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PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 451 
incidentally mentioned to be a Macraspis) was doing much harm in Berbice. 
On examination of the specimens, however (now exhibited), the beetle 
turned out to be one of the Dynastide, Tomarus bituberculatus, and any 
Suggestion for diminishing the numbers would be very acceptable. The 
beetle, which is one of the kinds popularly known as ‘hardbacks’ in the 
colony, is enormously plentiful, coming into the houses in the evening in 
such quantities as to require to be swept from the tables, and I am informed 
by a naturalist lately resident in Guiana that as many as five specimens 
may be found in the unopened flower-buds of the Victoria Regia. 
“The other specimens exhibited are of Sphenophorus sacchari, with its 
cocoon, and also two cocoons (one opened to show the contained pupa) of 
a larger species of Rhyncophorus, but I conjecture uot of Rhyncophorus 
palmarum. In the course of investigation last year it appeared that there 
were more species at work than was at first supposed. One of these, 
kindly lent me for examination by the Colonial Company, much resembles 
R. palmarum, but is smaller, and, after careful search and comparison of 
specimens,—in which I was kindly assisted at the British Museum,— 
appears to be undescribed. It is very like R. Zimmermanni, but is not 
identical. A very few specimens, bred by Mr. D’Urban, of Exeter, from 
imported canes, appear to be of yet another species, but I only know these 
by report. 
“TLarve of the large Rhyncophorus, and of the Sphenophorus sacchari, 
have been exhibited before; but I show them now relatively to a peculiar 
formation frequently noticeable in the larger grub,—of which some lumps 
will be noticed at the bottom of the bottle (this is whitish and hard when in 
the grub preserved in spirits),—and I benefit by the examination kindly 
made of it by Mr. Meldola to mention that it is of the nature of a true 
wax, and may be derived from cerosin, a natural wax found in sugar- 
cane, investigated by Avequin and Dumas, and here conjecturally altered 
by the digestive processes. The taste of this secretion (which perhaps 
I should mention was, after some preliminaries, my part of the experiment) 
was exceedingly sweet, and throws some light on the fondness of the natives, 
and also in some cases of the residents, for these grubs, as matter of food. 
I am informed they are partaken of fried or ‘ plain boiled,’ and all mashed 
up together, and as many as 120 are eaten at asitting! As this formation 
of sugar melts at a very low temperature, probably the operation of cooking 
disperses its sweetness through the mass; nevertheless the dish appears 
somewhat uninviting. 
“To return, however, to the attacks of the cane-borer in Demerara; 
these were lessened for a time, but are still in action to a much greater 
extent than could be wished. Many experiments have been tried, and 
amongst others it is noted with regard to powers of endurance that it 
required 10 parts of sulphuric acid to 1U0 of water to kill the small borer 
