88 



THE COCO-NUT 



CHAP. 



The larvae bore into the hardest parts of the stem, 

 although scorching is said to make the tree more liable 

 to their attack. Concerning this insect in Trinidad, 

 Urich reports, " The methods of control adapted have 

 been preventive, and consist in tarring the stem of trees 

 that have been scorched. A mixture of white lime, to 

 which is added 5 pounds of arsenate of lead to every 

 50 gallons of solution is also used." Calanclra taitensis, 

 Guerin, called by Froggatt " the small palm weevil," is 

 a serious pest, at least in the Society Islands. Com- 

 paring it with Sphenophorus, Doane says : 



The smaller weevil, C. taitensis, seems to be much more 

 abundant, and, on account of its habits, is perhaps more in- 

 jurious than the larger species. It is found more commonly 

 boring in the edge of the base of the leaf-stem. Its presence 

 is indicated, as with the larger species, by the presence of a 

 gummy exudation mixed with castings. These are often in 

 the shape of long twisted strings \ to \ inch long. As the 

 larvae do not work so deep in the tissue of the leaf as do those 

 of the larger species, the damage here is not very great, but 

 when they work further out at the base of the leaflets, many of 

 the leaflets are destroyed. A still more serious damage is done 

 where the larvae attack the spikelets, killing them at the point 

 of attack, and working towards the base. 



Preuss mentions still another weevil which, in German 

 East Africa, bores into the young nuts. 



A considerable number of beetles related to Oryctes 

 are also pests of the coco-nut. Strategus titanus is a 

 large beetle found in the inflorescences of coco-nuts in 

 Cuba, and believed locally to be injurious ; but Busck, 

 who encountered it during his preliminary study of bud 

 rot, believes it to be practically harmless. Strategus 

 anachoreta is an enemy of the coco-nut in Trinidad, 

 and is probably identical with the large beetle which is 

 known in British Guiana as " the cockle." This is 

 known in Trinidad as the " rhinoceros beetle," because 

 of a horn-like projection on the upper part of the 

 thorax of the male. It is 4 to 6 centimetres in length 

 and chestnut-brown in colour. It is a broad, thick-set, 

 powerful -looking beetle with strong front legs with 



