﻿NOTES 
  ON 
  THE 
  COCONUT 
  BEETLE 
  IN 
  KENYA 
  COLONY. 
  107 
  

  

  of 
  dead 
  palms, 
  and 
  there 
  was 
  no 
  evidence 
  of 
  any 
  attempt 
  to 
  destroy 
  them. 
  At 
  two 
  

   places 
  in 
  this 
  area 
  the 
  following 
  counts 
  were 
  made 
  : 
  — 
  

  

  p. 
  . 
  Average 
  No. 
  Percentage 
  Percentage 
  

  

  examined. 
  

  

  Place. 
  Trees. 
  

  

  leaves 
  per 
  

  

  trees 
  

  

  leaves 
  

  

  tree. 
  

  

  attacked. 
  

  

  attacked 
  

  

  2Q\ 
  

  

  100 
  

  

  21 
  

  

  n* 
  

  

  55 
  

  

  11 
  

  

  23 
  

  

  98 
  

  

  18 
  

  

  13 
  

  

  58 
  

  

  13 
  

  

  Changamwe 
  . 
  . 
  100 
  old 
  trees 
  . 
  . 
  Jan. 
  1921 
  

  

  100 
  young 
  trees 
  

   Kisauni 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  100 
  old 
  trees 
  

  

  100 
  young 
  trees 
  

   By 
  young 
  trees 
  are 
  meant 
  those 
  up 
  to 
  about 
  six 
  years 
  old. 
  

  

  The 
  second 
  area 
  is 
  the 
  main 
  plantation, 
  900 
  acres 
  in 
  area, 
  on 
  the 
  estate 
  at 
  Gazi, 
  

   for 
  which 
  particulars 
  of 
  beetle 
  collecting 
  have 
  already 
  been 
  given. 
  There 
  were 
  not 
  

   many 
  breeding-places 
  for 
  the 
  beetle 
  within 
  the 
  plantation, 
  for 
  any 
  dead 
  trees 
  are 
  

   at 
  once 
  destroyed 
  and 
  the 
  land 
  has 
  been 
  very 
  fairly 
  cleared 
  of 
  old 
  stumps. 
  In 
  part 
  

   of 
  the 
  plantation, 
  by 
  far 
  the 
  greater 
  part 
  in 
  fact, 
  labour 
  having 
  been 
  insufficient, 
  

   weeds 
  and 
  old 
  rubber 
  plants 
  had 
  grown 
  up 
  high, 
  and 
  such 
  parts 
  did 
  show 
  rather 
  more 
  

   beetle 
  attack 
  than 
  the 
  clean 
  area. 
  The 
  plantation 
  was 
  almost 
  surrounded 
  by 
  thick 
  

   bush, 
  a 
  dense 
  jungle 
  of 
  big 
  palms 
  and 
  other 
  trees. 
  As 
  already 
  recorded, 
  large 
  numbers 
  

   of 
  beetles 
  had 
  been 
  collected 
  during 
  the 
  years 
  1918 
  to 
  1920. 
  The 
  palms 
  had 
  been 
  

   planted 
  at 
  different 
  times, 
  the 
  oldest 
  being 
  six 
  years 
  old, 
  while 
  a 
  few 
  had 
  only 
  just 
  

   been 
  planted 
  out. 
  The 
  figures 
  marked 
  "A" 
  are 
  for 
  two 
  rows 
  at 
  right 
  angles 
  to 
  each 
  

   other 
  running 
  through 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  the 
  plantation 
  from 
  boundary 
  to 
  boundary. 
  

   Those 
  marked 
  "B" 
  are 
  for 
  the 
  outside 
  row 
  circling 
  the 
  whole 
  plantation. 
  The 
  

   following 
  figures 
  were 
  obtained 
  :— 
  

  

  

  Number 
  

   of 
  trees 
  

   counted. 
  

  

  .4 
  verage 
  

  

  Percentage 
  

  

  Percentage 
  of 
  

  

  Date. 
  

  

  number 
  

   of 
  leaves 
  

   per 
  tree. 
  

  

  of 
  

  

  attacked 
  

  

  Trees. 
  Leaves. 
  

  

  attacked 
  leaves 
  

  

  which 
  are 
  

   Young. 
  Old. 
  

