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THE NASICORNUS BEETLE 

 FUNGUS. 



AN ENEMY OF THE COCO-NUT BEETLE. 



MR. MOORS, who wrote us on September 20 

 (1913), reported in his letter that a parasite 

 that fed on the larvae of eoco-nut beetles 

 had been discovered in Samoa, to which it 

 was indigenous. Whether the fungus can be 

 successfully transported to other centres to 

 wage war on beetle larvae remains to be seen, 

 but the matter is worthy of the closest attention, 

 and we are much indebted to Mr. Moors for 

 having called our attention to so valuable a 

 discovery. 



Many months ago, he tells us, Dr. 

 Friederichs, Government Entomologist in 

 Samoa, discovered that occasionally he would 

 find a beetle larva with one or more small 

 brown spots on its back. Observations showed 

 that these larvae were attacked by a natural 

 fungus, native of Samoa, and that it fatally 

 injured the insect. Experiments, therefore, are 

 being carried out to further so desirable an 

 end. Many beetle larvae were captured and 

 confined in boxes and old kerosene tins mixed 

 up with plenty of rotting wood and cacao 

 shells, and the effect of the fungus was watched 



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