HARVARD UNIVERSITY. LIBRARY OF THE MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. \S&Eb. GIFT OF IES AINAD IBIS | ANGUS SUZ, an — Nor a,i84y Pinel 4 ep ” eens sy INDESN MUSEUM NOTES. ISSUED BY THE TRUSTEES: VoLuME III. Published by Authority of the Government of Endia, Mebenue and Agricultural Department. 7 CALCUTTA: OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF GOVERNMENT PRINTING, INDIA. 1896. CALCQTTA ? GOVERNMENT OF INDIA CENTRAL PRINTING OFFICES, 8, HASTINGS STREET, CONTENTS OF VOLUME III. ae Miscellaneous Notes, by E. C. Cotes . : : Notes on Scolytidz, by W, F. H. Blandford, F. E. S, F. ZS. Notes on Cocoanut palm Coccidae, by W. M. Maskell, F.R.M.S. The Silk cotton pod moth, by F. Moore, F.Z.S. 5 ‘ A new gall-making Aphid, by G. B. Buckton, F.R.S. A 5 A new wood borer, by O. E. Janson, F.E.S. s é The Locust Invasion of 1889-92, by E. C. Cotes . i 4 Notes on Indian Aphides, by G. B. Buckton, F.R.S. . :. A new Lasiocampid Defoliator, by F. Moore, F.Z.S. } A new Capsid pest, by Mons. L. Lethierry . ° . ° The Mango shoot, Psylla, by G. B. Buckton, F.R.S. 5 Note on the Pests of the Teak Tree, by Major C. T. Bingham Miscellaneous Notes, by the Editor . 6 . 5 A new Coccid from Ceylon, by G. B. Buckton, E.R.S. ; A new species of Fulgoridz, by M. Lethierry : 3 2 A new Enemy of the Custard Apple, translation by F. Moore Notes on Indian Aphidz, by G. B. Buckton, F.R.S. é ‘ Miscellaneous Notes from the Entomological Section, by E. C. Cotes : : ° , ‘ An Account of ihe eee 2a Mites eae attack the Tea plant in India . : A Decade of Ba crcloey in ite Tadien Mnccumk by E. C. Cotes . 6 . ° ° ° Parasitic Muscide a British India, by F. M. Van der Wulp ‘ : e ° < Notes on a new Peyllid, by G. B. ea F. R.S. The Banded Mosquito of Bengal, by F. A. A. Sais ‘ ‘ Scale insects in Madras, by R. Newsted, F.E.S. : 6 Notes on the Oviposition of Helopeltis theivora, by G. C. Dudgeon ; ° C ° Miscellaneous Notes from the pitomelvaical Section, by E. C. Cotes e ° ° ° Miscellaneous Notes fiom the Entomological Section! by E. C. Cotes e e © e ® r) EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES IN VOLUME III. Prate I— Fig. 1. Crossocosmia biseriata. . Demoticus strigipennis. . Masicera castanea. . Masicera dasychive. . Masicera subnigra. . Miltogramma duodecimpunctata. . Calodexia lasiocampe. N An FW wv Pate IIl— Fig. 1. Cevoplastes ceviferus; (a) adult females, natural size, on food-plant; (b) female with waxy covering removed ; (c) portion of dermis, mag- nified; (d) spinneret or gland, magnified ; (e) antenna, magnified ; (f) leg, magnified ; (g) young female, magnified ; (1) male, magni- fied ; (k) antenna of male, magnified ; (/) leg of male, magnified ; (m) genitalia of male, magnified ; (z) male scale, magnified. Fig. 2. Icerya egyptiacum ; (a) young females, natural size, on under-surface of leaf; (4) and (c) the same, dorsal view, magnified; (d) the same, ventral view, magnified. Pirate IiI— Fig. 1. Dactylopius viridis ; (a) adult females, magnified; () antenna of same, magnified; (c)leg of same, magnified; (¢d) females, natural size, on food-plant ; (e) the same, magnified. Fig. 2. Dactylopius ceriferus ; (a) female, dorsal view, magnified ; (b) the same, ventral view, magnified ; (c) the same, covered with filaments on a croton leaf, natural size ; (d) antenna, magnified ; (e) foot, magnified. Fig. 3. Pulvinaria obscura ; (a) adult female, on portion of food-plant, magni- fied ; (2) antenna of same still further enlarged. Prate Ill— Fig. 4. Aspidiotus orientalis; (a) female scales, natural size, on food-plant; (0) females and males, dorsal view, magnified; (c) female, ventral view, magnified ; (d) posterior segment of same further magnified ; (e) fringe of same yet more enlarged. ) ea) DBE ree ahe ur, oe INDIAN MUSEUM NOTES. MAY 22 1897 /3, B%b ISSUED BY THE TRUSTEES. Votume IIl.—No, I. Published by Authority of the Government of Endia, Mebenne and Aagticulinral Depariment. CALCUTTA: PRINTED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF GOVERNMENT PRINTING, INDIA. 1893, Price Eight Annas. CONTENTS. — = MIScELLANEOUS NOTES BY H. C. Corrs ; 4 ° : 4 Notes on ScoLtyTipz py W. F. H. BuanprForp, F-E.S., F.Z.S. NotTESs ON COCOANUT PALM coccIDE BY W. M. Masxett, F.R.M.S. THE SILK coTTon Pop moTH By F. Moore, F.ZS. . Re A A NEW GALL-MAKING APHID By G. B. Bucxton, F.RS. . e A NEW WOOD BORER BY O. E. Janson, F.E.S. 4 ; MAY 23 1897 Vol, IIL. [ No. 1. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. By HK. C. Corns, Off7. Deputy Superintendent, Indian Museum. A good deal of damage is said to have been done in 1891 to young “Boring insects in sandal sandal wood (Sanfalum album) trees in Mysore OS aa) (ee IL by a boring insect. According to a report, dated 13th July 1891, by the Assistant Conservator of Forests, Mysore, furnished through the Director of the Dehra Dun Forest School, this borer attacks both the stem and the roots, either killing the sapling outright or weakening it, so that it is hable to get blown over by the wind. Sandal wood yields an important revenue to the Mysore State, so that any damage done to the young trees is of consequence. The insect that seems to be chiefly responsible for the damage is the caterpillar of the moth Zeuzera coffe@ Nietner, a species which eccasion- ally attacks both coffee (Coffea arabica) and tea (Camellia thei/era) bushes, Some Coleopterous larve, however, which appcar to be Zewebrionida, have also been received, but are not thought likely to have played more than a subordinate part in injuring the sandal wood saplings. The identity of the insect was made out from a moth which emerged in the Museum, on 9th February 1892, from some affected sandal wood stems that were kindly furnished by Mr. J. Cameron, Superintendent of the Govern- ment Gardens, Bangalore. The only suggestion that could be made for dealing with the insect was to cut out and burn the infested stems and thus prevent the spreadine of the pest. The figare shows the various stages of the Zeuzera with a piece of wood bored by it, all natural size. Q Indian Musenm Notes. le Violeolile A very closely allied or identical caterpillar was sent to the Museum in March 1891 by Messrs. Andrew Yule & Co., with the information that it had been doing a good deal of damage to the stems of tea (Camel- lia theifera) bushes in the Jorhat district of Assam. The species Zeuzera coffee is figured and described in Moore’s Lepi- doptera of Ceylon, page 154, pl. 143, fig. 1. It was originally described by Nietner in his pamphlet on the enemies of the coffee tree in Ceylon, in 1861. d The following is an extract from Mr. Green’s edition of Nietner’s pamphlet, page 14—- © This insect,........ ...destroys many trees, young and old, the caterpillar eating out the heart: for this purpose it generally enters the tree six or twelve inches from the ground, ascending upwards. Fortunately it is not abundant. It resembles the caterpillar of the goat-moth of England, is two inches long, and as thick as a goose- guill, nearly naked, of yellowish colour, back red, head thoracic and anal plates black. ish; when full-grown the colours are light and dirty. ‘lhe sickly, drooping foilage, and a heap of globules of conglomerated wood-dust at the foot of a tree soon indicate that the caterpillar is carrying on its destructive work inside. The chrysalis rests three months, and its skin half protrudes from the hole when the moth escapes, which is about February. The moth measures 13” across the wings, which are white, spotted with steel blue ; the upper ones, with one large spot and numerous series of small ones, placed in rows between the nerves ; the lower wings are less spotted. Thorax with four spots near margin. Abdomen variegated with blue. Legs blue, second pair with white femora, third pair with white femora and tibiz.” An excellent account of the insect is given in a paper by Mr. KE. E Green, which appeared in the Ceylon Independent. According to Mr Green’s observations, the insect is by no means uncommon on tea estates in Ceylon, though the damage which it does is often ascribed to other causes, as the caterpillar is very completely concealed in the interior of the stems. The female lays her eggs in the hark, and the young cater- pillars tunnel their way into the heart of the wood. They are generally found in the first instance in the smaller twigs, but as they grow bigger, they make their way into the main branches and stem, and often kill young tea bushes down to the ground, Their presence may usually be detected by the heaps of sawdust-like excrement tv be found on the ground under the bush. Mr. Green notices that according to his own observations the moth does not emerge at any one particular time of the year. In April 189] specimens were furnished by Messrs. Andrew Yule & Co. of aninsect which had proved destruc- tive to tea (Camellia theifera) in the Jorhat district of Assam. The manager of one of the gardens wrote that he had been getting 25 two-maund bags of these caterpillars picked off the bushes Tea defoliator in Jorhat. No. 1.] Miscellaneous Notes. 3 daily, but that in spite of all his efforts they seemed rather to increase in numbers. They stripped the leaves and the bark off the bushes to such an extent as in some eases to kill the plants. The manager added that during the ten years he had heen in the district he had never seen such a visitation, and that his coolie sirdars, some of whom had been over 20 years on the garden, conld not remember the like. The specimens that were forwarded were found to be the larve of a Bombyces moth which is thought to belong to the family Arctiide. The insect does not appear to have been previously sent to the Museum as attacking tea, and it cannot be identified precisely without an examination of the moth into which the caterpillar transforms. The fact that it has not previously been reported as attacking tea makes it pretty certain that, it is not a species likely to do any very extensive injury. To enable the moth to be reared for identification in the Museum it would be desirable to obtain some live full-grown caterpillars or better chrysalids. They would probably reach Calcutta alive if they were lightly packed with a few tea shoots and sent direct in a perforated box or basket. The cater- pillar could no doubt be easily destroyed by spraying the tea bushes with an insecticide, but this method of treatment does not seem to be gener- ally looked upon favourably by tea planters, and it is very doubtful to what extent it would he desirable in the present instance, on account of the poisonous nature of most of the preparations. In October 1891 a number of Melolonthide larvee (=cockehafers or white grubs) were forwarded to the Museum by Messrs. Davenport & Co., with the in- formation that they had appeared in vast numbers in some of the hill tea (Camellia theifera) gardens, and were making great havoc among the young tea plants, In one case the insect was said to have practically de- stroyed 100 acres of young tea as fast as it was planted. The prevalence of the pest was attribated to the abnormally dry weather. An attempt was made to rear the insect in the Museum for precise identification, and in February 1892 a mature specimen emerged in the rearing cage. It was found to be identical with a species which was determined some years ago through Dr. Giinther as Lachuosterna impressa Burmeister, It is therefore the insect which appeared in vast numbers and proved Very destructive in Darjeeling in the year 1583. 1n Ceylon coffee estates, where allied insects proved very destructive about a dozen years ago, the only method of treatment that was at all successful was digging out the grubs by hand, and this, though very costly, was generally admitted to be the most satisfactory method of dealing with the pest. Attempts have recently been made in Europe to destroy white grubs by innoculat- White grub in Sikkim. 4, Indian Musenm Notes. [ Vol. II. ing them with the spores of a fungoid disease to which they are subject. This method of treatment however has not yet passed beyond the experi- mental stage, so it cannot be recommended for practical purposes. In the case of a species which attacks the roots of vines in Europe, bisul- phide of carbon has been recommended, and this chemical seems likely to prove of practical utility. The simplest method of treatment was to make a hole near the main root of the vine by forcing a small stick into the earth, then to pour about half a teaspoonful of bisulphide of carbon into the hole, and plug it tightly with earth pressed down by the foot ; and more elaborate methods which are said to have been successfully adopted in French vineyards for fighting phylloxera with bisulphide of earbon would no doubt be equally effective for dealing with white grub in Sikkim, According to Mayet (Insectes de la vigne 1890), as quoted in a recent report by Mr. Charles Whitehead: ‘the bisulphide is put into the ground in two or three holes close round the roots of each vine, with a kind of hand pump (pal) terminating in a tube with a-short point having an orifice near itsend, This is thrust into the earth, and the liquid is forced into the hole by pressure from the pump.” The damage done to beer easks in India by minute beetles which drill holes into the staves, has attracted a good deal of attention during the past few years. Mr. W. F. H. Blandford, F. ¥.8., Lecturer on Entomology at the Indian Civil Engineering College, Chane s Hill, has for some time been investigating the subject, and asks for co-operation in procuring further information. The subject is a complicated one, as the casks are attacked by several distinct insects, some of which are more destructive than the others. In the case of the casks dealt with in an interesting report by Mr. Bland- ford, which appeared in the Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information, Royal Gardens, Kew (September 1890), the damage was attributed toa Seolytid of the genus Zrypodendron—species domesticum Linn, alxo signatum Fabr.-quereus Eich. These insects are natives of Europe, where they attack newly felled timber, From this, and also the fact that some of the holes in the casks examined were found to be covered up by iron eask hoops, which fitted so tightly that it was quite impossible for the insect to have begun to bore after the hoops were put on, Mr. Blandford concluded that the cask was attacked before ever it was filled with beer and shipped. In the ease of a further consignment, however, afterwards received, the damage appears to have been done either on’ board ship or in India by a Scolytid of the genus Xyleborus. The species Xyleborus perforans Wollast. was the one recognised by Mr. Blandford; it is no doubt the same insect as the cask borer from Rangoon, referred to in the Proceedings of the Entomologieal Society of London, 1882, p. Xvi, as Cask borers in India. No. 1. ] Misecllaneous Notes, 5 Xyleborus saxesent Ratz. and itis thought to be the one that does most of the damage to the casks, The Xy/eborus beetles, which attack stored casks, can be easily dis- tingaished from the Zrzpodendron beetles, which attack green wood, by the fact that the Xy/eborus is very much smaller than the Tripodendron (3 mil. long by 1 mil. broad, against 4 mil. lone by 2 mil. broad), and also by the shape of the burrow, which in the Xyleborns branches a good deal, while in the 777podendrou the straight tunnel made by the parent has only a number of little chambers eaten out around it by the larvee. The above isasketch of the question as it stands at present, but several of the points are still uncertain, and as it is obviously of import- ance to determine whether. the damage is due to original unsourdness in the casks or to subsequent injury in store, Mr. Blandford is taking ap the whole question and collecting information with a view to settling it definitely. He will be grateful for any help that is given him in the matter, and writes that the chief points upon which he requires inform- ation are: (1) if the barrels are attacked on board ship, or in transport, or in store: (2) whether the beetle is confined to beer casks or also attacks other timber: (38) any particulars about the life history of the insect and the extent to which it gives trouble in Indian breweries. Postseript.— Mr. H. M. Phipson of Bombay writes— (January 1592), that the Inspectors at the Commissariat office in Bombay all say that of late they have not been troubled with the borer. They agree that two or three years ago, when so many of the casks were attacked, the casks were in the majority of casesfound to be leaking, on being landed, so it would appear that the insect commences its operations on board ship. In the rainy season of 1891 attention was again called to the *“ eheroot weevil,’ Laszoderma testaceam Redtenb. (Dermestidz). This insect drills the Cheroot borer. small round holes which are so often met with in Indian cheroots, and 6 Indian Museum Notes. | [ Vol. ITI. is said to interfere very seriously with the expurtation of Indian cheroots. So far as is known the beetle lays itseges on the leaf, and the little curved white hairy grubs, which emerge from these eggs, tunnel their way through the tobacco, and finally transform into white motionless pupe from which the beetles emerge ready to cut their way out of the cheroot, and thus form the round holes which are so characteristic a sign of the presence of the insect. The length of time spent by the insect in its various stages has not yet been traced, and there is still a good deal of doubt as to the stage in the manu- facture at which the eggs are usually laid. In some old broken-up cheroots, kindly furnished by Mr. G. W. L. Caine, in August 1891, were found both some very young larve and also two minute eggs which were thought to belong to this species, ‘The eggs were transparent-white in colour, showing the yolk cells by trans- mitted light. They were oval in shape, with a number of minute protuberances at one pole, and they measured, one of them, about a fifth, and the other about a third of a millimetre in length. They were found loose amongst the broken pieces of tobacco leaf. The eggs were evidently alive when found, and their presence in the old cheroots goes to show that eggs are at least sometimes laid after the cheroots have been matured. ‘This indicates that care in packing and storing the cheroots is likely to tend to reduce injury by the insect, though it would not of course prevent damage in cases where eggs had been laid on the leaf before it was made intocheroots. It was suggested that, subjecting the cheroots to a temperature of 80 or 90 degrees centigrade for a few hours before packing, might serve to destroy any This treatment, however, was found to eggs or grubs they contained. injure the flavour of the cheroots, so could not be reeommended. Upon the whole, the most likely means of reducing damage by the weevil seem to be—firstly, to keep the leaf, during the process of its manufacture, as much as possible out of the way of old cheroots and refuse tobacco of No- 1. ] Miscelluneous Notes. 