n 
In the Solomon Islands tobacco and soap wash is shaken into the 
still unfolded leaves. 
Preuss recommends the use of nitrogenous fertilizers to help 
trees to resist the attack. The only way, however, found successful 
is the cutting away of all affected leaves and burning them together 
with the insects. This method has been successfully employed on 
several estates where the trees are periodically found affected. 
Hid mi irava and JErionota thrax. — These two butterflies are the 
coconut skippers of the family Hesperiidm. 
They are very much alike both in appearance and their method 
of attack. I shall not give any description. 
The result of a bad attack, when very many caterpillars are 
feeding, is that all the tissue of the leaflets, except the midrib and 
perhaps patches of soft tissue here and there, is eaten away. 
Almost all the green soft parts of hanging leaves, in fact all leaves 
except those which are still erect, have been observed to be 
thoroughly eaten until only a skeleton remained. 
The life history of these butterflies is short, from six to eight 
weeks. It appeal’s that the pests are quickly parasitized as 1 have no 
record of a single instance of this pest remaining after the second brood. 
The best remedial measures, when practicable, are the catching of 
the butterflies and picking off and collecting the cocoons. Spraying 
or any other remedial measures have not been found necessary. 
Thosea cinereomarginata. — The larva of this moth is a green 
slug-like caterpillar recognized by having along each side of the 
body a row of spinous tubercles. Pupation takes place in a hard 
oval cocoon which opens at one end in a distinct lid for the 
emergence of the imago. These cocoons are commonly found 
attached to the under side of leaves of palms. 
The larvae of this pest eat the softer parts of leaflets until as in 
the case of the skippers mentioned above only the midrib is left. I 
have seen groups of palms temporarily seriously affected' but in this 
case again I have never thought it necessary to apply remedial 
measures, 
Mahasena sp. — This moth is not a serious pest, and has not been 
observed to attack more than four or five palms in a group. Only 
young plants are affected, the larvae or caterpillars live in cases made 
up of bits of leaves woven together with silk. The case is carried 
about on the trees by the insect whose head only appears. Only the 
male insect attains the perfect or imago stage. The female lays her 
eggs in her case and gradually shrinks up, as the eggs fill the lower 
half of the case. The eggs hatch and the larvae make their own 
little cases. The old female cases must be carried by wind or other 
agency to palms, but little appears to be known about his part of 
the life history. 
fei~>3/40 