  

  A. 
  Oct. 
  1920 
  

  

  425 
  

  

  13* 
  

  

  19 
  2-3 
  

  

  19 
  81 
  

  

  B. 
  „ 
  

  

  784 
  

  

  12 
  

  

  41 
  6-4 
  

  

  42 
  58 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  native 
  plantations 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  seen 
  that 
  almost 
  every 
  old 
  tree 
  shows 
  beetle 
  

   attack. 
  On 
  the 
  old 
  trees, 
  I 
  was 
  told, 
  a 
  leaf 
  will 
  stay 
  on 
  the 
  tree 
  for 
  about 
  a 
  year. 
  

   On 
  young 
  trees 
  the 
  leaves 
  remain 
  on 
  the 
  plant 
  longer. 
  This 
  emphasises 
  the 
  fact 
  

   that 
  old 
  trees 
  are 
  attacked 
  more 
  than 
  young 
  ones. 
  

  

  At 
  Gazi, 
  comparing 
  the 
  two 
  sets 
  of 
  figures 
  from 
  the 
  plantation 
  there, 
  we 
  find 
  

   that 
  in 
  the 
  outside 
  row 
  there 
  is 
  more 
  beetle 
  attack 
  than 
  in 
  the 
  inside. 
  And 
  further, 
  

   in 
  counting, 
  I 
  noted 
  how 
  many 
  attacked 
  leaves 
  belonged, 
  approximately, 
  to 
  the 
  

   younger 
  half 
  of 
  those 
  on 
  the 
  tree, 
  and 
  how 
  many 
  to 
  the 
  older. 
  In 
  the 
  outside 
  row 
  

   the 
  proportion 
  which 
  are 
  young 
  is 
  double 
  that 
  for 
  the 
  two 
  rows 
  running 
  through 
  

   the 
  plantation. 
  In 
  the 
  bush, 
  from 
  dead 
  logs 
  of 
  different 
  kinds 
  eggs 
  and 
  larvae 
  were 
  

   obtained 
  which 
  I 
  could 
  not 
  distinguish 
  from 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  coconut 
  beetle, 
  but 
  such 
  

   eggs 
  and 
  larvae 
  were 
  found 
  in 
  small 
  numbers 
  only. 
  They 
  were 
  taken 
  chiefly 
  from 
  

   dead 
  mukoma 
  palms, 
  and 
  in 
  this 
  material 
  other 
  beetle 
  grubs 
  were 
  much 
  more 
  plentiful, 
  

   and 
  they 
  were 
  living 
  in 
  material 
  harder 
  than 
  any 
  in 
  which 
  I 
  have 
  found 
  coconut 
  

   beetle 
  grubs. 
  From 
  a 
  pupa 
  from 
  a 
  dead 
  branch 
  of 
  mukoma 
  which 
  contained 
  a 
  

   score 
  of 
  these 
  other 
  grubs 
  a 
  beetle 
  was 
  reared 
  which 
  Dr. 
  G. 
  A. 
  K. 
  Marshall 
  informs 
  

   me 
  is 
  a 
  Cetoniid, 
  Pachnoda 
  euparypha, 
  Gerst. 
  Bush 
  like 
  that 
  adjacent 
  to 
  the 
  Gazi 
  

   plantation 
  covers 
  large 
  areas 
  in 
  the 
  Coast 
  belt, 
  and 
  the 
  whole 
  question 
  of 
  the 
  relation 
  

   to 
  it 
  of 
  the 
  coconut 
  beetle 
  needs 
  investigating. 
  The 
  few 
  observations 
  here 
  recorded 
  

   suggest 
  that 
  this 
  bush, 
  while 
  a 
  source 
  of 
  beetles, 
  may 
  not 
  make 
  a 
  very 
  favourable 
  

   breeding-ground 
  for 
  them. 
  

  

  On 
  comparing 
  the 
  figures 
  for 
  the 
  two 
  different 
  areas, 
  native 
  plantations 
  remote 
  

   from 
  thick 
  bush, 
  and 
  European 
  plantation 
  near 
  to 
  bush, 
  one 
  is 
  encouraged 
  to 
  conclude 
  

   that 
  were 
  the 
  native 
  area 
  kept 
  free 
  from 
  breeding-places, 
  instead 
  of 
  being 
  badly 
  

   infested 
  with 
  the 
  beetle, 
  it 
  would 
  suffer 
  comparatively 
  little 
  attack. 
  

  

  