7 all kinds where the insect is likely to breed ; and, secondly, to pack the cheroots in as air-tight a manner as possible, so as to prevent the mother beetles getting into the boxes to lay their eggs. ‘The insect is known to attack stored rice, opium, and other vegetable substances, as well as tobacco, so the cleaning up of the manufactory should be as thorough as possible. The figures show the various stages of the insect, also a cheroot tunnelled by it. The size of the inseet is indicated by hair lines, In May 1891 specimens of seale insects, destructive to cocoanut trees in the Laccadive Islands, were forwarded to the ere ence Dilehts Museum by Mr. Edgar Thurston, who had received them from Mr, W. Dumergne. Mr. Dumergne found the cocoanut (Cocos nucifera) trees at Aucutta attacked by what was thought to be a disease. Some years previously the same disease was said to have carried off thousands of trees in the Laceadives, thus seriously damaging almost the only product of these islands. Mr. Dumergne was told that the first symptom of the disease had been an army of ants. The leaves, when attacked, were said to turn a sickly brownish-yellow and gradually shrivel up, the tree itself suceumbing altogether in a very short space of time. The leaves furnished were found to be thickly beset with Coccide (scale insects) which would be quite sufficient to account for the injury reported. ‘he ants no doubt merely attend the Coccide for the sake of the secretion yielded to them by so many species of this group of insects, and they have therefore nothing to do with the injury to the cocoanut trees. With regard to remedies, the most successful method of destroying scale insects on trees is generally agreed to consist in spraying them with the kerosine and soap emulsions described in earlier numbers of these Notes. It is difficult, however, to say to what. extent such treat- ment would be practicable in the present instance; especially as experi- ments, recently made in the United States, have shown the extreme difli- culty in completely eradicating scale insects from palm trees, on account of the large amount of shelter which is afforded to the insects in the crevices between the folds of the leaves. With a view to obtaining the identification of the scale insect covcerned, the specimens were submitted to Mr. W. M. Maskell, who has kindly examined them and furnished an interesting note upon the subject. Mr. Maskell found that the leaves were infested by two distinct insects belonging to two different genera—Dactylopius and Aspidiotus. |The former, in which each insect has white cotony secretion is so near to Dactylopius cocotis Maskell, that Mr. Maskell considers it identical or at most a variety (see p. 66). The latter was found by Mr. Maskell to be undoubtedly Aspidiotus destructor Signoret, in which a distinguishing character is the comparative smallness of the two 8 Indiun Musenm Notes. Well 10K median abdominal lobes in the female. his insect is stated by Signoret to have been dreadfully injurious to cocoanut trees in the Isle de la Réunion.! For further particulars see p. 66. In January 1892 the Superintendent, Government Farms, Nagpur, forwarded wheat. (Zireticum sativum) leaves from fields which were said to be suffering to a very large extent from some disease or insect attack, Little could be made of the specimens, though the remains of a number of minute creatures which appeared to be Collembola (order Thysanura) were found upon the leaves. These insects were not thought to be sufficient to occasion the damage that was reported. In February, however, a number of green wheat stalks were forwarded. These had their stems tunnelled by the caterpillars of a Microlepidopterous moth, either identical with, or very closely allied to, the paddy borer Chilo sp. described on page 19 of Volume I1 of these No/es, as attacking paddy in the Bombay Presidency. A series of specimens, illustrative of the same wheat borer, were for- warded by Mr. Mollison, Superintendent of Farms in the Bombay Presi- dency. According to an interesting note by Mr. Mollison, dated 28rd February, a considerable amount of damage had been done by the insect in experimental plots of wheat on the Government Farm, Poona. The cater- pillars were found inside tke stalk, usually in the hollow of the straw above the node nearest to the ear. The first symptom of attack that was noticed was a bleaching of the ear and stalk down to the point where the caterpillar was at work, while the lower part of the plant remained green and healthy. Several varieties of wheat were being experimented with in small adjacent plots, and one plot of wheat that ripened sooner tban the other was not affected, while none of the plants were noticed as attacked until they were within it about ten days of ripening. The wheat followed green peas, and the wheat seed from which these plants were raised had been grown on the farm the preceding year. The specimens arrived in excellent condition, the caterpillars reaching the Museum alive, so it is hoped to rear this moth for identification. It will be interesting to ascertain whether this paddy borer, which attacks the rice crop in the rainy season, is the same as the caterpillar which attacks wheat in the could weather. Inthecase of the paddy borer, which did some damage in the Bombay Presidency last year, there was reason to suppose that the insect passed through a number of generations in the course of the year, hybernating in the self-sown paddy and large grasses, around the paddy Wheat-stalk borer. 1 ‘The success which has attended the experiments made by the United States Ento- mological Department in importing Vedalia beetles (Coccinellida@), at first from Australia into California, and afterwards from California into Egypt and New Zealand, for the destruc. tion of the scale insect Icerya, would seem to indicate the desirability of ascertaining whether, in the Isle de la Réunion, the palm scale is attacked by any Coccinellid which might be werth importing into the Laccadives. No 1.] Miscellaneous Notes. 9 fields. 1¢ was therefore recommended to keep down the self-sown paddy and large grasses as much as possible, with a view to reducing the number of moths that would be liable to lay their eggs on the paddy crop, ‘The efficiency, however, of such measures will obviously be much reduced if the wheat fields prove to be a breeding place of the insect. Liven if this should turn out to be the case, however, the clearing. of the lields during the hot weather, when neither wheat nor paddy are being erown, would seem likely to be useful. A good deal of damage was done in the early part of the tea making season of 1891 in Assam by an inseet which is known as the green fly ov blister blight. Specimens were sent to the Museum from several gardens in Assam, and Green fly tea blight. some were also obtained, through the courtesy of the Calcutta Agri.- Horticultural Society, from the Darjeeling tea district. The specimens from the different locali- ties were all identical, and proved to belong to a species of leaf hopper which is included in the family Jassidae. The insect therefore is allied to the /dzocerus niveosparsus, Leth. which has pre- viously been reported as injurious to mango (Mangifera indica) blossom in India. Specimens of the tea insect were sent to Mons. ‘ Lethierry of Lille for precise identification. Mons. Lithierry very kindly examined them and reports that they belong to the species Chlorita flavescens of Fabricius and Fieber. He adds that the insect is fairly common in Europe, and that he has also received specimens of it from Algeria, Brazil, and Siberia, so it may be looked upon as practically cosmopolitan. From the accounts that have been received from Assam, it ap- pears that the insect attacks the young tea shoots and sucks their 10 Indian Museum Notes. f Vol. Lit. juices to such an extent as to stunt their growth and prevent their attain- ine anything like their natural size. It is also said to cause the white blister-like patches that are found on the more mature tea leaves. It is said to have done serious damage in tea gardens both in Cachar and in the Upper Assam valley. It appeared in the early part of the season, and (at least in the Upper Assam valley) is said only to have lasted until the middle or end of June. Cold damp seasons are thought to favour its increase. No remedy seems to have been found that was of any use. The insects were not attracted by lamp traps placed amongst the bushes, and were so active and difficult to catch that hand-picking was out of the question. Extra hoeing was adopted in one case with a view of increasing the vigour of the tea plants, and thus of helping them to throw off the blight, but it is not said whether this did any good. According to a report, dated 19th June 1891, by Mr. G. F. Playfair of Cachar, kindly furnished through Messrs. Barry & Co., the irsect stops the growth of the young shoots, and prevents their ever becoming fit for plucking. The effect of the pest was said to be deplorable. Over whole sections of the tea garden the plants were covered with leaf about an inch long, which never grew any bigger; and one case is cited where 1994 acres had been plucked, and had given considerably less leaf than had often been obtained from a patch of 17 acres. The only treat- ment that was tried was extra hoeing in the hope of bringing vigour to the bushes. The report adds— “To bring the state of things before you in the most comprehensive manner I have pressed some shoots and send them by to-day’s post, together with a little bottle containing about 100 of the insects which do, or are supposed to do, the damage. They are so active and difficult to catch that it took a boy a day-and-a-half to procure the specimens to send.............++ On one side of the sheet of paper, on which I have pasted the samples of shoots, you will find healthily grown leaves, ... ... purposely chosen, rather under than over the average as regards size, so as not to create a false impression, or make the comparison too striking. On the opposite side of the sheet are thrippy shoots of all kinds from the smallest to the largest, but also representing three leaves and the bud. Every one of these should have been as big or bigger than the healthy shoots, but I think the total weight of the sixteen former would not equal that of the three latter. A glance at the specimens willshow you how impossible it is to make any outturn out of growth of this kind.” The following account of the blight by Mr. A. W. Madden of Dibrugarh, Assam, was published in the Proceedings of the Agri.-Horti- cultural Society of Calcutta :— “Since receipt of your letter of 2nd May, I have been making farther enquiries about the blight. I find that a number of gardens are affected by it this season to a much severer extent than in previous years. I enclose a letter from one of my managers. No. 1. J Miscellaneous Notes, it “ At another garden a piece of pure Assam tea, which had been treated in the same way, was first affected, then the blight attacked a piece of tea next it very severely. he latter piece had been pruned into about 4-year old wood, and had new shoots up to a foot long, and many of these have died down completely.” Enclosure.—“1 received the Horticultural Society’s letter on the 14th instant, which I return. ‘The blight first appears in round white blisters, about the size of a two-anna piece, on the under side of the leaf. Ina few days these white blisters turn very dark, and expand over the greater part and often the whole of the leaf. When fairly started the darker blight, and not the white blisters, appears to spread over the rest of the bush, sometimes not only attacking the leaves, but the new stem, in which case the stem and leaves above the blighted part double over and eventually fall off. “ All the plots of the garden are now blighted, though in some plots there are only one or two bushes. The plot first blighted, and the surrounding ones, are much the worst. “In January 1890 the bushes of the blighted plot were pruned down to 9 inches and lower; the prunings were buried in 3 feet trenches which had been cut 24 feet apart. In March it was double hoed, and during the year it was single hoed five times, and in December it was double hoed again. ‘'lhis season it was left unpruned. Since January this year it has been single hoed three times, and last month it was drained by cutting 3 feet drains 48 feet apart, running at right angles to the trenches cut the previous year. “I forgot to mention that at the time the plot was pruned it was manured by putting one basket of cow manure to four bushes. “In the first plot I think it is disappearing, but in the surrounding ones it appears to be still spreading. Jn the letter I sent you this morning I forgot to mention that we have noticed a large number of small green flies about the affected bushes. I send you by post to-day a small bottle containing some of the flies.” According to a report, dated 17th July 1891, kindly furnished by Messrs. Williamson, Magor & Co., of Calcutta, green fly blight had been very prevalent and persistent in its attacks on some gardens in Assam. On one estate open lamps were placed about the tea, but the manager reported that this experiment was a failure, for whereas myriads of other insects were attracted by the flame of the lamps, the green fly remained undisturbed under the tea leaves. ‘The green fly was said to be less numerous and to do Jess harm in sunny dry weather than when it was wet and comparatively cold, but it seemed to require a good long spell of hot dry weather to cause any appreciable diminution in its ravages. The early part of the present season was unusually wet and cold in Assam, and this is thought to account for the prevalence of the blight. It may be worth noticing that, in the case of the allied insect which attacks mango blossom, spraying the trees with the arsenical wash which is known as London purple, was tried with some success in the Saharun- pur Botanical Gardens. Great care would of course be necessary in applying London purple wash to tea, on account of the poisonous nature of the substance; but in cases when a garden has been shut up by the blight, there would be no danger in trying it, provided no plucking at all 12 Indian Museum Notes. (Vol. II]. was done until after a new flush had appeared and the bushes had been well washed by rain. The Calcutta Agri.-Horticultural Society has undertaken to have experiments made upon the insect with some London purple that has been sent to the Museum by Messrs, Hemingway & Co., of London and New York, and some of the same insecticide has been furnished to Messrs. Barry & Co, for asimilar purpose. The figure shows some of the stages of Chlorita flavescens, with much enlarged diagiams of the antenna legs, and terminal seements of abdomen of imago. The size of the insect is indicated by the hair lines In the crop report, for the week ending 23rd December 1891, it is noted that the poppy (Papaver somniferum) sowings in Partabgarh (North-Western Prov- inces) had been attacked and considerably injured by beetles. About the same time numerous ma- ture specimens of a small Opium weevil. weevil, which is thought to be the insect referred to in the crop report, were received from Mr. J. Cockburn of Ghazipur. This insect appears to be a species of Sztones, but as it 1s unnamed in the Indian Museum collee- tion, specimens have been sent to Mons. Desbrochers des Loges for favour of determination. In Ghazipur the insect was saidto be very prevalent, and an instance was quoted where fields had to be sown three times over on account of the destruction caused by it to the young plants, It was found only to attack the seedlings for the first four or five days of their career, no damage being done after they had once attained a height of half an inch. Flooding the beds was not found effectual in destroying the pest, for the insects crawled on to the partition walls aud thus escaped drowning. Hand-picking therefore was suggested by Mr. Cockburn as the most promising means of dealing with the evil. It may be noticed that spraying the young plants with an arsen:cal insecti- cide, such as London purple or Paris green, would probably be equally effective and less costly than the hand-picking. The figure shows the imago stage of the insect with much enlarged diagram of the antenna. The size of the insect is indicated by the hair line. No. 1. ] Miscellaneous Notes. 