484 Coco-nuts The Consols of the East 



about. 4^ in. long. Concerning- these two 

 insects Mr. Kirby writes : 



" The two latter species are common in the 

 South Sea Islands, where Lopaphus cocophagus 

 sometimes commits dreadful ravages in the 

 plantations of coco-nut trees." 



The Fijian natives, to whom these insects 

 are known as " mimimata," regard them with 

 a certain amount of awe, on account of their 

 power of ejecting a stinking fluid, said to be 

 very acrid, and supposed, if it strikes the eye, 

 to cause blindness. No authentic instance of 

 blindness caused in this fashion is known in 

 Fiji, but it can be well understood that should 

 this fluid strike the eye it would cause a 

 considerable amount of temporary discomfort. 

 This liquid is secreted in the glands of the 

 thorax. Birds are known to prey on Phasmida^ 

 to a very large extent, and there are many 

 instances of parasitism by other insects. Very 

 few eggs are produced considering the large 

 amount of food consumed by these insects. 

 The eggs are deposited by the females at 

 random from the top of the tree on to the 

 ground. 



The adult of the Phibalocera pythonius is 

 a large, green, bulky bodied insect provided 

 with powerful mandibles. The length is stated 

 by some residents in Fiji to reach 14 in., but 

 none in this collection exceed gj in. The 

 breadth is f in. This insect is entirely apterous, 

 and so, in order to gain access to the foliage, 



