﻿506 
  

  

  for 
  the 
  insect 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  merely 
  chance 
  inclusions, 
  and 
  the 
  larvae 
  

   must 
  either 
  have 
  fed 
  inside 
  the 
  bolls 
  or 
  on 
  the 
  involucres 
  ; 
  the 
  

   latter 
  being 
  more 
  probable, 
  as 
  according 
  to 
  Spuler 
  this 
  insect 
  is 
  said 
  

   to 
  feed 
  on 
  the 
  leaves 
  of 
  Daphne 
  gnidium, 
  Tamarix, 
  Citrus, 
  Mespilus, 
  

   and 
  vines. 
  

  

  WiLLCocKS 
  (F. 
  C). 
  The 
  Date-Stone 
  Beetle,— 
  Bull 
  Sod. 
  Eniom. 
  

   d^Egypte, 
  Cairo, 
  vi, 
  no. 
  1, 
  Jan.-March 
  1914, 
  pp. 
  37-39. 
  [Received 
  

   30th 
  June 
  1911] 
  

  

  The 
  author 
  found 
  a 
  small 
  Scolytid 
  beetle, 
  thought 
  to 
  be 
  Coccotrypes 
  

   dactyliperda, 
  in 
  the 
  stones 
  of 
  " 
  Amry 
  " 
  and 
  " 
  Aglawy 
  " 
  dates 
  from 
  

   Sharkia 
  Province. 
  An 
  infested 
  stone 
  is 
  perforated 
  by 
  a 
  small 
  circular 
  

   hole 
  and 
  a 
  quantity 
  of 
  pale-coloured 
  dust, 
  composed 
  of 
  excrement 
  

   and 
  matter 
  excavated 
  from 
  the 
  stone, 
  may 
  be 
  observed 
  inside 
  the 
  

   date 
  itself. 
  The 
  hole 
  leads 
  to 
  a 
  chamber 
  of 
  irregular 
  shape 
  and 
  

   varying 
  dimensions, 
  which 
  may 
  be 
  full 
  of 
  these 
  beetles, 
  pupae, 
  larvae 
  

   and 
  ova, 
  crowded 
  together. 
  One 
  date-stone 
  was 
  found 
  to 
  contain 
  

   9 
  beetles, 
  6 
  pupae 
  and 
  24 
  larvae 
  of 
  different 
  sizes, 
  besides 
  ova. 
  Of 
  244 
  

   stones 
  from 
  the 
  " 
  Amry 
  " 
  dates 
  only 
  3, 
  or 
  1*4 
  per 
  cent., 
  harboured 
  

   the 
  beetle, 
  while 
  of 
  the 
  398 
  " 
  Aglawy 
  " 
  date-stones 
  examined 
  47, 
  or 
  

   11*8 
  per 
  cent., 
  were 
  infested. 
  

  

  Jepson 
  (F. 
  p.). 
  a 
  Mission 
  to 
  Java 
  in 
  Quest 
  of 
  Natural 
  Enemies 
  for 
  

   a 
  Coleopterous 
  Pest 
  of 
  Bananas. 
  — 
  Fiji 
  Dept. 
  Agric., 
  Suva, 
  Bull 
  

   no. 
  7, 
  1914, 
  18 
  pp., 
  3 
  pis. 
  

  

  The 
  most 
  serious 
  of 
  the 
  banana 
  pests 
  in 
  Fiji 
  is 
  the 
  so-called 
  banana 
  

   borer, 
  the 
  weevil. 
  Cosmopolites 
  sordidus, 
  Germ. 
  In 
  a 
  badly-infested 
  

   district 
  as 
  many 
  as 
  100,000 
  individuals 
  were 
  collected 
  in 
  a 
  single 
  month 
  

   on 
  one 
  plantation, 
  and 
  comparatively 
  free 
  districts 
  were 
  rapidly 
  

   becoming 
  more 
  infested 
  (1912). 
  The 
  pest 
  was 
  introduced 
  about 
  1901 
  

   and 
  attacks 
  all 
  varieties 
  of 
  cultivated 
  bananas. 
  It 
  has 
  a 
  very 
  wide 
  

   distribution 
  in 
  the 
  Far 
  East, 
  and 
  also 
  occurs 
  in 
  Brazil 
  and 
  the 
  West 
  

   Indies, 
  but 
  its 
  original 
  habitat 
  is 
  unknown, 
  or 
  its 
  natural 
  enemies 
  

   might 
  be 
  located. 
  Enemies 
  occur 
  in 
  Java 
  and 
  Dutch 
  Borneo 
  in 
  the 
  

   form 
  of 
  predaceous 
  beetle 
  larvae. 
  Young 
  suckers 
  attacked 
  by 
  the 
  

   borer 
  wither 
  and 
  die 
  in 
  a 
  very 
  short 
  time. 
  The 
  first 
  indication 
  of 
  

   attack 
  is 
  the 
  death 
  of 
  the 
  " 
  pipe," 
  i.e., 
  the 
  roll 
  of 
  unopened 
  leaves 
  

   at 
  the 
  heart 
  of 
  the 
  plant. 
  The 
  root 
  upon 
  examination 
  is 
  found 
  to 
  be 
  

   riddled 
  by 
  the 
  larvae 
  and 
  when 
  cut 
  open 
  they 
  are 
  seen 
  in 
  situ. 
  The 
  

   plants 
  attacked 
  at 
  a 
  later 
  stage 
  in 
  their 
  growth 
  are 
  often 
  capable 
  of 
  

   producing 
  a 
  good 
  crop, 
  the 
  presence 
  of 
  the 
  borer 
  not 
  then 
  seeming 
  

   to 
  affect 
  them. 
  The 
  adult 
  weevils 
  abound 
  in 
  the 
  soil 
  about 
  the 
  roots 
  

   and 
  take 
  shelter 
  under 
  loose 
  fibre 
  surrounding 
  the 
  base 
  of 
  the 
  stem. 
  

   The 
  eggs 
  are 
  deposited 
  singly 
  upon 
  the 
  base 
  of 
  the 
  banana 
  stem 
  

   near 
  the 
  " 
  crown," 
  generally 
  a 
  few 
  inches 
  above 
  the 
  surface, 
  less 
  often 
  

   on 
  the 
  bulb 
  beneath 
  the 
  soil. 
  The 
  small 
  larva 
  works 
  its 
  way 
  inwards 
  

   and 
  downwards 
  into 
  the 
  bulb. 
  The 
  burrow 
  widens 
  as 
  the 
  larva 
  pro- 
  

   gresses 
  and 
  terminates 
  in 
  a 
  pouch 
  near 
  the 
  outer 
  surface 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  

   larva 
  pupates. 
  No 
  cocoon 
  is 
  made 
  ; 
  the 
  larval 
  period 
  extends 
  over 
  

   about 
  twenty 
  days 
  ; 
  after 
  a 
  pupal 
  period 
  of 
  from 
  six 
  to 
  eight 
  days 
  

   the 
  adults 
  emerge 
  from 
  the 
  bulb, 
  remain 
  in 
  the 
  soil 
  for 
  a 
  short 
  time, 
  

  

  