13 In April 1891 the Director of the Forest School, Dehra Dun, forwarded blighted shoots of mango (Mangi- Jfera tmdica), with the information that the whole of the mange trees in a large garden near Dehra were attacked, though, strangely enough, other trees close by had not suf- fered. The blighted shoots were aborted, so as to appear almost, like a series of little green rosebuds upon the twigs. ‘These false buds were found to contain mature Psyllide (é.e., minute fly-like Rhynehota allied to the Aphidz), The insect has not previously been de- seribed from India, so it hasbeen sent to Mr G. B. Buekton jn Fngland for determination. I+ is no doubtallied to the /’sydla dux7, described in the year 1737 by Reaumur, as aborting the leaves of the box tree much in the way that this inseet aborts the mango — shoots (Reaumur Mem., p.351, pl. 29). With regard to remedies for the pest, any of the kerosine washes which are coming into use in the United States and Europe for destroying plant lice on fruit trees would no doubt also kill this insect, if 14 could be got at, but theinsect is so much protected inside the aborted bud-like shoots that there seems little chance of reaching it with an insecticide. Insecticides might perhaps be useful for spraying the trees when the parent insects are engaged in laying their eggs, but it has still to be ascertained at what time of the year this takes place—whether in the spring or autumn, Clearing up rubbish around the mango trees, where the insects are likely Mango Psylla. 14 Indian Museum Notes. . Vol. III. to shelter themselves, picking off and burning the affected shoots, and white-washing the trunks, might also be of some use, butas yet too little is known about the insect to warrant any very definite suggestions for dealing with it. The figures show the winged insect, with much enlarged diagrams of the wings, head and one of the legs, also the end of a mango twig with aborted shoots. The size of the insect is indicated by the hair line. In November 1891 some young linseed (Linum usitatissimum) plants Linseed caterpillars in were forwarded to the Museum by the Super- Nagpur. intendent of the Government Farm, Nagpur, with the information that they had been dying off in an unaccountable manner. A similar blight had been noticed the preceding year, and in some fields had very materially reduced the outturn of the crop. A careful examination of the plants that were forwarded disclosed a number of minute caterpillars which were located in the young shoots at the top of the plants. ‘They were far too immature for precise identification, and all.that could be made out was that they were much like very young larve of the Noctues moth Heliothis armigera, which is a very generally distributed pest in India. There is some doubt as to whether these caterpillars are sufficient to account for the dying off of the plants. The insect could no doubt be easily destroyed by spraying the plants with almost any insectcide, though this is a form of treatment which has not yet been much adopted in India. From the Secretary to the Agri.-Horticultural Society of India were received (6th July 1891) specimens in differ- ent stages of development of a Bruchid which attacks the seed of the Tamarind tree (Zamarindus indica) in Calcutta. The insect was submitted to Mons. A. Fauvel, who has kindly examined it and reports that it belongs tc the species Caryoborus (Bruchus) gonagra, Fabr. M. Fauvel calls atten- tion toa paper by H. L. Elditt, entitled “ Die metamorphose des Caryoborus (Bruchus) gonagra F.”’ Gratulationschr. der Phys. Gk. Gesellsch. H. Rathke, Konigsberg, 1860, dealing with this insect. This paper is not to be found in Tamarind Bruchid. 'This is probably the insect referred to by Dr. H. Cleghorn (Journ, Agri i f N se y Dr. H. Cleg . Agri-Hort. Soc., India, Vol. X1V, p. 294, 1867), as infecting tamarind sced. No.1. J Miscellaneous Notes. 15 Calcutta, but an attempt will be made to procure it from Europe. In the meantime it may be noticed that the seeds of almost all leguminous plants are subject to the attack of Bruchide beetles belonging to some one of the numerous species of this group of insects. The beetle generally lays its eggs in the immature pod, and the larve, which are little white legless grubs, tunnel into the seed where they pass their lives, finally transforming into motionless pupe from which the beetles emerge ready to copulate and lay eggs of their own, Postscript —A eopy of Elditt’s paper has since been procured. Elditt found the insect, in the three stages of larva, pupe, and imago,in pads of Cassia fistula (the Indian Laburnum) which he obtained from apothe- caries’ shops in Konigsberg. After carefully describing the insect, in its various stages, Elditt gives an interesting account of the parts of its life history he was able to ascertain, With regard to the egg laying he was not able to make any observations but concluded the insect was likely to have the same habits as the common Bruchus pist. It would therefore lay its eegs in the pods before they reached maturity, and the beetle would be a native of the same country as the tree. Upon the whole he thought that the insect was likely to be a native of the East Indies. He found that the Jarve made its way through the pod and tunnelled directly into the seed; a seed was only big enouch to afford nourishment for one grub, and Elditt found that none of the seeds were attacked by more than one grub, though he was unable to explain how this came about. Each seed was enclosed in a chamber with partitions of the shell separating it from the seed on either side of it, and the grub seemed in no case either to have attacked a seed that was already ten- anted, or to have tunnelled through the partition walls of the chamber to enable it to pass from a tenanted seed to one as yet unoccupied. When full fed the grub left the seed and spun a close matted cocoon for itself inside the pod. The beetle, after emerging from the pupal skin, rested a considerable time before cutting its way through the cocoon and the wall of the pod, both of which have to be perforated before it ean effect its escape. Elditt supposed this period of rest to be a natural feature in the development, serving to give the integument of the beetle time to harden, but it seems more likely that it was a mere accident due to the fall of temperature owing to transporting the insect from a tropi- eal climate into a temperate one. ‘he time passed by the insect in its various stages was not observed. From the paucity of the specimens that he was able to procure, and from the absence of complaint on the ‘ subject amongst the druggists he consulted, Elditt concluded that the injury done by the insect to Cassia pods is insignificant. he figure shows the various stages of the insect, also much enlarged diagrams of the antenna and one of the legs of the imago. The size of the creature is dicated by hair lines. 16 Indian Museum Notes. { Vol. ILI. Writing from Bahraich, Oudh, on 23rd March 1891, Mr. J. Cockburn notes that he had observed moths of both Agrotis suffusa and Ochropleura flammatra, which are destructive cut-worms of the rabi and other crops. He noticed them from the 1st November up to the time he wrote, when their numbers were specially great. He added that they had been doing serious damage in the Sultanpore and Bahraich districts, five per cent. of the produce over an area of 9,400 bigas of Jandin Bahraich being said to have been destroyed by them. From Chupra (Bengal) also specimens of Ochropleura flammatra were forwarded in March 1891 to the Museum by Mr, J. A. Bourdillon, with the information that the insect had appeared in immense numbers. In the same month some obscure cut- worm larve were forwarded to the Museum by the Manager of the Di- ghaputya Wards Estate, Rajshahye, with the information that they had been injuring nearly full-grown potato (So/anwm Melongena) plants: In this case the insect is likely to have been dgrotis suffusa, which is known to attack potato plants in India, but the material is insufficient for precise identification. Cut-worms. The Bengal silk-worm fly Zrycolyga bombycis Becher is well known on account of the damage it does in rearing establishments in Bengal where the mulberry silk-worm (Bombyx sp.) is cultivated, and attention has recently been called to an allied insect which attacks the Tusser silk insect (Autherea mylitta) very much in the same way. In the collections of the Indian Museum Tusser Tachinid. there is a specimen preserved in alcohol of a full grown Tusser cater- pillar from Singhboom, which has been attacked by no less than fifteen grubs of the Tusser Tachinid. These grubs are yellowish white in colour, of the ordinary Tachinid shape, with a pair of easily seen mandibles in front and a pair of black stigmata behind. Four individuals were found inside the caterpillar’s body, and the remainder had cut their way out through irregular holes that were to be seen in different parts of the skin. Almost the whole of the tissues of the caterpillar had been devoured, no doubt while it was still alive, and the specimen that remains is little more than an empty skin. Many of its stigmata havea dark coloured patch on the inside, no doubt due to the grubs having attached themselves against the stigmata of their host in order to enable their own posterior stigmata to be in connection with the outer air. This somewhat unusual habit has also been recorded in the case of the- Uji fly (Udschimyta sericarié Rondani) which attacks mulberry silk- worms in Japan, and is a parasite with which the Tusser Tachinid seems to have some affinity. Specimens of the Tusser Tachinid were submitted to Mons. J. M. F. Bigot, who bas kindly examined them No. l. ] Miseelluneous Notes. Vy and reports that they belong to the species Masicera grandis (= Vachina grandis Walker, Ins. Saund. Volume I, page 278, 1856). In October 1891 Mr. J. R. Cripps of Chumparun forwarded speci- mens of the beetle Cictndela sexrpunctuta Fabr. which was said to devour the rice-sap- per (Leptocorisa acuta Thunb.) and to be very effectual in keeping it, in check. ‘The beetles were said to come from the buffalo dung which the cultivators were in the habit of putting into their paddy fields with the express object of rearing the insect in order to keep ' down. the numbers of the destructive réce-sapper. It is difficult to see what connection there could be between buffalo dung and Cicindelide, but it is worth noticing that a similar idea exists in the Punjab, where the prevalence of the Carabid beetle Calosoma orientale Hope, which proved usefal in destroying young locusts (Acridium perigrinum Oliv.)in the spring of 1891, was attributed in Kohat to the unusual quantity of the foeces of cattle leffi upon the roads, owing to the large number of transport animals whieh had recently passed through the district to the Miranzai Expedition. An enemy of the rice-sapper. In July 1891 a number of Dipterous larvee were forwarded to the Museum through the Caleutta Agri.-Horti- cultural Society, with the information that they had been attacking mangoes (JJaugi/era tudica) in Virhoot. The j larvee were found to be yellowish mag- Mango maggots, gots, about the size of small grains of boiled rice. They had the pointed head and truneated ab- domen so common amongst Dipterous larvee. When liber- ated from the pulp of the mango they progressed partly by crawling and partly by gathering the head and posterior together and leaping into the ai some four or five inches at a time. A mango in which the grubs were received was placed ona plate of damp earth in the Museum, and the grubs rapidly made their way out and tunnelled into the earth. Here they remained from the i3th B 18 Indian Museum Notes. Volt fit. to 22nd of July, when a large number of flies emerged. ‘hese flies proved to be identical with a specimen in the Museum coliection previously identified by Mons, J. M. F. Bigot as closely allied to the species Dacus Jerrugineus Fabr., they were therefore provisionally named Dacus ferru- gineus var. mangifere. They have since been compared by Mr. O. E. Janson with specimens in the British Museum and identified as belong- ing to the species Lacus ferruginens Fabr. The insect is no doubt the one reported on page 58 of Volume II of these notes as destructive to mangoes in Mozafferpore. According, however, to the observations of Messrs. Simmons and Blechynden in Calcutta, the insect generally confines itself,to over-ripe, injured, and decaying fruit; and it has been suggested that its excessive multiplication in the present case may have been due to previous injury to the mangoes by hail. ‘The figure shows the imago and pupa, the natural size is indicated by hair lines, In August 1891 a block of Makai wood (Shorea assamica) was received through the Dehra Dun Forest School, from the Deputy Conservator of Forests, Lakhimpur Division, Assam. It was found to be tunnelled in all directions by Cerambyeidee larve. A full grown beetle emerged short- ly after the block was received and proved to be closely allied to a speci- men in the Museum collection determined by Dr. Lameere as Neocer- ambyx holosericeus (= Molesthes holosericeus Gahan). Ut differs, however, from this species in possessing a series of spines on the antenne. A specimen of the Cucujid Hectarthrum brevifossum Newm, also emerged in Shorea assamica borers. the rearing cage from the same block, and may perhaps prove to be parasitic on the Cerambycid, With reference tothe Baluchistan Poplar Aigeriid (Sphecia ommatia- Jormis Moore), Mr. J. Cleghorn writes in April 1891, that he is now only able to find half-grown caterpillars, and that these are situated between the bark and the wood. ‘This tends to confirm the supposition that the insect’s life eycle is an annual one, and that the egys are laid in the autumn in the bark; the caterpillars would thus have time to get through the bark before the sap mounts in the spring, when they commence tunnelling into the heart of the wood. The percentage of attacked trees was found to be very much smaller in 1891 than in 1890,—a feature which Mr. Cleghorn attributes to the hardness of the winter of 1890-91. Poplar AMgeriid. In May 1891 the Conservator of the Forest School Cirele forwarded, from his camp near Chakrata in the North- Pinus excelsa Seolytid. , : : Faraone West Himalayas, a log of Prnus excelsa Nowe || Miscellaneous Notes. 19 attacked by a bark boring Scolytid, This insect was said to have attacked some trees that had been girdled and were dying, The specimens were submitted to Mr. W. F. H. Blandford who very kindly examined them and determined them as belonging toa species of Polygraphus near to the European form Polyyruphus pubescens Linn. For an account of P. pubescens, which Mr. Blandford thinks likely to prove similar in habits to the Pinus ewcelsa insect, see Miechhofft. Eur. Borkenkafer, page 122, (1881), In April 1891 some Melon (Cucurbitacea) seed attacked by the cater- pillar of a minute Microlepidopterous insect, was forwarded to the Museum from Peshin, Baluchistan, by Mr, J. Cleghorn. The eggs were thought to have been laid upon the seed in October. Throughout the winter the grubs fed upon the outer portion of the seeds and in April. when the seed is usually taken out to be sown, the caterpillars deserted it and formed their chrysalids on the sides of the bag in which the seed had been stored. The attempt that was made in the Museum to rear the moth for identification was not successful, but the insect is not thoaght to be of much importance. Melon seed moth. In July 1891 a number of insects were received through the Diree- tor of the Dehra Dun Forest School, from the Officiating Conservator of Forests, Central Cirele, North-Western Provinees and Oudh, with information that they had proved destructive to Chir (Piuus longifolia) in the Baldhoti plantation. The specimens were found to comprise four species of Acridide (wiz., Chrotogonus sp., Catantops cndreus, Caboptenus sp., and Cdulus sp.), al! said to nip off the young plants, also numerous obscure Cureulionid beetles and earwigs (Huplexoptera) said to be found in dying trees, and probably ‘therefore of but little importance. The Acridid responsible for most of the uipping off of the yourg c4ir trees is probably the Chrotogonus, of Chir pests, which numerous specimens were furnished. This insect is a very com- mon One in many parts of India, and has repeatedly been sent to the Indian Museum as destructive to crops, but no satisfactory method seems to have yet been discovered for dealing with it. The bran and arsenic insecticide, which is said to have been successfully used in the United ' States against some kinds of Acrididw, might perhaps be worth trying. It is made by mixing together one part of arsenic, one part of sugar, and six parts of bran, with a little water to form a paste. It should be sprinkled over the plantation for the Acrididz to eat, the greatest care, however, is necessary in using it on account of the poisonous nature of the arsenie. B2 3() Indian Musenm Notes. | Vol. TI. In a sample of wheat (Zr@decum sutivum) from Orissa, which was kept Trogositid beetle in Indian Under observation in the Indian Museum wheat. during the autumn of 1890, were found nu- merous small brown beetles (Trogozitidz), which seemed to be associated with the wheat weevil in destroying the grain. Specimens were sent to Mons. Fairmaire, who kindly examined them and reported that they belonged to the species Zrogosita maurilanicu Linn, Mons. Fairmaire adds that this insect has long been known on account of the damage done by its larve in wheat granaries, The imavo is thought to be carnivorous in its habits, and feeds on the small Tinied moths which are to be found in granaries. The insect is a cosmopolitan one, having no doubt been dis- tributed over the world with grain. The feure shows the imago with much enlarged diagrams of antenna and hind lee. The natural size of the insect is indicated by the hair line. The gaudily coloured caterpillar which have been noticed as defoliat- ing garden plants in Caleutta and Dehra, has recently been reared in the Musenm and found to belong to the Noctues moth Polytela gloriose Fabr. When full fed the caterpillars tunnelled into the ground, where they formed for themselves typical Noctues cells of hardened earth. ‘The first pupz were formed on 19th July, and the moths began to emerge on the 5th August. ‘The caterpillar may be observed at work throughout the rainy season ip Caleutta gardens where it does a2 good deal of damage to ornamental plants, and as the time spent by the chrysalis in the ground is shert, it is probable that the insect passes through a number of generations in the Crocus caterpillar. year, Some hairy caterpillars of a Lasiocampid moth, not previously re- Lasiocampid caterpillars in presented in the Indian Museum collection, Burma. were received in November 1891 through Mr, De-Niceville from Rangoon, with the information that the insect nad been very destructive. A letter, dated 5th December 1891, upon the subject, was subsequently forwarded from Mr. Neble of the Phayre Museum. In this letter the following report from the Northern Dévi- sion, Shwebo, Burma, was quoted, but the date of the appearance of the insect was not mentioned :— “The rain still holds off, and the winds are exceedingly high, unprecedentedly so. The people say—from these high winds blowing the people anticipate a heavy monsoox:, No. l. J Miscellaneous Notes. 