A New Pest.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 7061, 22 August 1894, Page 4

A New Pest.

A* one time New Zealand was a happy land so far aa freedom from destructive beasts or birds of prey, and insects injurious to man or his crops, was concerned. But such happy conditions for the settlers of New Zealand are now hopelessly lost to us of the present day. Birds have been introduced and turned adrift which prey upon the settlers' crops in the field aud orchard, and though the wild denizens of the forest have not yet been acclimatised in New Zealand, her sons have been thoroughly enterprising so far as the introduction of a multiplicity of injurious insects are concerned. These introductions, little thought of at the time perhaps, have certainly tended to make the struggle of life much harder than it would otherwise have been. Two or three years ago, when the locust plague was so destructive in some of the Australian colonies, fears were entertained that someone would be found enterprising enough to introduce that insect to New Zealand, to add still further to the troubles of the struggling settler. But so far there has been no indication of such a Btep having been taken. However, so far as present indications go, one insect has found a lodgment amongst us which may iv the near future prove not only a source of annoyance but a serious loss as well. We allude to the unpleasant discovery of the preseuce of one of the varieties of the termites, or white ants. Those who have lived in tropical countries need not be told of the injuries these little but industriously destructive creatures perform when they take possession of a building. In a wonderfully shurt time all the woodwork is thoroughly destroyed, and the building, instead of being substantial as formerly, Buddenly collapses. The interior of all the woodwork being burrowed in all directions, while the outside appears as if uninjured. How this creature came to be introduced into ISew Zealand it is at present impossible to tell, and it is equally uncertain what effect our climate may have upon its health and propagation, but bo far it has shown its destructive character in a very marked degree. It is reported to have been noticed at three different places in the Auckland province within the last few months, but it was only the other day that the true character of this new colonist whs found out. For many years we have been accustomed to the ravages made by the beetle which infests the kauri timber under some cnndiMnns, and frequently the kahuatt-H, but if the newcomer has the power (if adopting itself to the local climate, it will likely become better known in the future than it nan been iv the pisf to our fellow ci>loniata. If is thiough the exertions of Messrs Mitchell ana VV»tt, architects to the Board of Education, that the presence of this unwelcome visitor baa been detected. Some of tho school buildings under their care were found seriously injured under circumstances to which they had hitherto been strangers. Many of their friends were consulted respecting the strange creatures they found in th« destroyed timbers, but all pleaded ignorance of the name and character of the strangers. Bowe i, on consulting Mr T. F. Cheeseman, F.L.S., the Curator of the Museum, the character of the insect was made known, and upon this subject we have received the following communication fcota this firm :— " We desire to draw the attention of your readers to a matter which, if properly investigated, may prove

to be of considerable importance to the whole colony. Whilst inspecting certain repairs to one of the large school building! at the Thames a few months ago, we observed that portions of the timber had been attacked by some insect in a manner and to an extent different to any which had hitherto come under our notice in this couutry. Having procured samples of the infected timber we submitted the same to a numbor of persons likely to be able to give an opinion of some value thereon, but one and all declared that they had seen nothing of the kind before. Eventually certain authorities identified the insects as a species of the 'white ant.' We have every reason to believe that this information is correct, and being so, we would strongly urge that steps be at once taken to ascertain to what extent this pest has spread, and if possible to stamp ib out, else iv a few years time, neglect now may cause widespread damage and loss. We might fully describ* the insect, and the way it carries on its work of destruction, and enlarge upon the danger to our buildings and other property in consequence, but we leave this to some of your correspondents who may have witnessed the effects of this creature's work in other countries. We shall be glad to co-operate with others in investigating the matter further." Those who have had Indian experience may be able to suggest some means of checking the ravages of thia little and mischievous creature.— N.Z. Herald.