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Brachartona catoxantha.-~T\\\H moth is a serious pest of coconut 

 palms. The moth is very small, only measuring 16 mm. across the 

 expanded wings or a little less than § inch. The limited time at my 

 disposal does not permit a full description. 



By the time the fourth generation has hatched the insects have 

 multiplied so considerably that a local epidemic is formed. After 

 the fifth or sixth brood, but this varies according to the development 

 of the insects' own enemies and only two broods may appear, the 

 pest disappears " having become abundant enough to let its own 

 enemies or parasites multiply in excess." The parasites of 

 Brachartona, among which the most important is a fungus, Botrytis 

 sp., and second in importance a Phorid fly, die off when the pest is 

 nearly exterminated or suppressed and after three years (I have 

 evidence to show that three years, not two years, as stated elsewhere, 

 is the intei'val of time) Brachartona reappears as a pest in the same 

 locality. It appears that on eacli occasion of the reappearance of the 

 pest in one locality the enemies of Brachartona develop with 

 increased rapidity reducing the number of broods and therefore the 

 injury caused by the pest. It is early to be qtiite sure of the facts 

 in this connection but the evidence obtained so far points in this 

 direction. My experience had been that spraying with either 

 kerosene emulsion or London purple as advised by Pratt, or any 

 other insecticide besides being extremely expensive is of little or 

 no value in eradicating the pest. 



The following remedial and preventive measures were adopted 

 on one plantation and had the desired result. All tlie lower leaves of 

 the palms which have been badly eaten, and on which many 

 thousands of the insects were pupating (still in the chrysalis stage), 

 were cut off and burnt. The lowermost leaves of the trees 

 throughout the area in wliich the flight had been obsei-ved were cut 

 off and piled in heaps for burning, this was done to destroy the eggs 

 laid by the moths. The leaves were cut away and destroyed to 

 decrease the numbei's of the larvae which would have developed had 

 the lowermost leaves been left, the greatest number of eggs being 

 laid on the lower leaves. 



As soon as the caterpillars (hatching out from the eggs) 

 appeared and commenced to feed a number of coolies were told oft' to 

 singe the leaves with torches. The torches were made of long poles 

 with a portion of a coconut husk fixed to one end of each. The husk 

 was soaked in kerosene and lighted. By passing the torches along the 

 under sides of the leaves the caterpillars were either killed by the 

 heat or they dropped to the ground. Immediately the caterpillars 

 fall they endeavour to make their way back to the leaves by crawling 

 along the ground and up the stems of the palms. A ring of tar and 

 grease was painted on the stems about a foot and a half above the 

 ground to catch the caterpillars, and prevent them from again reaching 

 the leaves. This was highly successful, thousands of caterpillars 



