districts and especially troublesome at Vuna, Nagasau and Vunavessa. 

 The spathes enclosing the inflorescence are penetrated by the larvae of 

 this species. The larvae feed on the flowers and when mature pupate 

 a short distance below the surface of the soil. The adults emerge in from 

 22 to 25 days and egg-laying begins soon after emergence. Promecoiheca 

 reichei (coconut leaf -miner) was observed in some plantations, but on 

 account of the high degree of parasitism, probably cannot be regarded 

 as a serious pest. Stick insects [GraeJJea cocophaga, Newp.] were 

 abundant, extensive damage being caused in some cases. Since the 

 eggs are dropped on to the ground by the female, it is advisable that 

 weeds and grass for a distajice of about 12 feet round the trunks of 

 trees should be cut and burned. Magpies introduced into Taviuni 

 some time ago are thought to keep the pest in check in the south 

 part of the island. Bud-rot was found in a few localities in Taviuni, 

 and it is recommended that infected trees should be destroyed. From 

 observations made on the island of Laucala, the author is of the 

 opinion that the exceptionally heavy yield of fruit was correlated 

 with the swarms of bees present. It is considered that the intro- 

 duction of bees into other plantations is worth a trial. 



The only insect pest noticed on bananas was a scale, Aspidiotus sp. 

 The leaves of yoimg tea plants at Wainunu were attacked by a small 

 leaf -rolling caterpillar. Cacao was practically free from insect enemies, 

 except at Wainunu, where the leaves of the plants were occasionally 

 attacked by Adoretus umbrosus var. tenuimacidalus (Japanese rose 

 beetle). 



South (F. W.), Summary of Locust Work for the Third Quarter July 

 to September 1915. — Agric. Bidl. Fed. Malay States, Kuala 

 Lumpur, iv, no. 3, December 1915, pp. 68-72. 



The situation as regards locusts has remained practically unchanged. 

 There is no prospect of locust work in Selangor ever assuming large 

 proportions again, and such destruction work as may be necessary 

 will be simple to carry out and involve little expense ; only one swarm 

 was left in the State at the end of the quarter. In Johore and the 

 Negri Sembilan on the other hand, destruction work continued 

 throughout the breeding season from the beginning of July to the end 

 of the first week in September. In Johore 320 swarms in all were 

 destroyed, while the total number destroyed in the Negri Sembilan 

 was 1894, of which more than half were in the Tampin district. On 

 the whole, locust destruction work must be considered to be pro- 

 ceeding slowly and satisfactorily in the Federated Malay States and 

 Johore. 



