PALM BEETLES. 



207 



FIG. 245. 

 Brown Blister Beetle. 



attack crops, vigorous measures must be taken at once to drive them out. 

 Hand-collecting is laborious ; active boys with hand- 

 nets will catch far more, and a simple hand-net of 

 bamboos and muslin is easy to make (figs. C and D, 

 page 289). 



Fires covered with green materials are useful 

 if the smoke hangs in the crops and the air is still. 

 In the case of low crops such as rice, the useful 

 bag can be run through quickly, and where they 

 are taller, a rope or a strip of cloth can be fixed to 

 two bamboos and pulled over the ears; vigorous 

 measures to worry the insects in the morning are 

 all that is required and in a few days the seed is set 

 and the beetles disappear. In gardens, the banded beetle destroys 

 flowers ; there is no remedy available but to collect them by hand or with 

 the net, which is not difficult as the flights of beetles soon pass away. 

 Collected beetles are easily killed in hot water or in water with a film of 

 kerosene over it. 



Palm Beetles. 



Two beetles, of distinct habits and appearance, attack palms, including 



the toddy, palmyra and cocoa- 

 nut-palm. Each is destructive 

 in a distinct manner and both 

 are found widely spread over 

 the plains of India. The two 

 cannot be confused in their 

 appearance or their work. 



The Rhinoceros Beetle 1 is 

 a large thick-set black beetle, 

 somewhat over two inches 

 long and one inch broad ; its 

 appearance is best realised from 

 the figure. 



This insect flies at night, 

 coming into houses attracted 

 by lights. It feeds upon the 

 soft tissues of the palms, 

 attacking the unopened leaf 

 or the base of the fruiting 



Fm. 246. 



The Rhinoceros Beetle. 



1 126. Oryctes rhinoceros. L. (Scarabaeidao.) 



