65 
COCONUT  BEETLES. 
By  L.  C.  Browx. 
It  would  I feel  certain  be  very  difficult  to  find  any  more  striking 
illustration  of  the  enormous  harm  that  can  be  done  to  Coconut 
plantations  by  the  ravages  of  the  beetles  than  in  the  proximity  of 
the  towns  of  Kuala  Lumpur,  Klang  and  Kuala  Selangor,  Districts 
belonging  to  the  State  of  Selangor.  It  is  the  more  distressing 
when  you  are  informed  that  only  a few  years  ago  these  plantations 
looked  most  promising  and  this  easily  creditable  considering  how 
excellently  suited  the  soil  is  for  this  cultivation.  The  attention  of 
the  Government  naturally  having  been  drawn  to  it,  steps  are  now 
being  taken  which  I am  sure  will,  although  it  may  take  some  con- 
siderable time,  practically  overcome  the  evil,  but  to  prevent  its 
recurrence  proper  supervision  must  continue  to  be  exercised  as 
the  extensive  area  under  cultivation,  and  which  it  is  satisfactory 
to  note  is  largely  increasing,  consists  chiefly  of  numerous  small 
holdings  owned  by  natives  who  are  often  careless  in  looking  after 
them  and  also  to  the  fact  that  the  surroundings  in  many  places 
are  conducive  to  the  harbourings  of  the  beetles  that  do  the  damage 
if  sufficient  precaution  is  not  observed. 
The  whole  of  the  destruction  has  been  done  by  the  two  beetles 
Rynchophorous  ferrugineus”  and  ^^Oryctes  rhinoceros”  com- 
monly known  as  the  red  and  black  coconut  beetles.  The  reason 
why  these  insects  have  done  so  much  havoc  is  due  to  neglect  on 
the  part  of  the  owners  or  tenants  who  have  taken  no  proper  steps 
to  keep  them  down,  while  the  difficulty  of  doing  so  has  no  doubt 
been  aggravated  by  the  large  quantities  of  manure,  refuse  and 
rubbish  heaps  that  have  been  allowed  to  accumulate  in  these  vici- 
nities, forming  perfect  “hotbeds”  for  the  continual  breeding  of 
these  pests.  To  the  habits  of  the  beetles  and  the  best  means  of 
destroying  them  and  reduce  their  power  of  doing  serious  damage, 
I now  propose  to  enter  upon. 
Red  Beetle. — 'I'his  insect  after  it  is  fully  developed  does  no 
harm  to  the  tree  of  itself.  It  generally  lays  its  eggs  at  the  base 
of  the  branches  covering  the  cabbage  and  so  well  are  they  secreted 
or  hidden  awav  that  the  harm  being  done  is  often  not  detected 
I until  it  is  too  late  to  save  the  tree.  The  grub  is  what  does  the 
I havoc,  and  soon  after  it  is  hatched  commences  its  operations  by 
gnawing  and  boring  its  way  inwards  until  it  reaches  the  very  heart 
of  the  cabbage.  The  work  is  rapid  and  effect  so  deadly  that  these 
grubs  are,  in  my  opinion,  very  muth  more  dangerous  to  the  life  of 
the  tree  than  the  ravages  done  by  the  black  beetles,  but  fortunately 
the  red  beetle  is  scarcer.  It  occasionally  takes  advantage  of  the 
borings  made  by  the  black  beetles  to  lay  its  eggs  in  these  cavities, 
only  here  it  is  more  easily  discovered  in  searches  for  the  black 
beetle,  so  that  with  proper  supervision  it  may  or  should  be  caught 
before  any  serious  harm  has  been  done.  Apart  from  these  haunts 
my  experience  is  that  it  does  not  appear  to  have  many  other 
breeding  places,  a few  will  be  found  in  manure  or  rubbish  heaps. 
