8 MONTHLY NOTES ON GRUBS AND OTHER CANE PESTS. 
they were found in well-formed cells about 2 feet below the surface. 
The inner lining of the cell was evidently made from the excrement of 
the body, which had been formed into a smooth, hard layer. 
The second-stage grubs are still much in evidence when following 
the plough on new land. In this stage the grubs are still small, but will 
be grown up by October, and ready to do considerable damage wherever 
they occur. 
PARASITES AT HAMBLEDON. 
This district was once a grub centre, and it has been an important 
question as to what their disappearance could be attributed to. As far 
as I could learn, there has been no change in cultural methods—no removal 
of feeding-trees, or other treatment applied. Of course, vigorous 
methods were applied at the time, in endeavours to rid the place of the 
pest, but these same methods, tried in other sections, have failed. Tryon 
suggested, in his valuable ‘‘Bulletin on the Grub Pest of Sugar-cane,’’ 
that one or more of the natural enemies might be at work in this district. 
It was therefore with considerable interest that I made the discovery 
that this surmise was correct. The fields are plentifully supplied with 
the Campsomeris wasps, which are seen flying about everywhere. By 
digging pits we found that the cocoons of the wasps were abundant 
under the stools, and that a fair number of grubs were present. The 
cane showed no injury, except what might have resulted from the cyclone. 
The activity of these wasps in the laboratory shows that they would 
make short work of the grubs, if they could in their turn escape from 
their own natural enemies. 
4 
OTHER GRUB DESTROYERS. 
It is a revelation to follow the plough during July, and note the 
cleaning up of the grubs by birds. In one field at Meringa, fully 150 
ibises were following two ploughs, leaving not a single grub in their wake. 
The birds were spread out the whole length of the furrow, which was 
about 15 chains long, so that their keen eyes detected everything. By 
following close to the plough we saw that many grubs were turned out 
from under the stools, but, as soon as the birds had passed along, not one 
remained. The appetites of these birds is marvellous, for they follow 
the ploughs assiduously all day long. The contents of their stomachs 
have been examined when grasshoppers were abundant, and no less than 
2,000 young locusts were found in a single bird. These birds are certainly 
valuable allies of the farmer, and it is a fine thing that they are pro- 
tected. They are, however, still very timid, showing that they are subject 
to more or less injury by ruthless humans. 
The pewee larks, too, do a lot of good work behind the ploughs, 
though these birds are not large enough to swallow the largest grubs. 
[ have often watched them break up the biggest grubs before they tried 
to swallow them. 