2] and the circumstance which is said to indicate the approach of plentiful rain is a plague of a species of hairy caterpillar which literally covers the country, destroying the herbage and swarming on the roads to such an extent that thousands of them must be trodden under foot by passing wayfarerse Contact with the hairs produces irritation and even sores. The caterpillar is said to turn into a species of yellow butterfly or moth about August. Burmese name Pagaungde or Rugaungde.” The specimens have been forwarded to Mr. I’. Moore?! for favour of determination, and further information is awaited from Burma. Mr, R. If. Morris of Mysore sent (21st April 1891) a series of moths which he has reared from the Mysore coffee ringer caterpillars noticed in Volume II, page 7, of these Notes. Five of these moths belonzed to the species Agrotis segetum Schiff., while the sixth was a Heltothis armigera Hibn., which is not thought likely to have been connected with the “ringing ” of the young coftee plants. Comparing these specimens with the ones noticed on page 7 of Volume II of these Votes, we find that out of eight moths reared from caterpillars thought to be the destructive coffee ringers of Mysore, six belong to the species Ayrotis segetum, one to the species /leliothis armi- gera, and one toa species which has been identified through the kind help of Mr. F. Moore as Orthosea bicornis Hampson. It may be con- cluded that Agrotzs segetum is the insect chiefly concerned in the injury to the coffee (Coffea arabica) plants. With regard to the practicability of poisoning such caterpillars by strewing the ground with succulent cabbage leaves sprinkled with London purple, as has been recommended by the United States Entomologist (vide page 33 of Volume I of these No/es), some London purple was sent to Mr. Morris for experiment, but he writes that, though it certainly poisons the caterpillars, the cost and difficulty of laving down the poisoned leaves over so large an area as a coffee estate, are prohibitive. Mysore coffee ringer. In March 1892 specimens were forwarded by the Director of the rae etl Forest School, Dehra, of an Aphid which was found attacking the leaves of Bamdusa arundinacea in the school compound. ‘The insect covered the leaves with a black sticky gum whick was in such quantities that it fell off in drops. Nhe insect is unnamed in the Museum collection, and specimens have therefore been forwarded to Kurope for comparative examination. In July 1890 an obscure Geometrid caterpillar, insufficient for precise 1 The insect has since been identified by Mr. Moore as a new species of Spalzria, which he is describing as Spalyria minor. 29 Indian Museum Notes. EC Welk Wet identification, was forwarded by Messrs, Mackinnon, Mackenzie & Co., from Nowgong, Assam, where the insect was said to have been damaging the tea (Camellia theifera) bushes. Geometrid caterpillars have not previously been reported as doing any appreciable damage to tea, and the present insect therefore is not expected to be of much importance. Geometrid caterpillar on tea. Insects said to infest the Zerminalia belerica tree in the Thana dis- trict, Bombay, were forwarded to the Museum in February 1891 by Mr. F. Gleadow of the Forest Department. The insects were found to be of two kinds—(1) a Terminalia belerica pests. Bostryenid borer, identical with specimens reported on by Dr. Gunther of the British Museum as Simoaylon sp., and (2) a small Cucujid which has been submitted to Mons. Fairmiare, who has kindly examined it, and reports that it belongs to the species Lamotmetus insignis Grouville, The Cucujid is not hkely to do much damage, but the Bostrychid is very probably destructive. Amongst the enemies of wild silk-worms in India may be noticed Ichnenmonid destructive to @ large yellow Ichneumonid received from wild silk insects. Hazaribagh, where if was said to attack the caterpillars of Cricula trifenesirata, The same insect has been bred in the Indian Museum for a caterpillar of the Hesperid butterfly 7elegonus thrar, also from a cocoon of the wild silk insect Anther@s royiec. In the latter case it had destroyed the chrysalis and filled the eoeoon with its own pupal cells as shown in plate 9, fie. e, of volume II of these Notes, The Indian Museum also contains specimens from Sikkim, bred by the late Mr. Otto Moller, both from the butterfly Zedegonus thrux and also from the wild silk insect Antheraa frithi, The specimens in the Museum collection agree in general markings with the description of Pimpla punctator, Linn, as given by Vollenhoven in the Stettin Ento- mologische Zeitung, volume 40, p. 143, 1879. As however Vollenhoven gives Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes, and China as the habitat of the species, and as the only measurement which he gives of the length of body is 11 millimetres, while the average length of both male and female specimens (excluding the ovipositor) in the Indian Museum collection is 17 millimetres, the specimens being very constant in size> it seems best for the present to look upon the Indian form as a variety. This variety may be provisionally named Pempla cricule, so as to prevent confusion in the event of its proving distinet from P. punctator Linn.} 1 The specimens have since been submitted to Mr, P. Cameron, who notices (Mem. and Proc. Manchester Lit. and Philos. Soc., 1890-91) that they belong to the special Pimpla punctator Linn. a species which he remarks is widely distributed over the oriental region. Mr. Cameron also notices the species Pimpla zebra Vollenheven as bred from Cricula trifenestrata. No. 1. ] Miscellaneous Notes. 23 The following miscellaneous pests have been determined for the Determination of miscclla- Museum by Mr, Oliver IX. Janson :— neous pests, t (1) A Dipterous insect said to attack mangoes (Jangifera indica) in Lower Bengal. This was compared with specimens in the British Museum and identified as Dacus ferrugineus Fabr. (2) Cantharidez said to damage erops of yellow cholum (? Sor- ghum vulgere) in Madras. ‘These were compared with spe- cimensnamed by Dr, Hanq, and identified as belonging to the two species Hpicuuta rouai Cast. and Hpicauta tenui- colli Pall. (3) Tenebrionide said to attack young linseed (Linum usitatissi- mum) and wheat (Uritzcnm sativum) plants in Katwa, Ben- gal, determined as Opatrum depressum Faby. (4) Dermestidz destructive to stored wheat (7'riticum sativum) in the Delhi bazaar, identified as Mthriostoma undulata Motsch. . (5) Bostrychide said to have been found boring into the stem of a guava tree (Psidium Guaia) in Hazaribagh, identified as Bostrychus sp., Sinonaylon sp., and Cenophrada anobioides. Waterhouse. ‘the last species was identified after comparison with the type specimens, (6) Curculionide reported as destructive to Hibiscus plants in Durbhunga, identified after comparison with the original type specimen, as Desmedophorus hebes Fabr. (7) Cureulionidse reported as destructive to garden plants in Durbhunga, identified as Astycus lateralis Fabr. (8) White-ants forwarded from Balasore in December 1588, compared with the original type specimen and identified ‘as Lermes taprobanes Walker. In the Memotrs and Proceedings of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, 1890-91, Mr. P. Cameron describes and figures the following insects which he has been so kind as to examine, It 1s hoped that the insects will shortly be returned so that the type speci- mens may be preserved in the collections of the Museum :— (1) Platygaster oryze n. sp. (plate 1, figs, 6 and 8) bred by Mr. Wood-Mason from Cecidomyia oryze W. M., a midge said to have proved destructive to paddy (Oryza sativa) in Monghyr in October 1880, , 1 The species Opatrum micans is recorded as injurious to crops by Miss Ormerod. (Injurious lusects of South Africa, p. 19). . 24. Indian Museum. Notes. [ Vol. II. (2) Aphelinus thee n. sp. (plate I, figs. 5 and 5a) bred Ly Mr. F. W. H. Miles from the tea scale insect Cheonaspox thee Maskell. (3) Pteromatus oryze n. sp. (plate I, figs. 2 and 2a), believed to be parasitic on the rice weevil Calandra oryz@ Linn. (4) Cotesia flavipes n. sp. (plate I, figs. 38 and 8a) bred in the Museum from caterpillars of the destructive sorghum borer Diatre@a sp. received from Poona. Specimens of the Cerambycid beetle Stomatium barbatum, Fabr., were forwarded to the Museum in June 1891 by the Director of the Forest School, Dehra, with the information that they had been damaging wood specimens in the School Museum. A block of khair wood (Acacia Catechu) that was forwarded with the beetles was found to have the whole of the sap wood riddled with tunnels made by the larve, ‘These tunnels were tightly packed with the powdered wood that had been eaten out and probably passed through the digestive organs of the grub. The hard heart wood Stromatium barbatum. was untouched. The Cassid Aspidomorpha misitaris Fabr., has been reared in the rie atin can Museum upon convolvulus (Conroloulacea) leaves. Young Jarvee received on 7th July became adult on 29th of the same month, by 20th September these imagos had laid a large number of egg cap- sules, which pro- duced voung larvee. In the rains in Cal- eutta, therefore, this insect takes little over two months to complete the cycle of its existence. The egg capsules are large oblong agolutinated mass- es, sometimes more than half an inch in length. The larvee are the little spined creatures shown in the figure. They shed their skins at intervals, the cast skins remaining No. 1. J Miscellaneous Notes. 25 attached to the spines at the posterior of the abdomen. In the pupa, see figure, these cast skins are dropped. The insect is not known at present todo any damage to crop in India, but it is one of those eommon species which are always liable to multiply to sucban extent as to prove destructive as defoliators. The figure shows the imago dorsal view, the pupa dorsal and ventral view, three stages of the larva, and ego capsule, all natural size, also front view of the head and one of the legs both inuch enlarged. Attention was called in December 1891 to damage done to Arhar pulse (Cajaans tndicus), stored in Calcutta, by Bruchus chinensis Linn. This insect is the common gram weevil of Lower Bengal, and is often very troublesome. Stored pulse pest. In March 1891 specimens of an insect, said to injure gal/-nut trees (2 Teminalta Chebula) on the Kambakkan hills, were sent to the Indian Museum, through the Dehra Forest School, by the District Forest Officer, Chingle- put, Madras. The specimens proved to be little cone-shaped larval case Gall-nut tree defoliator. of a Psychid moth, They were a little larger in size but otherwise indistinguishable from the larval cases of the species Bahula groted Moore, a species which often defoliates ornamental shrubs in Calcutta gardens. In December 1891 information was received through Messrs. Mitchell, Reid & Co., of the presence in small numbers of the Coccid Chionaspis thea Mas- kell (= Aspidiotus thea green MS.) on tea (Camellia Thea) in the Kangra valley. Theceurious little fluted scales of the male insect of this species Scale insects on tea. were represented in considerable numbers upon the leaves that were sent to the Museum for examination. No particular harm seems to have been done as yet by this insect, but it is one to be watched carefully as it has now established itself upon tea both in the Himalayas and in Ceylon, and may at any time prove destructive. It is satisfactory to learn that the kerosine and soap emulsion which have been recommended for use against this insect have been used successfully in the Kangra valley. According to a note furnished by Mr. J. Sinclair, the large jungle bee Apis dorsata is more abundant on rocks at from 2,00 to 3,000 feet elevation, under the 19th, 20th, and 2]st degrees N. Latitude, in the Ghats, Decean, and Konkan, than in any other position in that region. It is, however, Apis dorsata. found in old buildings (and sometimes in new ones), upon large trees and 26 Indian Museum Notes. Pio UUs in other suitable positions pretty commonly throughout the Regulation Districts of Bombay from sea-level upwards. On the upper Ghats (as at Mahableshwar), it perforce confines itself to rocks and buildings, for big trees where it can build its nest in safety are searce. A note written some years ago by Mr. M. H. Clifford, late of the : Forest Department, has receatly been found Pee amonest some old papers in Dehra. Ac- cording to this note native hakims extract a kind of oil from the large velvety red mites (Tetranychus sp.), commonly known as red spiders or Birbhotd in the North-West Provinces, The oil is sold for medicinal pur- poses at a high price, and even the insects themselves fetch as much as a rupee per tola, It will be interesting to learn if anything further is known of the medicinal virtues attributed to this mite. Mr. T, H. Middleton of the Baroda College, writing in August 1891, notices a good deal of damage to sugar- cane (Saccharum officinarum) on the Baroda College farm by an insect which is known locally as Narhote, and which, from the description, appears to be the well known sugarcane borer Diatrea saccharalis, He also notices a voracious hairy caterpillar from an inch to an inch-and-a-quarter in length, and red, brown, or nearly black in colour, which appears after the first fall of rain, and is very abundant Insect pests in Baroda. for about three weeks, after which it disappears as suddenly as it came. It chiefly attacks young plants, and plants growing along the surface of the ground. It is known by the natives as Katra, and is no doubt the larvee of one of the Bombyces moths, many of whigh are injurious defohators. In August 1890 specimens of paddy (Oryza sativa) injured by insects were forwarded to the Museum, through the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Bengal, from the Collector of Hooehly. With the paddy stalks were Insect pests in Hooghly. found specimens of the two Chrysomelid heetles Hispa enescens Baly and Aulacophora abdominalis Fabr. The damage is likely to have been chiefly due to the tirst of these insects, which is a well known rice pest in Lower Bengal. a Specimens have been received, through the Central Museum, Madras, of some insects said to have proved injurious Insect pests in South Arcot. : : 6 to chambu (Pencillaria spicata) and cholum (Sorghum vulgare) in the South Arcot District in December 1891. The insects prove to belong to two species, the first of these is Negara No. 1.J Miscellaneous Notes. 27 virtdula Linn.—a cosmopolitan Pentatomid which has previously been sent to the Museum as occurring on potato (Solanum tuberosum) halms in Bangalore. The second is a smail Capsid, which is as yet unnamed in the Museum collection. Specimens are being sent to Europe for precise identification. In a paper published in the Journal of the Agri.