MONTHLY NOTES ON GRUBS AND OTHER CANE PESTS. 15 
I would suggest, as a possible control measure, the application of a 
green crop of beans or peas before planting cane again. This, however, 
would be of little avail if there were other infested fields of cane near by. 
CANE GRUB INVESTIGATION, OCTOBER, 1918. 
During the month I have done considerable travelling, and by 
consultation with numerous leaders of the industry, in the various dis- 
tricts visited, have been able to increase materially our knowledge of the 
habits of the various pests of sugarcane. 
Incidentally, Mr. Girault and I have been devoting considerable 
time to the introduction of the tachinid parasites of the beetle-borer 
(Ceromasia sphenophori) in infested districts. It will be recalled from 
former reports that these parasites had already been liberated at Moolaba, 
Babinda, and on the Mulgrave. During the past month we have secured 
fresh colonies and liberated these on the Johnstone and the Herbert. 
Those of the first locality were placed on the farm of Mr. R. Davis, at 
Daraji; while on the Herbert they were placed at two points:—Mr. 
Combo’s farm, about 25 miles upstream, and in the mill nursery at 
Macknade. 
INVESTIGATIONS AT MossMAN. 
On all of our previous visits to Mossman we had secured our supply 
of the parasites from the mill nursery ; hence I was considerably disturbed 
to learn that this paddock had been burnt and milled, precluding all hope 
of securing further supplies there. <A careful search of the district 
demonstrated that the beetle-borers were scarcely in evidence anywhere; 
but wherever found there were unmistakable signs that the parasites 
were with them, and that they were completly under control. On one 
farm I found these indications of the flies fully 15 miles from the mill 
nursery, where they were liberated in 1910; and, what was most remark- 
able, there were several miles of forest country between these two points, 
with no sugarcane. Evidently the flies have travelled up the country 
with the wind. 
Upon the advice of Mr. C. J. Crees, the mill manager, we were able 
to locate a few borers on the farm of the Crees Bros. The pest had 
evidently come from a pile of discarded cane which had been dumped 
alongside the field when planting, for only a small semicircular area in 
the field, opposite this rubbish heap, was affected. It was also very 
noticeable that most of the infested stools were rat-eaten, and the indi- 
eation was that the rats had been digging out and feeding on the borer- 
grubs. Fortunately, most of the grubs that we were able to find in 
this spot was fully parasitised, and were the best material I have ever 
seen. The benefited regions, where we are placing the parasites, certainly 
owe much to the public spirit of the Mossman Mill management and to 
the public spirit of the above gentleman for assisting us in cutting up 
their crop to secure the parasites, without recompense. 
