1 84 



a paper by J. Mangan, B.A., etc., in the " Journal of 

 Economic Biology," Vol. III. (1908), pp. 84-90, with 

 several plates, bat according to his notes its attacks had 

 so far been exclusively confined to hot-house Ferns. This, 

 however, judging by the material sent us by the Rev. H. 

 Kingsmill Moore, would appear to be no longer the case, 

 since such material consisted of stout caudices of Poly- 

 stichum angulave, and his note refers to other species which 

 would certainly not receive hot-house treatment. * About 

 a dozen specimens of the living beetle were sent to us for 

 inspection. Both these and the material were at once 

 immersed in boiling water to prevent risk of escape. The 

 Weevil is named Syagrius intrudens, and is very much 

 smaller than the Vine Weevil, Otiovhynchus sulcatus, with 

 which we are only too familiar already, being about one- 

 third the size, with a much rougher cuticle and a com- 

 paratively larger proboscis. The grubs are white and 

 curved, similar to those of the Vine Weevil, but on the 

 same smaller scale. The damage done by the grub is 

 effected differently to that effected by the Vine Weevil, 

 the eggs being laid, not in the soil, but in depressions 

 gnawed into the frond stalks into which the grubs burrow 

 when hatched, thus destroying the fronds to a much 

 greater extent, the frond, however robust, being crippled 

 or destroyed. The beetles, however, attack the frond 

 laminae in the same way as does the Vine Weevil, viz. by 

 gnawing from the edges. When severely affected, this 

 suppression of proper frond growth by the grub appears 

 to weaken the central axis, and so lead eventually to the 

 entire perishing of even large established plants. That the 

 actual axis of growth is directly destroyed we are inclined 

 to doubt, as on dissecting the material sent we could find 



* The Rev. H. K. Moore confirms this having visited the collec- 

 tion, which was grown entirely in the open, 



