260 



2he Supplement to the Topical Agriculturist 



way. The cricket prefers sm-dy soil, but this is 

 by no means the only soil it frequents, Dense 

 clay soil is also suitable and occasionally peat 

 will harbour these insects. \ Many remedies 

 have been tried and on hilly ij,nd carbon bisul- 

 phide was found effective. 1 he best remedy is, 

 however, the same as used for tho beetle. 



Nipping Beetles. 

 In the past year several estates in the Fede- 

 rated Malay States have had great trouble 

 in their new rubber cleavings through the 

 young shoots of the stumps being repeatedly 

 nipped off in much the same way as is done by 

 cricket B. a chatir, us. The Entomologist reports 

 that this damage is due to a species of beetle 

 closely allied to XyLotrupes, and in a very few in- 

 stances the coconut beetle, Oryctes rhinoceros, is 

 responsible for some similar work. The former 

 insect will invade a clearing and cause more ex- 

 tensive damage than the cricket. 



In places where this insect occurs in abun- 

 dance the damage caused by it is very serious, 

 some estates having considered the advisability 

 of abandoning clearings where the young shoots 

 have repeatedly been nipped. The insect is how- 

 ever, easily dealt with, and the discovery of the 

 remedy is due to Mr E V Carey. The work of 

 this beetle is fairly characteristic. Shortly after 

 the young stumps commence to shoot these are 

 nipped sometimes near the top, in other cases 

 near the stem ; at first a stump here and there 

 if affected, and usually no notice is taken of 

 an occasional loss such as this. The number 

 of stumps affected in this way will rapidly in- 

 crease, and a clearing of 500 or more acres may 

 have 90 percent of the shoots nipped. Fresh 

 shoots appear, but these are rapidly eaten down, 

 and this continues until the stump dies. Supplies 

 suffer in the same way, and a clearing of 12 or 18 

 months without a green leaf may sometimes be 

 seen; most of the stumps in such a clearing are 

 quite useless as they are malformed. 



On clearings that have been examined for this 

 pest it has been noted that on flat land, and 

 often in the vicinity of peat, most damage is 

 done. Shoots near the ground are preferred, 

 but they are by no means the only ones attacked; 

 some at a height of four feet from the ground 

 are nipped. 



The difficulty with this insect in the original 

 instance was to find the culprit. An examina- 

 tion of a clearing in the morning revealed many 

 shoots freshly nipped, but no sign of any insect. 

 Crickets were not present. On a few occasions 

 searches have been made throughout the night 

 until daybreak, but with no success. It was even- 

 tually found by catching one of the insects in an 

 older clearing, and an examination of the mouth 

 parts showed coagulated latex adhering to its 

 maudibles. The neighbouring young clearing 

 was badly affected. The pest often rests in 

 these older clearings during the day, com- 

 mencing work at night, It often frequents 

 trees about a year old, resting beneath the 

 leaves at the crown. This is especially the case 

 where trees of this age are distributed through 

 an attacked clearing. A few adult beetles have 

 been found underneath logs and at the roots of 

 wibong stumps where it is probable they breed. 



On account of the length of this insect's 

 legs it has considerable difficulty in climb- 

 ing seedlings, while stumps form an ad- 

 mirable means of ascending to the point at 

 which the shoot emerges; it is practically 

 certain that the shoots are nipped while 

 the insect clings to the stump. I do not 

 mean to say that seedlings would be 

 immune, but stumps are certainly more 

 suited for this insect's attacks. The legs of 

 this insect are often covered with coagulated 

 latex which is due to the spines piercing the 

 young bark and the latex flowing on to them. 

 With regard to remedial measures it has been 

 found than excellent results are obtained by 

 the use of cylinders of newspapers placed over 

 the stump. 



Remedial Measures. 



One sheet ol an ordinary, daily newspaper 

 circled to form a cylinder about five inches in 

 diameter and pinned together is placed over the 

 stump. About two inches of one end of the paper is 

 turned down, and this end is placed uppermost. 

 This precaution prevents the rain from tearing 

 the edge. After placing this shield over the 

 stump a little earth is placed around the 

 base, and on the inside are placed three 

 sticks which support the cylinder. In one 

 case there were very heavy rains for about 

 six weeks, and only three or four per cent, 

 of these shields were destroyed. The re- 

 medy is very simple, inexpensive and entirely 

 effective when properly carried out. In an 

 attacked clearing no stumps should be left un- 

 covered. The cost of this remedy should not 

 exceed $>l - 20 per acre, and on most places 60 

 cents would be bufficient. 



Collecting the beetles, while not absolutely 

 necessary, is an additional precaution. In some 

 places as many as two or three hundred are 

 collected each day. They are to be found, as 

 has previously been pointed out, on the young 

 rubber trees. To collect them coolies go round 

 and shake these trees ; the beetles will fall to 

 the ground, and can be gathered. This work 

 should be done in the early morning. Crows 

 are useful scavengers in regard to this pest. An 

 examination of one of these birds showed that 

 it had been feeding on these beetles. The large 

 wing covers are discarded, but the spined legs, 

 the horned head and other hard parts of the 

 body as well as the soft are eaten. 



Scale Insects. 



A scale, Lecanium nigrum has been reported 

 many times as attacking rubber. Its distribu- 

 tion is general. It is found chiefly on trees 

 from six months to two years, although an 

 instance recently has been met with of some 

 2,000 trees about four years' old which were 

 very badly attacked by this inseot. As a general 

 rule, young trees are attacked, and no serious 

 damage is done. Perhaps 20 trees may be 

 affected, seldom more. Such a large number 

 as 2,000 is at the present time an exception. 

 The insects attach themselves to the leaf, and 

 have the appearance of a scale. They are 

 usually near the veins, and may easily be seen 

 with the naked eye, the largest over $ |n,ch. 



