20 
Savoie to Mr. Abel Adam Es. 65 p.a. to 31st July 1924. 
Booby Island Prasliu to Mr. Georges Barallou Es. 10 to 
80tb June 1919. 
Crown Land near Pond Azor to Antoine Jacqueline Es. 10 
to 31 st August 1918. 
Felicite and Curieuse are very fine Islands which yield 
together about 60,000 nuts a month. These islands being very 
productive they are looked after by the lessees better than most 
of the other Crown Lauds which are nearly all estates abando¬ 
ned by their former owners. 
XIV. 
INSECTS NOTES. 
The green scale (Lecanium viiide) continues its depreda¬ 
tions in the low country but it is kept in check on the hills by 
a fungus parasite (Cephalosporium lecanii). It is wonderful to 
see how this useful parasite has freed the coffee bushes on the 
hills from lecanium viride scales. Alongside Mi sere road and 
in many other localities above 800 feet elevation, the coffee 
bushes which were seen to be dying out gradually have sud leuly 
escaped from destruction to the great surprise of most people. 
The scale insects are not visible to the passers-by who would 
soon find out the reason of the recovery of the coffee bushes 
if they would examine closely the stems and leaves along side 
which the scale insects become the prey of a sort of mould 
clearly visible to the naked eye. 
This fungus parasite has also been found attacking leca- 
nium tessellatum on cinnamon and coconut palms in the low 
country owing to the constant rainy weather we have been 
having for the last 3 years. The obscure work of these para¬ 
sites cannot be too much emphasised. Great care should be 
exercised in not destroying these friendly organisms when it is 
decided to clean by bush fires (a calamitous method) a coconut 
plantation or a cinnamon jungle. 
The disappearance of many scale insects and the restora¬ 
tion to health of many plants have led many people to imagine 
that the ants which live in association with scale insects have 
also disappeared from many localities owing to a controlling 
parasite. I have never seen ants (Technomyrmex albipes) more 
active than at present in most localities. If they are less 
numerous in certain places, it is simply because scale insects 
having been destroyed by fungus parasites they find a reduc¬ 
tion in those places, of their favourite food which is precisely 
the excretion of scale insects. A controlling parasite would 
have been more efficient. 
While certain persons believe that ants disappear- others 
have no h citation in saying that they are responsible for the 
reduction in the coconut crop for 1915 because they prevent 
pollination. This belief is not supported by facts. Petch 
in Ceylon has proved that the small black ants (Technomyr¬ 
mex) are unable to approach the stigmas of the female flowers 
during the short time (24 hours) they remain receptive owing 
to a water syrup which oozes out round the stigmas. The 
ants are sometimes found to feed on the circle of syrup 
which keeps them outside the reach of the stigmas. Ants are 
seldom found in Seychelles on the flowers of coconut trees, 
except those which are infested with scale insects. From want 
of better knowledge they have been incriminated as having 
caused the reduction of the crop 1915 which is mostly due 
to exhaustion of unmanured trees following heavy crops. 
Another scale insect which does great mischief in young 
coconut plantations is aspidiotus ficus. Older trees are some¬ 
times severely attacked in certain seasons hut iu others these 
insects seem to he kept under control by parasites. In a para¬ 
site reaning cage, I have been able to obtain a few minute 
insects which emerged from Aspidiotus ficus scales and these 
minute parasites, hardly visible to the naked eye, have been 
sent heme for identification and advice. 
A great number of boring and grain beetles have been 
kindly identified by the Imperial Bureau of Entomology during 
the year under review. The following list is recorded 
