65 
s 
COCONUT BEETLES, 
By L. C. Brown. 
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 . — This 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 away that the harm being done is often not detected 
until it is too late to save the tree. The grub is what does the 
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 much 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, 
