76 



THE COCO-NUT 



CHAP. 



Philippines, 1 and it is almost certain that it reaches to 

 New Guinea. Beside the coco - nut, it attacks some 

 other palms, but no plants of other kinds. 



Other species of Rhynchophorus having the same 

 habits are R. phoenicis in Africa, and R. palmarum in 

 the West Indies and on the American continent. And 

 there are other species with R. ferrugineus in the Far 

 East. What is said here about its treatment applies 

 equally to its immediate relatives. R. palmarum lives 

 also on sugar-cane. 



The red beetle belongs to a group of insects, the 

 weevils, practically all of which are destructive to 

 vegetable substances, and among which it is remarkable 

 for its great size. The adult varies from less than 

 3 to more than 5 centimetres in length. Like 

 other weevils, it has a boat-shaped body narrowing to 

 both ends, and a long, slender snout, the end of which 

 curves downward. The female is said to use the snout 

 to punch holes in the tree, and to lay her eggs in these 

 holes. The short antennae are attached to the snout 

 near its base. The head is very small compared to the 

 thorax. The whole insect is very variable in colour ; 

 from reddish-brown to almost black. The thorax often 

 has large dark spots on a lighter background. The 

 median dorsal band is usually darker or lighter than 

 the rest of the body. The elytra, or hard wings, are 

 ribbed lengthwise, and at least their borders are usually 

 nearly black. The egg, as described by Banks, is 

 2*4 millimetres long, and 0*6 millimetre wide at the 

 middle, slightly more pointed at one end than at the 

 other, and a very light ochre in colour. To the naked 

 eye its shell is smooth and shining, but under the 

 microscope it is finely reticulate. The eggs are 

 deposited in the soft wood. 



The destructive stage in the life-history of the red 

 beetle is the larva. Beginning at the size of the egg, 

 this grub grows until it becomes considerably longer 

 than the adult, with a thickness of two-fifths or one- 



1 I follow Banks in calling the Philippine insect R. ferrugineus. 



