254 
siveiy by bees including the genera Apis, and especially the little 
Trigonas (, Kelulut ). 
Corypha is a truly monocarpic palm. It takes many years to 
gain its full growth, when it produces at the summit of the stem 
a great mass of inflorescence, after which the palm completely 
dies. The Arengas and Caryotas also die after flowering. The 
single stemmed ones Arenga saccharifeta , Caryota Cuming /, etc., 
completely, while in the tufted species Arenga Westerhouti , Caryo- 
ta mitis, the stem that is fruiting alone dies. The flowering in 
these palms when full grown commences near the top, every joint 
producing an inflorescence, alternately male and female till the 
flowers get near the base of the tree when it dies. In Sagus the 
stems rising from a creeping rhizome on attaining their full deve- 
lopment produce a great terminal mass of inflorescence after which 
the leaves fall off and the stem dies to the base. 
Pests and Diseases. — Palms both in pots or tubs and also when 
planted out are liable to the attacks of some insects. The cater- 
pillar of the butterfly Eriofiota Thrax attacks the leaves especially 
of Rattans, Livistona , and some other palms. The caterpillar is 
about two inches long, pale sea green but entirely covered with a 
white mealy powder. It rolls up the leaves and gradually devours 
them. The same insect eats the leaves of Bananas (see Bulletin 
old series, p. 259). It should be sought for and destroyed by hand. 
The caterpillar of the large coconut butterfly (A mat hits i a phidippns) 
attacks other palms than coconuts, biting away all the leaflet ex- 
cept the midrib and giving the plant a ragged appearance. It seldom 
gives trouble with pot or tub palms but attacks full grown palms. 1 
have however found one larva in a box of seedlings of Phoenix which 
it was steadily eating up. It is a smooth bright green caterpillar 
with a broad head and two long projecting spikes on its tail. It 
should be removed by hand, in the case of small plants. With fully 
grown trees it is much more difficult to deal with, but it is a 
comparatively harmless insect except to small plants. The Red 
Palm Beetle Rhyncophorus ferruguiens , and the Rhinoceros 
beetle Oryctes Rhinoceros , both attack many other palms than 
the Coco-nut. It is not common for the former to attack plants in 
pots or tubs, but I have met with larvae in comparatively small 
plants in pots. The beetle is well known. A large black weevil with 
bright red markings. The eggs are laid in the bud of the palm 
and the large fleshy grub burrows in the soft parts of the bud, and 
often its presence is first observed by the falling of the young cen- 
tral leaf. In the case of single stemmed palms, the injury is usually 
fatal, but in the case of Dates, ( Phoenix ) the plant usually recovers. 
As a rule the beetle lays its eggs in number in proportion to the 
size of the palm, eg., in small palms one grub only may be found, 
while 12 or more may be taken from a badly infested tree. In the 
case of a large palm attacked it may be saved by a free operation. 
The leaves are carefully cut away, and the grubs extracted. So 
long as the actual growing point is not destroyed the sheaths of 
the young leaves may be cut down almost on to it. After all grubs 
