﻿507 
  

  

  and 
  then 
  come 
  to 
  the 
  surface 
  to 
  oviposit. 
  The 
  insects 
  probably 
  breed 
  

   all 
  the 
  year 
  round. 
  In 
  the 
  laboratory 
  the 
  adults 
  have 
  been 
  kept 
  

   alive 
  in 
  moist 
  earth 
  for 
  fourteen 
  weeks. 
  Of 
  six 
  specimens 
  obtained 
  

   from 
  pupae 
  and 
  fed 
  upon 
  pieces 
  of 
  banana 
  root, 
  four 
  lived 
  for 
  over 
  

   16 
  weeks. 
  

  

  As 
  it 
  was 
  considered 
  impossible 
  to 
  control 
  the 
  pest 
  by 
  artificial 
  

   means 
  the 
  author 
  was 
  sent 
  in 
  search 
  of 
  a 
  natural 
  enemy, 
  and 
  he 
  pro- 
  

   ceeded 
  to 
  Java, 
  where 
  several 
  insects 
  were 
  found 
  preying 
  in 
  varying 
  

   degrees 
  upon 
  Cosmopolites 
  sordidus. 
  Of 
  these 
  the 
  most 
  effective 
  was 
  

   the 
  Histerid 
  beetle, 
  Plaesius 
  javanus, 
  Er. 
  The 
  adult 
  of 
  this 
  beetle 
  

   consumed 
  in 
  captivity 
  eight 
  fully-grown 
  grubs 
  of 
  the 
  banana 
  borer 
  

   per 
  diem, 
  while 
  its 
  larva 
  demolished 
  no 
  less 
  than 
  33 
  or 
  more 
  grubs 
  

   per 
  diem. 
  Five 
  thousand 
  of 
  these 
  beetles 
  were 
  transported 
  in 
  moist 
  

   earth 
  without 
  food 
  from 
  Java 
  to 
  Fiji, 
  a 
  voyage 
  of 
  about 
  five 
  weeks. 
  

   Of 
  this 
  number 
  about 
  1,200 
  perished 
  en 
  route, 
  chiefly 
  it 
  is 
  beheved 
  

   owing 
  to 
  cold 
  weather 
  experienced 
  on 
  the 
  coast 
  of 
  Queensland. 
  Three 
  

   thousand 
  five 
  hundred 
  beetles 
  were 
  distributed 
  in 
  lots 
  of 
  500 
  upon 
  

   seven 
  different 
  plantations 
  in 
  badly-infested 
  banana 
  districts, 
  the 
  

   remainder 
  being 
  retained 
  for 
  observation. 
  Beetles 
  sent 
  from 
  Java 
  

   to 
  Fiji 
  by 
  post, 
  packed 
  in 
  damp 
  moss, 
  reached 
  the 
  latter 
  place 
  alive. 
  

   A 
  further 
  supply 
  is 
  therefore 
  obtainable. 
  Visits 
  to 
  plantations 
  show 
  

   that 
  the 
  beetles 
  are 
  alive 
  and 
  reproducing, 
  after 
  a 
  period 
  of 
  four 
  months 
  

   in 
  the 
  country, 
  which 
  points 
  to 
  their 
  probably 
  being 
  established. 
  

   Their 
  distribution 
  is 
  therefore 
  only 
  a 
  matter 
  of 
  time 
  and 
  good 
  results 
  

   are 
  anticipated 
  from 
  them. 
  

  

  WiLLcocKs 
  (F. 
  C). 
  Note 
  pr61iminaire 
  sur 
  Bracon 
  sp., 
  insecte 
  parasite 
  

   du 
  Ver 
  de 
  la 
  Capsule 
  du 
  Cotonnier. 
  [Preliminary 
  note 
  on 
  Bracon 
  

   sp., 
  an 
  insect 
  parasite 
  of 
  the 
  Cotton 
  Boll 
  Worm.] 
  — 
  Bull. 
  Soc. 
  

   Entom. 
  d'Egypte, 
  Cairo, 
  April-June 
  1913, 
  no. 
  2, 
  1914, 
  pp. 
  56-67. 
  

  

  The 
  identity 
  of 
  the 
  Braconid 
  which 
  is 
  parasitic 
  on 
  the 
  cotton 
  boll 
  

   worm 
  {Earias 
  insulana, 
  Boisd.) 
  has 
  been 
  a 
  matter 
  of 
  doubt 
  ; 
  it 
  is 
  related 
  

   to 
  Bracon 
  variegator, 
  and 
  resembles 
  also 
  the 
  recently 
  described 
  Rhogas 
  

   kitcheneri 
  and 
  is 
  very 
  probably 
  identical 
  with 
  it. 
  In 
  Egypt 
  its 
  

   distribution 
  is 
  very 
  wide, 
  and 
  it 
  occurs 
  practically 
  everywhere 
  where 
  

   cotton 
  is 
  cultivated. 
  In 
  the 
  field 
  it 
  is 
  recognised 
  as 
  a 
  parasite 
  of 
  the 
  

   boll 
  worm, 
  but 
  laboratory 
  experiments 
  have 
  shown 
  that 
  it 
  can 
  breed 
  

   equally 
  well 
  on 
  the 
  pink 
  boll 
  worm 
  {Gelechia 
  gossypiella). 
  

  

  The 
  female 
  attacks 
  the 
  boll 
  worm 
  from 
  the 
  time 
  when 
  the 
  latter 
  is 
  

   half-grown 
  until 
  it 
  is 
  fully 
  developed. 
  When 
  attacked, 
  the 
  host 
  is 
  

   not 
  quite 
  killed, 
  but 
  is 
  rendered 
  incapable 
  of 
  movement 
  ; 
  the 
  eggs 
  are 
  

   laid 
  in 
  it 
  in 
  batches 
  of 
  2 
  to 
  7 
  and 
  the 
  larvae 
  hatch 
  within 
  3-5 
  days. 
  

   The 
  larva 
  develops 
  for 
  6-10 
  days 
  at 
  the 
  expense 
  of 
  the 
  host 
  ; 
  normally 
  

   it 
  is 
  colourless, 
  but 
  if 
  the 
  pink 
  boll 
  worm 
  has 
  been 
  the 
  host, 
  the 
  

   larva 
  is 
  red 
  with 
  white 
  markings. 
  The 
  larva 
  then 
  leaves 
  its 
  host, 
  

   and 
  pupates 
  in 
  a 
  white 
  cocoon. 
  In 
  December, 
  the 
  whole 
  life-cycle 
  

   lasts 
  from 
  20 
  to 
  36 
  days, 
  while 
  eggs 
  laid 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  December 
  or 
  

   during 
  January 
  take 
  about 
  63 
  days 
  to 
  reach 
  maturity. 
  In 
  the 
  labora- 
  

   tory 
  a 
  single 
  female 
  would 
  attack 
  several 
  individuals 
  of 
  the 
  host 
  

   without 
  laying 
  eggs, 
  but 
  the 
  result 
  was 
  always 
  to 
  paralyse 
  the 
  indivi- 
  

   dual 
  attacked, 
  an 
  effect 
  probably 
  due 
  to 
  a 
  poison 
  injected 
  by 
  the 
  

   ovipositor 
  affecting 
  the 
  nervous 
  system 
  ; 
  the 
  paralysed 
  individual 
  

   lives 
  for 
  about 
  17 
  days. 
  

  

  (C 
  55) 
  b2 
  

  

  