stumps will probably last longer and keep fresher if protected from the 

 sun with a light covering of leaves and fibre, which can be removed to 



When 110 felling of palms is going on, other suitable baits are 

 mangoes or other l'rnit crushed and allowed to fermeut. It has been 

 suggested (32) to rut wild palm- in the neighbourhood in order to catch 

 the beetles visiting the stumps. This is open to the objection that 

 these palms must be carefully destroyed, or by becoming binding 

 places they will be more dangerous than if left standing. 



Now the practice of attracting the weevils to fermenting mangoes 

 cannot, however carelessly carried out, increase their numbers. 



The search for weevils hiding in the crannies of the palms is more 

 suitable lor Indian plantations, where the tree- are regular!-, examined to 

 catch Rhinoceros beetles and the Palm Weevils are taken incidentally. 

 It is simply a question of convenience and the amount of labour 

 involved. Observations may be made to see if there is any hour when 

 the weevils can best be taken on the trees. The Females are the 

 important sex, and any means of capture which only takes males will 



One advantage of the method of capture, at baits is that it can be 

 carried out by children and unskilled labourers. 



Attraction by fires, into which the weevils plunge at night, has been 

 tried in Asia, but the Palmetto Weevil, according to Summers, does not 

 come to light. 



5. Encouragement of Insectivorous Animals. 



Till the habits of the weevils' natural enemies have been more 

 studied, not much can be done in this way, and it is unlikely that there 

 is at present any large destruction of insectivorous birds that requires 

 checking. 



Mr. Hunter in the Report (26) ascribed the immunity of his planta- 

 tions to his keeping a herd of 190 pigs. The practice o4 letting swine 

 forage is well known and employed in Continental Ion-try. They are 

 greedy devoi 



Mr. Cr 



ground or 1 



<■' the eggs of the beetles. 



" Did not understand the various stages of insect lift 

 " female ants ; accidentally smoked some ants out of i 

 " old ; the next year it was attacked by beetles and died 



The following notes on ants may therefore prove us< 

 of ants consists not only of males and females, but of nt 



gathering sticks, grain, insects, &e. Their size is small 

 large head, the segments of the thorax are very narro 

 with the first one or two abdominal segments, resemble 

 or five beads joining the head and hind body, which are 

 size; wings are absent. The neuters, of which there 

 kinds, the large-headed ''soldiers " and the small-headed 

 reproduce, so that an attempt to colonise them alone : 

 males and females are much bigger, with a well-develop, 

 and a large abdomen which forms the chief mass of the hi 

 appear above ground at the " swarming " time and then 

 The males soon die. and the temale>. the larger of the st 



