MONTHLY NOTES ON GRUBS AND OTHER CANE PESTS. 27 
CANE GRUB INVESTIGATION, JANUARY, 1919. 
Fortunately, we are at last experiencing ideal growing weather, 
and even the weeds are coming on apace. The cane never looked better. 
BEETLE EMERGENCE. 
Really our first good rains did not come, at Meringa, until 19th 
December, though we had a brief downpour on the 28th of November 
that brought out a few beetles. 
Both the grey-backs, Lepidiota albohirta and L. frenchi, have come 
out in great abundance this year, this being the time for the regular 
biennial occurrence of the latter species. 
The extreme abundance of frenchi has made it possible for us to add 
materially to our knowledge of the habits of this species. Since they do 
not remain on the feeding-trees during the day, like the grey-backs, 
there has been less opportunity to study them. 
Upon the approach of darkness these smaller brown beetles crawl 
up out of the grass where they have been hiding, and for about ten 
minutes everywhere about you is one seething hum of the insects. The 
females settle first, upon any low object—bushes, dry twigs, or even 
upon the fences—and mating at once takes place. Usually several males 
cluster about one female, but as soon as one secures connection he lets 
himself fall backward, so that he hangs head downward, and the other 
males fly away. The pair remains in this position, perfectly motionless, 
for about twenty minutes, when they separate and fly to their feeding- 
trees, where they remain until morning. Soon after daylight, about half 
an hour before sunrise, they again become active, leaving the trees in one 
concerted flight, which lasts for about five minutes, when everything 
becomes quiet. In place of going straight into the ground the beetles 
usually settle upon the stems of any convenient plant, about 18 inches 
from the surface; here they remain perfectly motionless for several 
minutes, then proceed slowly downward into the grass, and finally enter - 
the soil. It is this habit that makes them an easy prey to the ‘‘early’’ 
bird. 
Birps A VALUABLE ASSET. 
Soon after the first flight of the beetles this year, my attention was 
attracted by a flock of fowls and ibises under one of the large rubber 
trees in the Mulgrave Mill yard. They were all actively feeding upon 
beetles which were dropping out of the tree. Upon closer observation 
I saw that there were a number of smaller birds in the branches, and 
these, too, were eating the insects. Usually when one of the birds hopped 
on a twig and secured a beetle, several others were dislodged and fell 
to the ground, where they were quickly gobbled. 
I have followed up this interesting line of observation, using my 
6X binoculars, with excellent results. Ordinarily the birds are very timid 
