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Little attention has been paid by planters' in 
Malaya to the control of insects, but with the culti- 
vation of crops other than rubber and coconuts the 
need will arise. Insects have been observed injuring 
all the economic plants cultivated experimentally or 
otherwise in Malaya. Insect pests can, however, be 
overcome largely by keeping the plants in good 
health by the application of sound agricultural prin- 
ciples, and by the judicious use of insecticides. 
The following notes on insect pests of economic 
crops in Malaya are not complete, and can only be 
described as a rough guide for those interested in 
planting in this country. 
Pests of Coconuts. 
The most important insects attacking coconuts in 
Malaya are described below: — 
Rhynchophorus schach, Oliv., {Curculionidae ) , 
(The “ Red Stripe” Weevil). 
This is an insect well-known throughout Malaya, 
but is not the most deadly, since it cannot attack 
sound trees. The larvae cause injury by boring 
through the tissues of the palm in all directions. 
WTien full grown they change to pupae inside 
cocoons, which are composed of twisted fibres. 
The female weevil lays eggs in damaged parts of 
the coconut palm. One-day old grubs have been 
found capable of entering a palm through the tissues 
of a petiole cut at a distance of 36 inches from the 
trunk, and weevils have been observed under natural 
conditions to lay eggs at the cut end of petioles. 
The female weevil may lay as many as 832 eggs 
and can commence egg-laying the day after emer- 
gence from the cocoon. 