- Horticultural Society, Calcutta, Vol. VIII, 1890, Mr. W. Cold- stream gives further particulars. of his at- tempts to cultivate Tusser silk worms {Antherea mylitta) in the Punjab. The experiments were chiefiy conducted in Hoshiarpur and Lahore, and they extended through several years. The outturn of cocoons seems to have been very unsatisfactory, but as the result of his experiments, Mr. Coldstream concludes that the cultivation of the Tusser silk worm, as a cottage industry, is by no means impossible in the submontane districts of Northern India where the Zizyphus jujuba tree flourishes. Tusser in the Punjab. In July 1890 a specimen of the Acridid Pecilocera picta Fabr. was furnished, through the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Bombay, from the Assistant Political Agent, Jhalawa, Kathiawar. ‘he insect was known locally as K/aped7. It was said to breed in June, July, and Augrst and to damage the young crops. Ké/apedi seems to be the general local name for Acridid grasshoppers of all kinds, and Pweilocera picta Faby. is likely to be only one of a number of Acridide of loeal origin which proved injurious to young kharif crops in Kathiawar and Sind in the rainy season of 1890. Peecilocera picta. In the early part of September 1892 numerous specimens of the Acridid pacromia dorsalis Thunb., were for- warded to the Indian Museum by the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Bombay, with the informa- tion that they had been attacking young kharif crops in the Upper Sind Frontier district. According to a report subsequently furnished by the Deputy Collector of this district, the young jowari (Sorghum vulgare) crop over an area of 570 acres was destroyed by this insect in the early part of the kharif season of 1891. The Deputy Commissioner adds— “these insects appear generally on the lands situated in the vicinity of tae hills stretching along the northern bank of the Desert Canal, and eause considerable damage to germs of kharif crops while the sowing operations are still in pregress.” Epacromia dorsalis in Sind. 1 Mons. Lethierry has since examined this insect. He determines it as a new species of Calocoris which he is describing under the name of Calocoris angustatus. I Indian Museum Notes. L Wells JO. In February 1592 information was received through Messrs. Jardine, Skinner & Co,., of considerable injury to young tea (Camellia theifera) bushes in the Western Doars by Acridide. Of the insects forwarded to the Agents, some were identical with specimens in the Museum collection determined bv Dr. De Saussure as his Catantops indicus, while others seemed to be a variety of the same species, characterized by the absence of striped mark- Acridide attacking tea. ings onthe posterior femora. Two specimens of the species Acridium flavicorne Fabr. were after- wards forwarded as associated with the insect first reported. In the end of February the Manager wrote that he had been to a great extent suecessful in destroying the insects, and that he had not heard of their appearing on any of the neighbouring gardens. The method adopted was hand-collecting by children and coolies, who were paid two annas per hundred insects. Up to the date of his letter, the Manager estimated that he had destroyed 31,770 insects in this way, with the result that: they were getting so much scarcer that, at the time he wrote, the coolies were only bringing in about 25 per cent. of the daily number they had been able to obtain when hand-collecting was first started. Specimens of the Acridid Aecridium aeruginosum Burmeister were Acridide in Vizagapatam forwarded, in the early part of August 1891, and Cuddapah. through the Madras Museum, from the Coai- lectorate of Vizagapatam and also from that of Cuddapah for identifica- tion. In the case of the specimens from Vizagapatam the females were found to have their ovaries crammed with ripe eggs. Acridium e@rugi- nosum, therefore, is likely to have been the insect referred to by the Collector of Vizagapatam, who wrote on | 8th July that a flight of locusts had recently visited the Royaghada taluk in hig district and caused slight damage to the standing crops. He noticed that these locusts appeared to have laid eggs which had hatched. ‘The winged insects had disappeared, but the young locusts were still to be found on the hills at the time the report was made. Acridium aruginosum is one of the six local species of Acrididze which have been reported as concerned in the Madras Jocust invasion of 1878. The flight of locusts, therefore, which visited the Vizagapatam District in July 1891 must not be confused with the flights which had previously invaded the whole of the Madras Presidency, and which consisted of insects belonging to the very different species Acridium peregrinum Oliv. which had made its way across India from the North-West Frontier. Unfortunately no record is forthcoming of the part played by the six local species of Acrididze which were reported in connection with the No. 1.1 Miscellaneous Notes, 29 Madras Jocust invasion of 1878, but it may be worth noticing that in the set of specimens that reached the Indian Museum, as responsible for the damage that was done in 1878, Acridium eruginosum was represented by more specimens than any of the other species, so it may perhaps have been the insect referred to by the writers of most of the reports, who seem to have noticed but one kind of insect. In November 1891 a number of Acridide were forwarded as the locusts which had lately appeared in the Chieacole Taluk of the Ganjam Collectorate. The spe- cimens proved to belong to no less than six very distinct species of grass- hoppers. ‘The following is a list of them: (1) Meroglyphus fureifer Sauss. (seven specimens of which five were immature), (2) Oya veloe Burm. (two immature specimens), (3) Acrida turrita Linn, (two mature specimens), (4) Huprepocuemis braminu Sauss. (two mature specimens), (5) Atractumorphu crenulata Fabry. (one mature specimen),\(6) Apacromia, dorsalis Yhunb. (one mature specimen), ‘These species are all likely to attack plants and may perhaps do some damage to crops over restricted areas, but none of them are known to occasion any such widespread injury as that which is often done by Acrididz in Gangam. migratory locusts. In April 1891 a number of Acridide collected in Meywar were forwarded to the Museum, through the Gov- ernment of India, from the Agent to the Governor-General in Rajputana. They were thought to have been associated with the locust invasion of Meywar, but it is more probable that they were merely representatives of local species of Acridide that were to be found after the flights of the true locust (derzdium peregrinum Oliv.) had passed away. The insects have been compared with the speci- mens in the Museum collection named by Dr. De Saussure, and have been identified as fellows: ten specimens of Catantops indicus Sauss., four specimens of Chrotogonus trachypterus Blanch, oue specimen “Lpacromia dorsalis Thunb,, and three specimens doubtfully identified as 7'ridopidia tnuudata Viunb. Acridide in Meywar. A number of specimens of the large green Acridid Paecilocera picta “a & Fabr, were forwarded to the Indian Museum Acrididz in Godavari. ; ; : : 6 in October 1€91 from the Godavari District. Details of the damage done by this insect have not yet been procured. 30 Indian Museum Notes. £ Vol. IE. In September 1890 some Acridide, known locally as Kat foring, were forwarded, through the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Bengal, from the Deputy Collector of Howrah, with the information that they had been damaging the immature ears of paddy (Oryza sativa). The insects were Acridide in Howrah. found to comprise a single individual of the species Catantops axillaris Sauss., and seven specimens of a species of Huprepocuemis unnamed in the Museum ecollecticn. The following Locustide and Acridide were forwarded in June 1891 Grasshoppers associated with by Captain G. C, Parsons, Deputy Commis- locusts in Kohat. sioner of Kohat. They were found associated with the destructive locust. deridium peregrinum Oliv. in Kohat, but this association is thought likely to have been accidental only. It may be useful, however, to record the species that were prevalent at the time that the locusts appeared. The syecies sent to the Museum were as follows:—(1) A species of Mecapeda (liocustide) male and female. (2) Acridium melanocorne Serv. (Acridide), khaki coloured insect with no very definite wing markings. (8) Acridium eruginosum Burm., with stripes on the back and sides of the prothorax. (4) Small grasshoppers whieh have been determined as Lpacromza dorsalis Thunb., Huprepo- cnemts bramina ? Sauss., and Sphingonolus sp. A very interesting series of reports on the subject of the destruction caused amongst locusts of the species dcrt- dium peregrinum Oliv, in the Punjab, by the Rosy pastor (Pastor roseus Linn.), which is known as the Saue/, Tidia, ov Jowari bird, have been furnished by the Secretary to the Government of India in the Revenue and Agricultural Department. Reports also that have been furnished through the Director of Land Records and Agrieul- ture in Bombay show that the same bird has long been noticed as very effectual im destroying locusts in Sind. The species to which the bird belongs has been determined by Mr. W. L. Sclater from specimens received from Bannu, Kohat, and Gujranwala, forwarded to the Museum by the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Punjab, throaeh whom also most of the reports have been procured. In view of the great effect which the bird undoubtedly has in keeping the locusts in check, it has been suggested in several quarters that it might be a good thing to take measures to have it protected by legislation. It seems very doubtful, however, to what extent any such measures would be useful in the end, in view of the great injury which the bird is said to do to grain crops in India. The following account of Pastor roseus, Linn (the rose-coloured Star- The Rosy pastor versus locusts. No, 1. ] Miscellaneous Notes. 3i ling or Rosy pastor) is taken from Jerdon’s Birds of India, Volume II, page 333 :— “It usually makes its appearance in the Deccan and Carnatic about November, associating in vast flocks, and committing yreat devastations on the grain fields, more specially on those of the cholum or jowaree (Andropogon sorghus), whence its familiar name in the south. Mr. Elliot, in his manuscript notes quoted in my catalogue, says: ‘Is very voracious and injurious to the crops of white jowaree,’ in the fields of which the farmer is obliged to station numerous watchers, who, with slings and a Jong rope or thong, which they crack dexterously, making a loud report, endeavour to drive the depredators away. The moment the sun appears above the horizon they are on the wing, and at the same instant shouts. cries, and the cracking of, the long whips resound from every side. The Tilliaers, however, are so active that if they are able to alicht on the stalks for an instant, they can pick out several grains. About 9 or 10 o’clock a.m, the exertions of the watchmen cease, and the Tilliaers do not renew their plundering till evening. After sunset they are seen in flocks of many thousands re- tiring to the trees and jungles for the night. They prefer the half-ripe jowaree, whilst the farinaceous matter is still soft and milky. When they can no longer get grain, they feed on various grass and other seeds, flower-buds, fruit, and also on insects, seek- ing them on the ground, but they are rarely seen with cattle in India. The Telugu name is derived from the name of a plant whose fruit they are particularly fond of. Mr. Blyth remarks that ‘ they visit the neighbonrhood of Caleutta only at the end of the cool season, when flocks of them are not unfrequently observed upon the arboreal cotton tree then in bloom.’ “ Burgess states that he has seen them busily feeding on the flowers of the leafless caper, a shrub very common in the Deccan, on the banks of the larger rivers. Dr. Adams says that ‘it is very abundant in the Punjab, committing great havoc on the erain there.’ In the north-west of India, and in Afghanistan, they devour large quantities of mulberries in spring, hence called the ‘ Mulberry-bird’ in the north- west, disappearing afterwards. hey at times, however, feed much on insects, and are called the ‘ locast-eater’ in Persia, according to Chesney. They de not breed in this country, quitting the south of India in March, but lingering in the north a month or so longer. It is ascertained that they breed in vast numbers in Syria and other parts of Western Asia, in rocky cliffs. Burgess states his belief that they breed in India somewhere, and was informed by a native that they do breed inthe Ghats. This how- ever is, doubtless, totally without foundation. Mr. Layard states that one year he saw large flocks of these birds in July, that they remained only a week, and then disappeared. They were entirely unknown to the Natives. Burgess also states that in 1850, to- wards the end of August, he saw a large flock of the rose-coloured sturlings feeding on insects in an open field. These instances of their appearing so early are very unusual, and more especially their occurrence in Ceylon in July, by which time the young could only have been just fairly fledged.” Mr. M. F. O’Dwyer, Settlement Collector of Gujranwala, quotes an interesting Hindoo legend, to the effect that in response to the prayers of the people, the locusts have been imprisoned in a deep valley, surrounded by impenetrable mountains in the west of the Himalayas. The exits from this valley are guarded by Zil/iars (rosy pastors), commissioned by heaven for the purpose. Now and then, when the sentinels fail in their duty of watch and ward, the locusts escape and are hotly pursued by the 32 Indian Museum Notes. ee IIL. Tilliars, who, unable to drive then back to their prison in the » hille, slay them wholesale. The origin of this legend is supposed to be the fact that the locusts and Viliiars venerally arrive in Gujranwala from the direction of the hills at about the same time in the spring. It has been noticed also that when the locusts enter a grain field the 77//iurs do not pursue them into it, but station themselves all round its borders and kill the locusts is they issue forth. The following are abstracts of the information that has been received upon the subject of this bird :— The locusts in parts of Sind in 1889-90 were reported to have been exterminated by jowari birds, which did not attempt to eat the locusts, but snipped them in two and left them. In Khandesh also, in 1883, the jowari bird or rose pastor was men tioned by Mr. Ommanney as a great enemy of the locusts.!’ (Annxal Report, Di- rector of Land Records and Agriculture, Bombay, 1889-90). In the Civil and Military Gazette of 24th July 1891 it is reported that a bird known by the Afghans as Sanch has appeared in vast numbers in the provinces of Jellalabad and Lataband, and done much good in destroying locusts. Major H. P. Leigh, Depury Commissioner, Kokat, writes (27th August 1891), that all the natives he has questioned agree in describing the Sanch bird, said to have appeared in such large numbers in Afghanistan, as a Z'diar (starling or rosy pas- tor). This bird appears in Kohat in large numbers, mixed up with large flocks of Kabu! sparrows, when the mulberries are ripe, and wigrates down coun‘ry, re-appearing In the autumn on its way north. The flocks chatter tremendously and dash from tree to tree, but have not been noticed on the ground. The bird is known in Kohat as Han- gira, and it preys on the locust, though curiously enough it has been almost a stranger in Kohat during the past year, perhaps because it found such abundant food among the locust swarms in Afghanistan and adjacent countries. It is said that the Kangira if in small numbers, will not face a dense flight of locusts. In a letter, dated 29th August 1891, Major H. P. Leigh, Deputy Commis- sioner, Kohat, recorded the alleged destruction of a flight of locusts by the rosy pastor. Specimens of the bird were at the same time forwarded to the Indian Museum and identified by Mr. W. L. Sclater. The Tehsildar, who was sent from Kohat to arrange for the destruction of some locusts which has appeared in the neighbourhood, reported that the swarm had been destroyed by the starling. He watched them for some time, and noticed that, after killing a dozen or so of insects, the bird would fly off to water. cleanse its bill, and begin again, appearing rather to kill the locusts for amusement than for food, as it ere them in the most mutilated condition. The Deputy Commissioner, Dera Ghazi Khan, wrote (26th August 1891) he the common Zil/iar or starling (rosy pastor) eats locusts greedily. On one occasion in July, when flights of lccusts invaded the station of Dera Ghazi Khan, tne Zid/iars were said to have flown out ina swarm to meet them and attacked them fiercely. The locusts tried to avoid them but did not succeed in doing so, and were beaten off. ‘The damage done in the station was consequently very slight. ‘The Z7i//iars are most numer- ous in Vera Ghazi Khan from_about the middle of July to the end of August. 1 ‘The locusts referred to by Mr. Ommanney probably belonged to the species Aecré- dium succinctum Linn., which invaded the whole of the Boubay, Deccan and Konkan in the years 1$82-83. Noss] Miscellaneous Notes. 