War On Pests

What New Guinea is Doing

HE pest Promecotheca has done I a lot of damage to coconut I plantations along the south Ist of New Britain, and the copra Id from that area will be down [ a year or two, but the pest is king under control again, dr. R. E. P. Dwyer, Director of riculture, told me that, for a nber of reasons, Promecotheca fctically died out there a few rs ago; and its natural enemy, a ■asite wasp called Pleurotropis *vulus, having nothing to live on, fl out, too. Then, a couple of rs ago, Promecotheca built up in and, unchecked, spread rmingly. But, in the past year, wasp has increased, and the t has been arrested generally; [ it is not expected to give much re trouble in that locality.

Giant Snails

he panic created by the very id increase in the number of it snails introduced to New ;ain and New Guinea as a food f by the Japanese invaders, has I away. For some reason that me yet has explained, the snails e decreased in numbers, in size in strength of shell. Originally, creatures were around Rabaul ;ountless numbers —roads which 3 freely used by motor traffic 3 slimy with their crushed es, and the shells were strong. r they are seldom seen, and the Is are like egg-shells.

Ve do not know the cause be a soil deficiency—but there 0 doubt about the shrinkage in and in shell,” said Mr. Dwyer, icnever we notice them spread we attack with metaldehyde, as a poison bait, and they can iestroyed in that way. Rivers their progress. The only place :e they moved into a new ict was at Manam Island —they irently got across somehow 1 Hansa Bay. Birds seem to be • only natural enemy.”

Rhino Beetle

tere is now no doubt that the Asian beetle — Oryctes Rhino- > —is well established in New tin and New Ireland, and ee also in Bougainville. Mr. sr says there are reports that also established now in Dutch Guinea. e Centauris and S. Australis ; of the Rhino Beetle have been r ew Guinea Territory a much ;r time and, while bad enough, are not nearly so destructive ig the coconut palms as the i type. r e are working steadily on the o Beetle,” said Mr. Dwyer. “We some good men in Mr. Gordon chief entomologist, Dr. J. J.

Szent-Ivany, and Mr. J. H. iy, assistant entomologist, and

we are keeping in close touch with the general work of the South Pacific Commission. Obviously, we must try to secure biological control over this pest. We are making an attempt here to establish the Scoliid wasps, from Zanzibar, one of

the beetle’s enemies.”-

Rwr.