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insects in the first brood, and the small size of the indivi- 

 duals composing it, to detect its first appearance without 

 the aid of a glass. Very careful examination during these 

 months is requisite to detect its presence, and a pair of bino- 

 culars is necessary for this purpose. It is on account of the 

 shade afforded by the lower leaves that these are usually 

 chosen first and detection of the disease is thus somewhat 

 easier than it might otherwise be. The second brood is con- 

 siderably larger and the brown appearance of the leaves 

 show that some disease is proceeding. By the time the 4th 

 brood has finished the trees in the affected acreage present 

 an appearance resembling that which would be caused by a 

 fire passing through the estate. The pest after running a 

 course of 8 months then disappears, but is likely to return 

 in two years. 



For the first and second broods oviposition is on the 

 lower leaves, but as these become mined the later broods 

 gradually work to the upper leaves until the whole of the 

 foliage is dead. Uusually the very fresh leaves are not 

 touched. The larva hatches in 3-5 days and commences to 

 nibble away small portions of the epidermis; when about 

 a week old the larva discontinues this nibbling, and mines 

 the leaf on the underside in straight longitudinal, narrow 

 lines. 



During the fourth brood as many as forty thousand 

 caterpillars may be present on one tree and the damage 

 caused by such a mass of insects will be easily understood. 

 In four weeks the larva is adult, spins its cocoon, and pu- 

 pates. A week to nine days later the moth emerges, fresh 

 individuals continuing to make their appearance for about 

 eight days, and for fifteen to twenty days they may be seen 

 flying in enormous numbers around the trees. In the very 

 early morning they are not active, but as soon as the sun 

 rises a little they commence to fly about the flowers of the 

 coconut trees whereon they feed. At midday they may be 

 seen resting quietly, frequently in copulation, on the dead 

 lower leaves and on the trunk of the coconut tree; when 

 flying they somewhat resemble large midges. Thus the 

 period taken for the completion of the life cycle from egg 

 to moth is 5-6 weeks and approximately ten days for the 

 appearance for a further brood increases the time to 6^ to 

 71 weeks. Five broods may appear before the insect is re- 

 duced by parasites. A further report of this pest is to be 

 published soon. 