33 Specimens of the Rosy pastor (Pastor roseus) were forwarded (8th September 1891) by Dr. F. Chand, Civil Surgeon, Gujranwala, as very effectual in destroying locusts, The Deputy Commissioner, Dera Ismail Khan, wrote (Ist September 1891) that Sanch is believed to be the Yusafzai-Pashtu for a starling known as Zilliar in Hindi and Sirokka in Pashtu. He noted that the bid eats, or rather destroys, locusts in a most voracious manner. . On 7th October 1891 specimens of the Saxch bird, said to have destroyed a large number of locusts in the Bannu district, were forwarded to the Indian Museum by the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Punjab. They were identified by Mr. W. L. Sclater as belonging to the species Pastor roseus Linn. (Rosy pastor). The Acting Deputy Commissioner of Thar and Parkar, Sind, reports (21st Dec- ember 1891) that the jowari birds have very materially assisted in clearing the district of locusts. . The Deputy Commissioner, Lahore, notices that the Naib Muhafiz Daftar of Peshawar, informs him that Saxch is the Pathan name for tbe bird known in Lahore as Tilliar (Rosy pastor). A tachinid parasite has heen discovered which attacks the winged form of the locust Aertdium peregrinum Oliv. In June 181 it was reported that the locusts in Sind were dying in large numbers from the attack of this parasite, and there is evidence also to show that it was to be found amongst locusts in other places. The attempts that have been made in the Indian Museum to rear the parasite have not as yet been very successful, and the paucity of the specimens that have been sent to the Museum tends to show that the parasite is scarcer than has been supposed. In any case, however, the occurrence of a parasite which must necessarily cause the death of every locust it attacks, is of interest, as the species may at any time increase so as to become a most effectual check upon the multipli- cation of the locusts, and in this case it would be a very valuable ally as it attacks the winged locusts, which are just the ones that are most dilli- cult to deal with by artificial methods, The habits of the parasite have only been partially traced as yet, but what has been observed corresponds so closely with the habits that obtain amongst other members of the same group of insects that we may safely infer the remainder. The parasite isa two-winged tly, not unlike a very large house fly. It is related to the Trycolyga bombycis Becher, which attacks silk worms in Bengal. Like other ‘lachinids it no doubt deposits itseggs upon the locust’s body, and the grubs that have been found attached to the muscles in the thoracic cavity of the locust are no doubt the ones that have hatched out from these eges and tunnelled their way through the tissues. The grubs that have been found are white legless larvee about the size of large grains of boiled rice. They have their anterior end pointed and armed with a pair of sharp mandibles. When full-grown they no doubt cut their way out of the locust’s body and make their way into the ground, where they transform into little brown bean-shaped pupa, and in this state they lie until the bean-shaped pupal ease splits and the fly emerges realy to seek a mate and to lay eves of its own, Tachinid locust parasite. Cc 34, Indian Museun Notes. [ Vol. III. The following notes show how the question now stands— On dissecting a specimen of tiie locust Acri/ium peregrinum Oliv. taken by Dr. L, A. Waddell in the Red Sea on 29th August 1490, grubs of a Yachinid parasite were found embedded in the tissues of the thorax. One of the specimens of nearly all the undetained citizens laboured, for one rupee was given for each maund weighed. ‘The troors also, and the boys of the large High School, were engaged in destroying them. Their collection was very simple, as they could be shaken off the trees by thousands into sheets held below. Four men could collect a maund in very little time. ‘There were three weighing stations established, and the District Funds were freely drawn upon. Some 40 paid labourers were entertained for special destruction in difficult places, but the paid labourer, unless watched the whole day long, contents himself with simply driving the insects about instead of killing them with his flail. On the energy of Mr. Casson, the Assistant Commissioner, seconded by Tahsildar Abdul Quyum, the success of the operations depended. Both these officers worked with a will. Mr. Casson spent several days in trying to save the municipal garden by himself setting an example in manuallabour. Owing to Lis energy and the tahsildars’ the destruction was very wholesale. After ten days the majority of the hoppers moulted their skins, and after waiting to get strength of wing, by degrees the whole of them left the station, where in any case there was no food left for them. “ As to the time locusts lay their eggs there is great room for conjecture. At the present moment (or at any rate to within the last few days) in the western portion of the district the Acridium peregrinum was obtainable in every phase of development from the eggs to the fully-fledged inseet. The process of ege-hatching has therefore continued from the beginning of April to the beginning of June in a tract of country where the difference of elevation only causes a slight change of climate. It may be that the presence of hills accounts for this disere;ancy, eggs in lills either taking longer to hatch or being laid later. A Financial CU ommissioner’s circular of 1884 says that July is the ovipositing month of the Punjab locust, but I don’t think this can be the case. Itis more likely, as Dr. Cotes states, that August, September, and October are the months for the seeond layings. I do not think the recently fledged insects now flying about will lay for some time. It should be curious to see when the next swarms of larvie will appear in this district (for the ones now appearing must be late ones of the April or spring brood). If the larvee appear again during this autumn, it will be clear that there are without doubt two laying seasons in this quarter. ‘The enemies of locusts were birds, beetles, and dogs, and the locusts also preved upon one another. Birds did them very little damage, only attacking them occasionally. Pariah dogs devoured hoppers with relish. A black beetle, probably of the kind Mr. Merk sent aspecimen of to Calcutta, attacked them with avidity. These beetles seem to be bred out of the fieees of the cattle, from whieh nest they appear in great numbers after the dropping is a day or two old. The large numbers of trans- port animals which have recently passed through the district to the Miranzai Expedi- tion have caused the origin of large quantities of these beetles, and they were the locusts’ most determined foe. When the hopper has just moulted his skin he is for some kours a most helpless creature, and in this state is often made a prey of by active hoppers still unfledged. Being uo entomologist, I offer the remarks about the speci- mens I send with diffidence, but any contribution of information is of value in connee- tion with an insect of which the best informed know very little.” In the spring and early summer of 1891 the whole of Northern Africa was invaded by locusts of the species Acridum peregrinum Oliv. ‘This locust (unlike the insect which proved injurions in Algeria in the years 1887-89) is the Locusts in Northern Africa. No. 1. ] Miscellaneous Notes. 3G one which has been destructive during the past few years in India, so the history of the invasion and the measures taken to combat it in Africa are of particular interest. Besides being destructive in India, Acredinm peregrinum has been very prevalent, during the past few years, in Baluchistan, Persia, and along the Red Sea coasts, and the invasion of North Africa shows that the unusual multiplication of the species has not been confined to those of its breeding grounds which lie in South. Eastern Asia. Acridium peregrinum has long been known to breed in the Sahara desert, and every few years it invades the cultivated land to the north, Algeria in particular is so subject to invasion from this species that a regular system of combating it has had to be inaugurated by the French Government. In the present year ‘Tunis and Egypt seem to have been the chief sufferers. Aigeria and Morocco, however, have also been invaded, while Tripoli has escaped. Some excellent reports have been most courteously furnished, through the Government of India, by the British Consuls in Tunis, Algeria, Tripoh, and Egypt. In the cases of Tunis, and Algeria, the insect is specifically identified in the reports as belonging to the species Acradium peregrinum : in the case of Egypt it isreferred toas Acridium migratorium, but as the specimens that have been picked up and sent to the Indian Museum by passing ships in the Red Sea, have invariably belonged to the species Acridinm peregrinum, which has also been received from Persia and Baluchistan, it will probably be found that the locust which has invaded Keypt is the one so universally prevalent both to the east and also to the west of that country. The history of the invasion of Northern Africa in 1891 has been very similar to that of previous invasions of the same region by tls loeust. The chief flights arrived in the spring from the direction of the Sahara desert, and laid eees which hatched in the early summer. The young locusts, which emerged from these eggs, acquired wings by the middle of the summer, and by the latter part of the summer seem to have nearly completely disappeared. A good deal of damage was dene to the crops in Egypt, Tunis, and Algeria, and most energetic measures seem to have heen organized by the respective Governments for combat- ing the pest, the result being on all hands admitted to have been very successful. The methods adopted seem to have been very similar to those used in India, They consisted chiefly in destroying the young locusts by driving them into pits or lines of fire, in frightening the winged fliehts off the crops, and in collecting the eggs. Of these measures the destruction of the young wingless locusts appears to have been the most generally successful, In Tunis 2 new agent that seems to have been very useful, both in destroying the young locusts and also in lessening the terrible smell which arises from their dead bodies was 40 Indian Museum Notes. Diol tip creosote oil. This substance, which is known as “ Huile lourde,” is de- scribed as a product obtained by distilling coal tar: 20,000 kilos. of it were obtained from Oran, where the invention orivinated, for employment, in places where fuel was scarce, but the destructive effects of the liquid, combined with its antiseptic properties, caused it to be universally pre- ferred in Tunis to the former system of burning or crushing the locusts, The liquid costs from 1] to 13 franes per 100 kilos. It is mixed with one-andeachalf times its bulk of water, and is used both for sprinkling over smal] clusters of locusts in the morning and evening when they are banded together, and also for pouring over the masses of locusts that are colleeted in traps. The chief reports that have been furnished on the subject of locusts in Northern Africa are as follows :— (i) A report by Mr, Drummond Hay, on the methods adopted in Tunis for destroying locusts, originally published in the Miscellaneous Series, 1891, of Her Majesty’s Foreign Office in London. This report has been reprinted in Volume II, No. 5 of these Notes. (ii) A report on the incursion of locusts in Egypt in 1891, by Mr. Williamson Wallace of the Tewfikieh College of Agriculture at Ghizeh. In Egypt the flights appeared in the middle of April i891 alone the western border of Egypt, extending from Minieh in the south to the Mediterranean on the north. They appeared to come from the west, that is, from the direction of the Sahara desert, which has lone been known as the home of Acridium peregrinum. They coupled as soon as they arrived, and a few days afterwards they began laying their eggs in the ground. The eggs hatched three weeks after they were laid, and by the middle of May the ground was covered with young wingless locusts. ‘These young locusts became full grown and acquired wings in the latter part of June. The following extract, taken from Mr, Williamson Wallace’s report, shows the measures that were taken in Egypt to cope with the pest: — “ When the locusts appeared in Egypt no very decided effort was made to destroy them. Occupied at this period in reproducing their species, the locusts had done com- paratively little damage to the crops. When, however, it was realized that they had actually bred in the country, and that: Egypt was face to face with what might soon develope into a national calamity, a most energetic effort was made to get rid of the plague. Orders were issued from the Ministry of the interior to the Moodeers, point- ing out the gravity of the situation and instructing them to use every means in their power for the destruction of the locusts. All available Inspectors were despatched to the provinces to assist the Moodeers, while officials were drawn from other depart- ments and charged with this special work. By this time, namely, the 15th of May, the locust lad spread to every province of Lower Egypt, except Dakahlieb, Menoufieb, and Gharbieh being the most affected. It was found that the eggs had been principally deposited on the sand islands along the course of the western branch of the Nile, and in the co'ton fields. In the fields ocerpied by the winter crops, principally wheat, No. 1.1 Miscellaneous Notes. 41 barley, beans, and clover, scarcely any eggs were to be found; the ground at the time being too hard and dry to be pierevd by the oviposirors of the locusts. ‘I his restriction of the infected area was of the greatest possible advantage. The cotton fields were comparatively empty; the young cotten plants gave little cover to the locusts, and caused little or no obstruction to the operations. Besides this, the proprietor of a cotton field at once reported the presence of locusts, since immediate action could alone save his crop. “lhe most simple methods of destruction were found to be the most effectual, such as making long dry trenches 30 to 40 centimetres deep and 25 to 30 wide near to the young broods. Into these trenches the locusts were driven by bands of men and child- ren, often numbering several hundreds, each armed with a palm branch. The men whose duty it was to dig the trenches then lined themselves along the further side of the trench, upon which the earth was thrown to prevent any locusts from escaping, When the locusts were driven into the ditch, the loose earth was at once pulled in by the band of people who had driven them, and trampled down firmly, so that none escaped. ‘hese methods proved very successful for the first three weeks. while the locusts were comparatively ‘small, and before they had power to jump out of the ditches. At this stage, therefore, the ditch system became less useful, the locusts being now too wary to be driven easily into the trenches ; and the consequent necessitated deepening of the trenches materially increased the cost of operations. It was found that when locusts were disturbed on open ground, such as a cotton field, they would go easily into any cover that was within reach, and remain there. Advantage was taken of this, and whatever available dry material there was in the neighbourhood was taken and spread in patches of several metres in diameter, or in long wide strips. The locusts were then driven into this ambush and surrounded by the veople, who simultaneously fired the patch all round, resulting in the complete destruction of the locusts. The dry stalks of maize were plentiful in the country, and made excellent fuel for this purpose. These were the two effectual means by which the locusts were destroyed in Egypt within the space of six weeks. Few of the young ones ever got their permanent wings, and these few were speedily picked up by birds, the common crow positively feasting on them. ‘Other means were tried, such as flooding the fields where eggs had been found, but this only retarded the hatching for a few days and destroyed the crops. The lo- cust has considerable swimming powers, and will cross a wide canal if pushed to it, The fellah was very disposed to beat the locusts with his palm branch, instead of driv- ing them forward to the ditch, which often resulted in the greater part of the swarm turning and escaping behind the line of beaters. ‘The screen and trap system of Cyprus was tried with considerable care on the Tewfikien canal, the traps in this trial being lined with bricks. I rode over the ground a week later and found few locusts in those pits, many of which were empty; while quantities of locusts had been destroyed by the methods I have described. Short screens erected immediately in front of lo- custs are of no practical use, as the locusts are difficult to drive on to them, and the erecting of the screens has a tendency to frighten the locusts and to cause them to change their lme of march. This system is only useful where locusts are known to exist on waste lands, and several miles of screens are erected along the edve of the cultivated lands, and thus arrest the nataral inarch of the locusts. If they are to be attacked while they are yet small, and on their own breeding ground, as they must be, in Egypt, this system is too cumbrous for practical working purposes; and the money that would provide the screens is better spent in paying the people for destroying the locusts, and with methods involving no initial outlay whatever. * Another trap and screen system, invented by Mr. Van Lennup, was tricd on the 4.2 Indian Museum Notes. Fe Wos IUOL, Nubarieh canal. Thin iron sheets took the place of canvas, and if it were not for the greater initial cost and heavier weight, this system is much superior to the Cyprus plan. “ Locusts may also be gathered by the hand for two hours in the early morning and for an hour after sunset. This semi-dormant condition might in future be taken greater advantage of, by gathering many of them before they deposit their eggs. Government did offer two piastres per oke for locusts, but the people did not seem to realise that they would be paid until most of tbe eggs were deposited. Two piastres an oke is a sufficient price to pay ; and in future it would be well for the Moodeers to order out the people at once, whether they wish to come or not, and pay them for the quantity of locusts gathered at the end of the day. A few days delay may be fatal to the success of this method. The collecting of eggs was a failure. Two piastres per oke was likewise offered for eggs, but the impossibility of gathering them was soon apparent ; the eggs were imbedded in the ground, and the digging of them up had the effect only of distributing them with the soil, which, moreover, in nowise affected their fertility. Only the eggs that were exposed on the surface of the soil were destroyed by the sun scorching them up. I experimented with locusts’ eges as to the depth at which the young locust could come up through the soil if the egos were buried without the exit hole naturally left by the female locust. I found that at a depth of ten centimetres, all found their way to the surface ; at twelve centimetres, about half came up; at fifteen centimetres, none of them came through. “If the land was unoccupied. as it generally was not, ploughing would have the effect of destroying some of the eggs, either by burying or by exposiag them on the surface. No satisfactory means was found of destroying the eggs. “Small passing flights of locusts are frequently heard of in some parts of Keypt, but give no great cause for alarm ; they have lately been reported at Suakim and at Wady Halfa. “ Forty years ago the locusts stayed and bred in the country in great numbers, and were exterminated by the people in much the same manner as this vear. In the present year, practically no damage was done to the crops. Where the leaves were eaten off the young cotton plants, they sprouted again almost immediately, and became bigger trees than they would have been, but bearing a smaller amount of cotton.” (ii) The Consular report for the year 1890, on the agriculture of Algeria, by Consul General Playfair, published as No. 854 of Her Majesty’s Foreign Office in London; also a letter, dated 30th October 1891, by Mr. Playfair, forwarded through the Government of India; and an account which appeared in the Dacly Telegraph. In the middle of December 1890 flights of Aeridium peregrinum from the south-west were noticed in several cases in the extreme south of Algeria. On 19th March 1891 again Mr. Playfair wrote—“ The crickets are appearing in various parts of the colony, but especially in the department of Oran, and the Prefeets are busy organising means of defence. The Governor-General has made an urgent appeal for a sup- plementary credit of 510,000 franes for each department, The admin- istration seems to be doing all that is humanly possible, but so widespread is the evil that it is doubtful whether they will be able to cope with it.” On 30th October 1891, however, Mr. Playfair wrote that the result of the campaign waged against the locusts had been sosucessful that but. little injury had been done to the crops. No. 1. ] Miscellaneous Notes. 