The animal makes a peculiar whistling or hissing sound when it 
jc handled 
' This beetle is an ally of the Rhinoceros-beetle (Oryctes rhino- 
ceros) which is so injurious to coco-nut palms. The gi ub pro- 
bablv lives on decaying vegetable mattei, either cow dung or ro 
ten trashings and bits of cane, and if allowed to become numer- 
ous is quite° capable of burrowing into canes or cutting them down- 
The brown Chafer* ( Lachnosternasp ). — Among the roots of a 
very sick clump of cane I found the grub and perfect insect of a 
medium sized brown chafer. Ihe grub about an inch long had 
the usual appearance of cockchafer larvae. It was white with a 
brown horny head, rather long fore legs and the body dilated at 
the tail. The beetle is less than an inch long with a small head, 
notched in front, short dabbed antennae, a broad smooth thorax, 
oblong, smooth, finely dotted wing-cases with fine longitudinal 
lines, the legs long and hairy. The whole beetle is of a deep 
chocolate brown, perfectly smooth except the under parts which 
are covered with a soft down and the legs armed with hairs. 
This chafer lies in the evening and comes to light. It is 
doubtless a root feeder and if abundant might do much 
damage, the grub eating the roots of the cane. 
Mr. Curtis sent me a number of the same beetle found attack- 
ing the roots of nutmegs in Penang, and I have seen it in Singa- 
pore. 
The White Blight (Coccus).— Appears not unfrequentlv on 
'anes between the sheath of the leaf and the cane, but only hi 
:ases where the plant was sickly. _ Constant trashing would 
prevent this insect from being very injurious, as it is soon washed 
iff the bare stems by rain, and can only thrive where it is pro- 
:ected by the old leaf sheaths. 
The Shot-borer (Xyleborus perforans). — -A minute beetle which 
perforates the canes in every direction, riddling them, does not 
appear to have attacked the canes in the Straits Settlements. 
It has proved most destructive in the West Indies, and it is to be 
roped that planters will watch for it and should it appear take 
,teps to prevent its doing damage. It chiefly lives in old casks 
nd such like half rotten wood, and its introduction in this way 
hould be carefully avoided. 
A small gnatlike bug ( H emipteron) was exceedingly abundant 
n the canes in Caledonia Estate, flying in clouds when the cane 
vas being cut. It appeared to be quite harmless, perhaps deriv- 
ing its nourishment from the leaves of the cane. 
Rats seem to be most destructive in some fields, and the mon- 
goose had been introduced to keep them down. The large hawks 
which were constantly to be seen flying over the fields in the 
evening, no doubt destroyed a good many, but when the cane is 
fully grown or nearly so, it is impossible for the hawks to catch 
them, as the canes protect them. 
* Note . — I am indebted to Mr. C. O. Waterhouse, of the Natural History 
luseum, for the identification of these beetles. 
