110 THE EXTERMINATION OF PESTS 



of pests, and also contains recipes for the prepara- 

 tion of various insecticides. There are also, of 

 course, a number of special insecticides manu- 

 factured by various firms which render useful 

 service in this connection. 



A curious fact is that all species of scale insects 

 in the West Indies are controlled by natural 

 enemies, which consist of parasitic and predaceous 

 insects and parasitic fungi. It is, moreover, con- 

 sidered most likely that other insects such as minute 

 internal parasites and the lady bird and other species 

 which devour the young and adult scales are 

 the most efficient. 



Among biting insects are the caterpillars of a 

 large butterfly (Brassolis sophorce), which have been 

 found, in British Guiana and Trinidad, to feed on 

 the leaves of the coconut palm, seriously injuring 

 the trees and diminishing the yield of nuts. These 

 caterpillars attain a length of about 2| inches 

 when fully grown. They feed, we are told, at 

 night, and rest during the day in large nests which 

 they construct by tying the leaflets of the coconut 

 together with silken threads spun for the purpose. 

 These insects can be controlled by cutting away 

 the leaves to which the nests are attached and 

 destroying the larvae by crushing or burning them. 

 They may also be destroyed by means of a spray 

 consisting of a solution containing arsenate of lead. 

 Similar caterpillars are found in other regions, and 