43 According to an account of the locusts’ invasion in Algeria, published in the Daily Telegraph in the early part of June 1891, reports of damage by locusts were coming in daily from all parts of Algeria, and large flights were observed in the Mediterranean, ‘Ihe mayors of the cum- munes in Algeria were offering rewards at the rate of one frane for each 50 Ibs. of locusts destroyed. Ploughing had been resorted to for the destruction of the eggs, but vast numbers of wingless larvae had never- ees theless emerged, and were doing great damage to the crops, The Cyprus sereen system was being very largely used for the destruction of these larve, and smoky fires were found to be the best means of preventing the winged flights from alighting on the crops. (iv) A letter, dated 3rd November 1891, from the Censul Genera] in Tripoli, forwarded through the Government of India, noticing that although Tunis, Algiers, and Morocco had suffered from locusts, Tripolj had escaped. (v) A notice which appeared inthe Board of Trade Journal, London, June 1891, p. 684, on the subject of locusts in Morocco. According to this notice, locusts were first reported in Morocco in the southern province of Soos in the end of October 1890. Thence they spread over the country, and inthe spring began ege laying, causing great anxiety for the spring crops, Damage also was done to green crops, and olive and almond trees were in many places stripped of their bark. No general measures were taken to deal with the locusts, though vast numbers were collected and sold for food both to Jews and Moham- medans. The locusts were brought. in from the country on camels in the form of “ heaving sackfuls,” of ruddy brown or greenish-yellow insects (the first colour in the autumn, the latter in the spring,. They were said to be first boiled in salt and water, and then fried or parched, The same modus operandt was said to have been in vovue, according to old writers, early in the last century, and when properly preserved the “ Jeraad”’ appear to have been looked upon as a convenient form of food for travellers to take with them on the road. The following report by Mr. W. Townley, on locusts in Persia, has been furnished through the Government of India by Her Majesty’s Legation in Teneran. It will be interesting to ascertain the identity of the three species of locusts that are referred to in the report under the names of Mesrz, Locusts in Persia. Daryate, and Tanko. For this purpose it would be desirable to obtain representatives of each of the species for examination by some trained entomologist. Up to the present little has been ascertained upon this Ad Indian Museum Notes. [ Vol. Ii. subject beyond the fact that the destructive migratory species deri/ium peregrinum is often prevalent along the southern coasts of Persia :— «There are no records of any flights of locusts having come as far north as the Teheran district, but it is reported from Kermanshah that locusts visit that district every five or ten years. and that visitations occasionally have taken place in two consecutive years. ‘These locust visitations come from the Traki Arab, that is to say, from such districts as Karkoot, Suletmanieh, and Mosul. There are three distinet classes of locusts which visit the Shiraz district, and which are classified as the Mesri, Daryaie, and Tanko. he former always arrive from the direction of Lar and Sabeh, near the latter of which places there is a shrine called Alam Shah, where these locusts are said to come into existence, and from whence, after a few years, when their numbers have increased, they advance upon Lar Darab and Fasa, These locusts always travel from south to north, and when they have once left a place never return to it. The Daryaie locusts always appear from the direction of Bandar Abbas and Bushire, hence their name of sea-locusts. They eat nothing but the leaves of trees. The Zanko locusts have no wings. They live longer than the Mesrz locusts, and their existence only terminates with the commencement of winter. “In the hotter parts of the Kermanshah distvict locusts arrive about the end of March, when the fields are green, and at once set to work to devour the young vegeta- tion. Near Kermanshah itself the locusts come out from under the ground about the middle of May. In the Shiraz district the date of the arrival of the locusts is fixed as being early in March. In the Kermanshah district oviposicion takes place in the hotter regions about the end of May,and in the colder places about a month later. The eggs are hatched in the Shiraz district early in March. “No remedial measures have been adopted in Persia, either by the Government or the people, for the extermination of locusts, thoughin Turkey the soldiers are some- times ordered to assist to sweep up the locusts in the early morning when they are be- numbed with cold, and to throw them into holes dug in the ground which are subsee quently filled in with earth ; and also in that country locusts’ eggs are purchased from the peasants, and the progress of the ravages of the pest is thus largely arrested. “ Locusts and their eggs are, however, largely destroyed by the following four natural causes: (1) rain during the hot seasons; (2) want of rainin winter ; (3) the fact that after afew years they cannot lay eggs, and the generation of the species thus comes to an end; and (4) excessive cold ; snow or hail kill the insects themselves if they are not grown up sufficiently to stand climatic changes. ‘I'he following popular legend may also point to the starling as being a natural destroyer of the locusts. It is said that there is a spring at Kasvin, called Cheshmeh-i-Sar or the Starling’s spring, and that if water is brought from this spring and sprinkled with certain ceremonies on the ground which is infested with this pest, large numbers of starlings appear and devour the locusts, thus preventing further devastation of the crops. ‘« The eggs of locusts are deposited at the foot of mountains or in hard places, and for 40 days after hatchings they are not previded with wings, and consequently cannot move about easily from place to place, but at the end of that period their wings grow and they set off on their flight, laving waste the fields which they pass on their way, Locusts live for 120 days, and during this short period of existence they lay eggs three times. Ovrposition commences when they are 90 days old, and is repeated twice more, with an interval of 10 days each time, at the end of which three ovipositions they have reached an age of 110 days, and then after a further interval of 10 days they Gie. Each locust lays 90 eves the first time, 70 the second, and £0 the third. The No.1. J Miscellancous Notes. 43 locusts which are the results of the first oviposition are larger than those of the second, and those of the second oviposition are larger than those of the third. "he above details as to the period of the existence and oviposition of locusts refer tu those which are classified in Southern Persia under the name Mesri (Egyptian). TEHERAN ; } (Sd.) Watrer Town ey.” The 19th December 1881. The following notes on the locusts which have proved destructive in Turkish Arabia are of interest, as the case of the ones reared in the Museum, were attached to the sides of the box in which the pods were placed. Ii is prolable, therefore, that the habit of the insect is to desert the pods before spinning its cocoon. Moths emerged in the early part of April; they prove to be Phycidx, but the species is uew tothe Museum collection, so specimens have been sent to Kurope for precise identification. (1) Crotalaria Juncea caterpillar. In April 1892 some cut worms and Elateride larve, said to have proved destructive to potato plants in Kalim- pong, Darjeeling, were received from Babu N.G, Mukharji. The insects were too immature for precise identification, but the cut worms were likely to have belonged to the species Agrotis suffusa Fabry. (Noctues) a species which was reared on a previous occasion in the Museum from caterpillars which proved destructive to potato plants in Kurseong. Kerosene emulsion was tried by Babu Mukharji, but the results, though encouraging, do not seem to have been at all conclusive, Potato pests in Sikkim. At the time that the emulsion was applied very few stems had been cut, though numerous grubs were to be found at the foot of each plant; after the emulsion had been applied, Babu Mukharji found that more (') The insect has since been kindly examined by the well known entomologist Mr, F. Moore, who identifies it as the species Mellia zinckenella (Phycis zinckenella Vrict.) a not uncommon Phycid in Europe, India, and Ceylon, No. 2. | Miscellaneous Notes. 99 than three-fourths of the plants died, but the grubs disappeared and the plants that remained seemed vigorous; so it is possible that the plants which died were merely those which had previously been injured by the grubs, It should le noticed, however, that Kerosene emulsion is not usually recommended for use against cut worms or Elateridz larve in other parts of the world. In India hand-picking seems to be the only method that has hitherto been adopted for fighting these classes of insects, which live chiefly underground. In England ploughing gas lime into the land when the crop is off the ground has been recommended against similar insects, while such dressings as soot, guano, nitrate of soda, salt, and rape dust are all said to be useful. In January 1892 a few specimens of the white wax insect Ceroplastes ceriferus Anderson, were forwarded to the Museum by Mr. J. Deveria, who wrote that it was plentiful on trees in Purulia. This is of interest in case more specimens of the insect are wanted in connection with the inquiry dealt with in Volume II, No. 3, of these Notes. White insect wax. In March 1892 specimens of the rice sapper (Leptocortsa acuta Thunb.) were forwarded to the Museum by Major Yerbury from Trincomali in Ceylon, where the insect was said to have proved destructive to the rice crop. The rice sapper in Ceylon. In April 1892 an insect was received through the kindness of Messrs, A supposed enemy to the tea Barry & Co., with the information that it was et thought to have been the cause of some damage to tea bushes in Cachar. The insect proves to be one of the Curculionids beetles. It is identical with a specimen in the Museum collection which has been determined as Astycus chrysochlorus Wied. It had been for- warded by Mr. John Leekie of Cachar, who was of opinion that it wa, responsible for the stripping of the young leaves off the tea shoots, noticed in several parts of the garden. The insect is not unlikely to feed on the young tea shoots, but it has not previously been reported in this connection, and is not expected to occasion much injury, The Brinjal (Solanum Melongena) fruit, which is brought to the Calcutta market, is sometimes found to be at- tacked by the caterpillar of a microlepidop- terous insect which bores into it much in the way that the caterpillar of the coddling moth bores into apples. Caterpillars of the brinjal borer obtained on the 26th April 1892 began to emerge, in the Museum, as Brinjal borer, 100 Indian Museum Notes. FE Wo, Oe moths on the 5th of Mav. Jn the case of one at least of the specimens, : a the eaterpillar, when fuil fed, seems to have deserted the fruit and spun itself up into a very slight silken cocoon upon the side of the cage, and this is likely to be the general habit of the insect, though it would be as - well to observe further specimens before con- . : cluding that the habit is an invariable one. Be -...1'The moth proves to be indentical with some specimens in the Nee collection, which have been determined by Colonel Swinhoe as Lencinodes orbonalis Guén. (Pyrales). This species has been recorded as occurring in all parts of Northern India; also in Burma, Ceylon, the Andaman Islands, Java, and South Africa. In July 1891 some Orthopterons insects were forwarded to the Orthoptera in Shahpur. AOS by the Deputy Commissioner of the Shahpur District, Punjab. hey were of two kinds known respectively as Zoka and Tiridda. Both species were said to be exceptionally numerous in Shahpur, where they had done considerable damage to the young summer crops. The Toha insect. proved to be acricket allied to the yenus Grydlodes, but huherto unnamed in the Museum collection. It has, therefore, been sent to Kurope for identification. According to the reports furnished by the district officers,this insect sometimes does much damage to young bajra( Pennisetum typhoideum), jowar (Sorghum vulgare), cotton (Gossypium herbaceum) and other crops, bothin Shahpur and also in Hissar where it is known by the same name. It appears in the latter part of April. During the day time it generally les hidden in the ground, but in the cool of the evening it comes out and feeds upon the youne plants, but does little damage after the crop is four or five inches in height. It disappears in the latter part of the rainy season. With regard to the life history of crickets of this kind little has yet been observed in India, but in the ease of allied species In the United States, according to Comstock (Introduction to Entomology) the eggs are usually laid in the ground in autumn. They hatch in the following spring, and the insects mostly die off on the ap- proach of winter. With regard to remedies, too little is yet known to enable any very definite treatment to be reeommenied, but breaking up the ground in the cold weather would seem likely to be useful, as it would expose the eggs, both to their natural enemies the birds, and also to the extremes of temperature, which would probably be unfavourable to hatching. The Ziridda insect proves to be an Acridid grasshopper or the genus Chrotogonus, which has been referred to on several occasions in these Nol 2] Miscellaneous Notes. 101 Nofes as a common pest to young indigo (Indigofera tinctoria) and other erops in var'ous parts of India. Little is known of its habits, and no satisfactory means of dealing with it seems yet to have been recorded. In the Kew Bul/etin for April 1892 is an interesting note on the Stoll lore mas tanine: subject of the little Scolytid beetle Xylesorus perforans Wollaston which has recently been reported as attacking growing sugar-canes in the West Indies. he Species was orivinally deseribed by Wollaston from specimens found per- forating the bungs of wiue easks at Madeira. In South America it has been recorded as boring into rum casks, also as frequenting cane refuse and rotting vegetable matter, and as attracted by lights at night. In India it has been noticed as boring into beer casks.(') The danger now is that it may take to attacking growing sugar-cane in India to a serious extent as it is said to have already done in the West Indies. With re- gard to remedies the Editors of the Kew Bulletin write :— “There should be no ditiiculty experienced by intelligent planters in the West In- dies in dealing with this cane-borer. The infested canes should be destroyed, either by burning or passing through the rollers of the cane mills. Care should be devoted to the selection of ‘ plant’ canes, to ensure that they are freefrom the grubs and eggs of the beetle, and precautions should be taken to get rid of all the cane refuse in a decay - ed state in the neighbourhood of the cultivated fields. In other respects the same steps are necessary with this borer as have been found effective in the case of the moth borer. This latter has been known to attack sugar-canes at intervals for nearly sixty years, (7) but its influence has been rendered cow paratively harmless by the systematic destruc- tion of infested canes, and by examining and dressing the ‘ plant’ canes before they are put into the fields. hese simple and effective methods are fortunately within the reach of every one.” (It was at first supposed to belong to the genus Zomicus, and the commissariat serjeants are said to have appropriately dubbed it “'Tippling Tommy.” In his report on Insects de- structive to forests, Allahabad 1868, Mr. R. Thompson writes: ‘‘I believe this to be a species of Tomicus, a minute cylindrical species I have observed boring into beer and water casks ; as they bore clean through the wood, the liquor may be seen jetting out at various points, and by the force of the discharge the little borers are thrown out with it.” (7) Vide the account of this insect given in Volume I, page 22, of these Notes. 