Like Mauritius, many other cane-growing countries in the world are suffering severely from the ravages of Lamellicorn beetle grubs. In some of these countries, such as Australia, India, South America and the West Indian Islands, these insects are indigenous, whilst in others, such as Hawaii and Mauritius, some of them have been accidentally introduced.Through intensive cultivation of sugar-cane, which in some places is the staple industry, these so-called white grubs have found an abundance of food and an adequate environment, so that they have become, even in their country of origin, a major pest of sugar-cane ; whilst in places where they have been introduced, the damage done, in some cases, is a serious menace to the sugar industry.Heavy annual losses are being sustained in the Philippines, Queensland and Porto Rico ; at present the damage in Porto Rico is estimated to be 3 million dollars yearly.In order to cope with such a state of affairs, all possible effort is nowadays being made in most of these countries to try to control the pests by rational and scientific methods. Though many important points have been solved by research workers engaged thereon, there still remain many unknown factors upon which enlightenment is required.
5 Sweet and Bitter: Trajectories of Sugar Cane Investments in Northern Luzon, the Philippines, and Aceh, Indonesia, 2006–13
