INSECT PESTS OF DATES IN MESOPOTAMIA. 301 



in the date gardens and is known in Arabic as " palm-tree rat " ; the mongoose 

 is no doubt largely a vegetable feeder, but I do not think that it is in any way a 

 serious pest of the date. 



In Mesopotamia birds undoubtedly eat a very large number of dates just before 

 they are picked : Hypocolius amjpelinus has been observed in Baghdad gorging 

 itself and damaging many more dates than it could devour, and the bulbul 

 (Pycnonotus leuco is mesopotamia) and house-sparrow (Passer domesticus) are also 

 destructive. Mr. H. H. King informs me that the Spanish Sparrow (Passer 

 hispaniolensis) pecks young dates in the Sudan. Milne adds parrots and monkeys 

 to the list. 



Bibliography. 



Buckler, W. (1882). Natural History of Ephesfia passulella. — Ent. Mo. Mag., 

 xix, pp. 104-106. 



BuRKiLL, L. H. (1913). The Coconut Beetles, Oryctes rhinoceros and Rhyn- 

 chophorus ferrugineus. — Gardens Bull. Straits Settlements, i, pp. 176-188. 



Buxton, P. A. (1918). Report on the Failure of the Date Crop of Mesopotamia 

 in 1918. — Bull. no. 6, Agric. Directorate Mesop. Exped. Force. (Provisional 

 and inaccurate). 



Chittenden, F. H. (1911). The Fig Moth.— U.S. Dept. Agric, Ent. Bull. no. 101 



CocKERELL, T. D. A. (1899). Some Notes on Coccidae. — Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., 

 Philadelphia, 1899 (pub. 1900), pp. 259-275. 



CocKERELL, T. D. A. (1907). The Scale Insects of the Date Palm. — Bull. no. 

 56, Univ. Arizona Agric. Exp. Stn., 22 pp., 5 plates, 5 figs. 



Cook, A. J. (1914). Monthly Bull. Cal. State Commis. Hortic. Sacramento, 

 iii, pp. 440-441, 2 figs. 



CoPELAND, E. B. (1914). The Coconut. — xiv and 212 pp., 23 pi. Macmillan 

 &Co. 



Draper, W. (1907).* Notes on the injurious Scale Insects and Mealy Bugs of 

 Egypt. — 28 pp., 16 pi. Cairo. 



DuRRANT, J. H. (1915). Myelois phoenicis, sp. nov., bred from Dates in Algeria 

 and in England.— Ent. Mo. Mag., li, pp. 303-304. 



EssiG, E. 0. (1915). Injurious and Beneficial Insects of California. — Suppt. to 

 Mthly. Bull. Calif. State Comm. Hortic, 2nd edition. 



Forbes, R. H. (1907). The Extermination of Date Palm Scales. — Bull. no. 

 56, Univ. Arizona Agric. Exp. Stn. 



Forbes, R. H. (1913). The Gasohne Torch Treatment of Date Palm Scales. — 

 Jl. Econ. Ent., Concord, vi, pp. 415-416. 



Fracker, S. B. Classification of Lepidopterous Larvae. — ^Illinois Bio). Mono- 

 graphs, ii, July 1915. ■ 



Ghosh, C. C. (1912). Life-history of Indian Insects. III. — ^The Rhinoceros 

 Beetle and the Red or Palm Weevil. — ^Mem. Dept. Agric India, Ent. Ser. ii, no. 10. 



(713) H 



