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A NEW COCONUT PEST. 
Yet another pest of the Coconut has been discovered in the 
Philippines and from all accounts it will prove a serious menace to 
plantations in the Colony and Federated Malay States unless suffi- 
cient precautions are taken immediately. So far, it seems to be 
restricted to certain areas in the Philippines, and the Department of 
Agriculture are fully aware of the danger arising from this insect, 
and we may be sure that they will use every means in their power, 
to prevent its spreading throughout the Philippines and ultimately to 
the Straits Settlements. 
It has been considered advisable to prohibit the importation of 
palms, etc., from the Philippines. 
We reprint the description, etc., of this pest as it has appeared in 
The Philippine Agricultural Review, together with the copy of 
the Ordinance as it appeared in the S. S. Gazette, May 31st, 1912. 
“A parasite of the coconut palm, which may prove to be the 
most serious pest of this crop in the Philippine Islands, was discover- 
ed in May, 1911. This insect is related to the White Fly of the citrus 
orchards of Florida, and this fact alone is sufficient to cause the 
coconut planters considerable anxiety. For the present, however, it 
appears that this insect, which may be termed the Coconut White 
Fly, is confined to a district in Negros Oriental, extending from the 
barrio of Tabon on the north and the barrio of Zamora on the south, 
range of some 35 kilometers in length. Most of the coconut groves 
in this area, which extends from the sea-coast back to a range of hills 
to the west, are infested with the parasite. 
The first specimens were collected on the hacienda of Mr. Henry 
Gardner in the vicinity of Guijulgant, It appears that this is the 
first occurence of any insect of this genus in the Philippine Islands, 
and, further more, the species itself is new to science. It has been 
described by Mr., Quainstance of the Bureau of Entomology, United 
States Department of Agriculture, D. C., as Aleyrodicus destructo 
a similar species {A. cocois, Westw.) occurs in the West Indies and 
has caused immense damage there to the coconut groves, some dis- 
tricts having even been abandoned largely on account of it attacks. 
Like all of the so-called “ White Flies ** (which are, of course, not 
flies) and the related “scales,” the individuals are very small and not 
readily noticeable except when present in large colonies. The general 
color of the older individuals is white or grayish ; at first the larvae 
are nearly naked and of a pale brownish shade, but when about half 
grown they develop a fringe of white waxy material around the edge 
of the body. This waxy substance, as the insect grows, gradually 
covers the entrie body with a mass of cottony thread-like appendages 
and waxy flakes. 