102 Indian Museum Notes. HE Walla Jatl The figure is drawn from a specimen from the West Indies presented to the Museum by Mr. W. F. H. Blandford. The length of the speci- ‘men is about two anda half millimetres. Its colour is hight chestnut brown. The legs and antenne in the figure are merely dotted in to give an idea of their probable shape, for the setting of the specimen does not permit of an accurate drawing being made of these appendages, and it has been thought best not to run the risk of damaging the specimen by disarranging it for the purpose as it is at present unique in the Museum collection. The markings shown in the figure on the prothorax and cly- tra will probably be sufficient to enable the insect to be recognized when met with in sugar-cane, but it should be noticed that there are a large number of very similar, though distinct insects, to be found boring into the bark of trees in India. An interesting summary of what is known on the subject of the Fun- Fungoid disease versus gold disease (Lsarza densa Link. = Botrytis Melolonthini larvae, tenella Saccardo) which attacks Melolonthin larve is given in the April number of the periodical Insect Life. The large amount of damage which is done by Melolonthini larvz or ‘ white grub ” in India makes the question of the practicability of utilising this disease for destroying the pest, an important one, but the evidence at present available on the subject is very contradictory. According to M. Alfred Giard’s paper in the Comptes Rendus of the 3rd August 1891, the spores retain their germinating powers for more than a year and the dis- ease can be readily communicated not only to Melolonthini larve but also to other insects which live in a similar manner in damp situations. According, however, to M. JeanDufour’s paper inthe Chroniqua Agricole Viticole et Forestier du Canton du Vaux, November 10th 1891, though the disease can be disseminated to a certain extent by infecting the soil either with artificial cultures or with fragments of diseased insects, the number of fresh grubs which take the disease is very limited. E. C. COTES, CaLcuTtTa, Deputy Superintendent, 25th June 1892. Indian Museum. Govt. of India Central Printing Office.—No, 441 R, & A. (113).—6-4-93.—1,000.—R. B. NOV 22 1607 INDIAN MUSEUM NOTES. | 3,866 ISSUED BY THE TRUSTEES. Voctume IIIl.—No. 8. Yublished under the Authority of the Government of Endia, Mevenne and Agricultural Bepartment. CALCUTTA: OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF GOVERNMENT PRINTING, INDIA, 1894. Price As. &. Pf) Vol, I. J [ No. 3. A NEW COCCID FROM CEYLON. BY G. B. BUCKTON, F.RK.S. Orthezia nacrea.(}) In March 1893 I received from Ceylon a consignment of twigs and leaves of Crossandra which were incrusted by a white semi-floccu- lent matter, which proved to be the exudation of a species of Orthezia, apparently undescribed. Of this Coccus I give the following deserip= tion. Unfortunately the specimens arrived in a bad condition from the effects of mildew, which rendered the examination less complete than could be wished. Female.—Not scaly-form. Wingless, but capable of slow locomotion. General shape long-oval or cylindrical. Head and thoracic portion pale warm brown. Rest of the insect, except the legs and rostrum, shining satiny white, with a porcelain-like surface. In some lights this gives nacreous tints. Head smali, antenne short and black, rather stout and about the length of the pronotum. The two basal joints the thickest, followed by six subequal tapering joints. Some of these are attenuated in the middle, thus simulating extra joints. The apex somewhat mammi- form and without bristles. Eyes small, black, and placed just behind the antenne. Legs black and rather long, tarsus single-jointed, but (?) This insect, which was forwarded to the Indian Museum through Mr. E. E. Green in January 1893, has proved very troublesome in the Botanical Gardens at Peradenuja, Ceylon, where it has been multiplying with great rapidity. From notes furnished by Dr. Trimen, F.L.S., it appears that it especially attacks Acanthacee, which include some of the most showy plants in the garden. A 104 Indian Museum Notes. C Vol. III. showing some tendency toa sub-division. Claw single. Rostrum short, stout, black, furnished with a long seta (? more than one), and placed between the coxz. Pronotum fuscous, separate from the abdomen and furnished with two rows of dark spots. The lower border of the pronotum ends by several foleated cereus laminz, pointed at their ends, and one overlapping the other somewhat like the scapular feathers of a bird’s wing. The white plates only partially cover the abdomen which becomes a marsupium or cradle to protect the twenty or thirty black eggs which hatch within the dead body of the parent, and find therein a secure covering until they are sufficiently grown to migrate over the food plant. The lower part of the abdomen is smooth and cylindrical, but the upper part is deeply furrowed or channeled into bundles of strie. The sternum is slightly spotted. Size female with the marsupium 0:16 x 0°05 of an inch. An examination of the male is desirable. Doubtless it is winged. Attention should be called to the anal filaments, which in Orthezia, unlike other known Coccide, bave numbered two instead of four. Mr. Douglas has so figured the male of Orthezia insignis {see Ent. Mon. Mag., Vol. XXIV, p. 169). ‘This insect, which has close rela- ‘tions to the Ceylon insect, was first found on Strobalanthus, a Chinese plant growing in the economic houses at Kew Gardens, I think the insect above deseribed is distinct. The Kew insect is much larger (¢ ), its body is piceous black, and the thoracie laminz are developed in a single instead of a double row. Observers on the spot have peculiar facilities for studying the economy and life histories of such insects. As the dipterous male insects of Coeci are very active, and they usually live only a few days in the early season of the year, atten- tion and address will be required to secure them. The Kew insect appears to be spreading over the hot houses of England and seems to be very difficult to annihilate. It does as much mischief as the more common “ mealy bug.” EXPLANATION OF FIGURES. Fic, 1.—Female, with the black eggs appearing through the cover of the marsupium. Fie, 2.—Hind legs with tarsus and claw. Wie, 3.—Antenna, No. 3. | A New Species of Fulgorida. 105 A NEW SPECIES OF FULGORID. BY MONS. LETHIERRY. Delphaz psylloides(), Caput thorace paulo longius, ante oculos paulo prominens, supra stramineum, subtus opacum, fuscum: vertice oculo uno squali, basi excavato, carinis apicalibus acutis, prominentibus: fronte subelongata, earina distincté percurrente, basi furcata : clypeo medio distincte carinato : antennarum articulo primo flavo, apice nigro, secundo flavo, basi nigro, ultimis nigris. Pronotum et scutellum tricarinata, pallida, marginibus fuscis aut obscure stramineis, vittisque duabus disci lJongitudinalibus stramineis. Tegmina abdomine duplo longiora, hyalina, margine imo commissurali clavi, macula parva quadrata marginali pone medium, necnon margine apicali superno (hoc hyalino-trifenestrato) nigris: venis apice nigris, discoidali media apice furcaté. Abdomen nigrum, lateribus seg- mentorum dorsalium pallido-maculatis. Femoribus nigris aut fuscis, tibiis et tarsis albo-pallidis. Long. (cum tegminibus) 5 millim. $§ 2. Forma verticis D. Fairmairei Perris, affinis: picturaé teeminuin insig- nis, Ceylon. (?) The species was forwarded from Ceylon by Mr, E. E. Green, and the following par- ticulars are tuken from the interesting notes he has furnished regarding it. The insect is to be found in its various stages of growth swarming within the clasping sheaths of the leaves of the Indian corn plant (Zea mays). In wet weather it is accompanied by a sooty fungus which has not been noticed at other times. Itis also attended by ants. The eggs are buried in the tissues of the plant on the inside of the sheathing leaves, the orifice being concealed by a deposit of white woolly secretion. The effect upon the plants depends upon the period at which they are attacked. If attacked when young, they are stunted and weakened. Older, well-established plants do not suffer so much. A 2 106 Indian Museum Notes. [ Vol. II. Nympha: flava, tribus segmentis ultimis dorsalibus ad latera nigro- maculatis. [The following is an explanation of the figure, which has been prepared by the Museum artist. A, imago ; B, C, and D, larve in various stages of development; E, egg ; F, antenna of imago ; G, H, and K, hind leg, second leg and front leg of imago. The natural sizes of the various stages are indicated by hair lines. —Zd.] A NEW ENEMY OF THE CUSTARD-APPLE.(') TRANSLATED BY F. MOORE, F.L.S. Family Phycitide Genus nov. Anonepestis, Ragonot. Female.—Face smooth, rounded. Antenuz of female slightly flatten-. ed. ‘Tongue well developed. Palpi ascending, curved, somewhat oblique, thin, smooth, rather short, not reaching the vertex, the third joint nearly as long and as broad as the second, obliquely cut at the apex. Maxillary palpi sealy, flattened against the face. Body moderate, the abdomen reaching one-third of its length beyond the hindwings. Legs strong, flattened. Forewings subtriangular, narrow at the base, the costa very slichtly arched, the hind margin and angles much rounded, slightly oblique ; with eleven veins; cell reaching three-fifths of the length of wing, slightly concave at extremity; vein, 2 near the angle; vein 3 from the angle, curved, parallel with 3 and 4, veins 4 and 5 ap- pearing stemmed, but in reality separate, originating from the angle of the cell andin a line with the median vein; vein 6 from below the upper angle, veluas 8 and 9 stemmed; veins 10 and 11 from the cell. Hindwings nearly triangular, slightly sinuous below the apex; with seven veins; cell short, one-fourth of the wing; veins 7 and 8 long coalescing a short distance, vein 7 afterwards jcined to 6; vein 5 free running very close to 3 and appearing stemmed with it; vein 2 very close to the angle; vein 4 wanting. This genus, described on a unique’ female specimen, appears distinct from all others on account of the peculiar disposition of veins 2, 8, and 4 of the hindwings. It seems to partake of the characters of Psorosa and Heterographis. No doubt the male has peculiar palpi and antenne. (‘) The specimen upon which the genus and species are founded was reared in the Museum from caterpillars found tunnelling into the fruit of the custard-apple (Anona squamosa) in Calcutta. The insect proved to be new to the Indian Museum collection, so was forwarded to Lord Walsingham, who submitted it to Mr. F. Moore. Mr. Moore writes: —“ The moth from the custard-apple is also a Phycid, the specimen sent home being that of a female. This has been kindly examined and described for me by my friend Mons. Ragonot, who has characterised it as belonging to a new genus and species of Phycitide, to which he has given the names of Anonepestis bengalella, and of which I herein send you an English description for publication in your Museum Notes.” As the female only has yet been de- scribed, it would be desirable to procure the male.— Hd. No. 3.] A New Enemy of the Custard-Apple. : 107 ANON#PESTIS BENGALELLA, Ragonot, n. sp. Female.—Length 22 mill. Forewings dark green, darker in basal area, the costa, in middle area, broadly pale yellow, with a greenish tinge, the dorsal half broadly: purple, turning to dark violet on the inner margin of the median area; marginal dots black, large and _ distinct, placed between a series of pale longitudinal streaks in the ter- minal area, on the veins. Cilia fuscous, shining, pale brownish at the base, the ex- treme base of the wing also pale brownish. Lines distinct, pale greenish yellow edged, in median area, with the ground colours but darker, the first line oblique on costa, nearly vertical afterwards, but indent- ed outwardly by two short angles on the discal and dorsal folds; second line very strongly dentate in the middle, indented on the diceal and dorsal folds ; beneath yellowish-green on the costa, the dorsal half fuscous. Hindwings brownish-grey with a purple tint; the costa tinted with greenish and shining; cilia whitish, a blackish line near the base; beneath paler. Head and thorax brownish-ochreous; the collar tinged with greenish; the thorax darker, tinged with purple. Palpi dark green, the end half of the terminal joint pale ochreous. Abdomen ochreous. Legs greyish-ochreous with greenish tinge; the - tarsi brownish black. [In the figure, which has been prepared by the Museum artist, is shown the moth, natural size, also a section of a custard-apple tunnelled by the caterpillar, half natural size.— Ed. } 108 Indiat Museum Notes. Vol, II. © NOTES ON INDIAN APHID. BY G. B. BUCKTON, F.R.S. Oregma bambusa,' Buckton. Winged female.—Body wholly black. Head moderate, without marked cornua, Eyes obvious, antenn, about one-third the Jength of the body. Five-jointed, the apex minute. The third joint much the longest and more than double the length of the fourth, both these and the fifth joints numerously ringed, as in Schizoneura. Rostrum short. Wings ample, membrane rather fuscous. Cubitus with a marked punc- tured stigma. Cubical vein once forked and not confluent with the - cubitus. Lower wings normal. Candal end bilobed. The small and younger larval forms have the two cornua below the vertex much produced, as shown in figure VI. This aphis appears to infest the bamboo throughout British India, the somewhat smaller specimens taken in the North-Western Provinces This species of Schizoneurine was originally described on page 87 of this volume from specimens of the apterous form taken in Dehra Dun, North-West Provinces. The winged female, which is now described for the first time, was taken by Mr. E. E. Green, upon “the cultivated yellow-stemmed bamboo” in Ceylon. Mr. Green notices that although the apterous form is sometimes so abundant as to completely cover the surface of the bamboo shoots, the plant does not appear to be injured to any very great extent. He adds thatin life the wingless form is of a dull state grey colour slightly obscured by a whitish bloom, the gravid females having a cushion of white meal upon the extremity of the abdomen. ‘The winged form, on the other hand, is so dark in colour as to be almost black, and is without any whitish bloom. No. 3.] Notes on Indian Aphidea. 109 do not differ, except in size, from those taken in Ceylon. This differ- ence doubtless is due to moulting and age. Attention of observers should be turned to conditions of hibernation, and towards deciding the question whether, like some other Schizo- neurinae, they descend into the ground. Expanse of alate form 0°29 millemetres. Size of apterous form 0°10 millemetres. The apterous form is figured in Vol. III, p. 87, of these Notes. Fig, I, alate female insect. Fig. II, antenna of the same. Fig. Ill, tarsus and part of tibia. Fig. IV, candal end. Fig. V, young specimen of larva, Fig. VI, magnified view of the head with cornua, ete. 110 Indian Museum Notes. [ Vol. ITI. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES FROM THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION. BY E. C, COTES, DEPUTY SU ee EDEN) INDIAN MUSEUM. An interesting longicorn was forwarded through the Madras Mu- seum in November 1892, by the Collector of Kurnool, with the information that it had been noticed cutting rings ef considerable depth and about an inch in diameter completely around the branches of a Tadernaemontana alba tree. The specimen has been identified through the kindness of Mr. C. Gahan, of the British Museum, asa female of the species Sthenzas grisator, Fabr. Mr. Gahan notices that the male may be distinguished from the female by a small process projecting obliquely upwards from the base of each of the mandibles in front of the clypeus. He adds that the British Museum possesses a specimen taken more than thirty years ago near Coimbatore which bears a ticket with the following note—“ gnaws the bark of shrubs and is very destructive.” : The same species was subsequently forwarded to the Indian Museum in January 1893 through the Imperial Forest School. In this case it was obtained by the Deputy Conservator of Forests, Coorg, who wrote :— “These beetles cut off the stem clean in one night.,..... Large rose trees are thus cut down and destroyed. It is incredible that a small insect like the one I send can do such damage, and I would not have believed it had I not seen their ravages myself....... IT got them this morning from off the rose bushes they had destroyed. They attack the main stem and despise smaller branches.” The rose stems forwarded with the insects ranged from three quar- ters to half an inch in diameter, and were cut completely off with re- markable neatness. The parent insect no doubt girdles the shoot with a view to afterwards laying its eggs above the notch. The habit is one that has been noticed with other species of the same family. and ex- emplifies the fact that withermg trees are the ones most frequented by longicorn borers, the supposition being that a vigorous flow of sap is liable to choke the larva in its burrow. Girdler longicorn. A good deal of damage was reported in the early part of the rains of 1893 as done to tea in the Darjiling district by a species of case-making caterpillar. The insect was forwarded to the Museum on the 27th June through the A new Psychid. No.3. ] WUiscellaneous Notes from the Entomological Section. ill Agri-Horticultural Society of India. It proves to be a species of Psychidz. ‘I'he larve cases are somewhat looser in structure, but very similar both in size and shape to those of the species Humela sikkima, - Moore, which is figured and described on page 63 of volume II of these Notes. When received the caterpillars were alive, but no leaves could be procured tu feed them with in Calcutta. An attempt was made to rear them upon the leaves of a number of other plants,. but they fed very sparingly and did not thrive. Several imagos however, both male and female, were successfully reared. As usual, in the Psychide the female isa degraded wingless creature, very much like the female of Humeta sikkima. The male is an active dark-coloured insect, very considerably smaller in size than the male of & stkima. It is also more uniformly covered with scales. The species is new to the Indian Museum collection, s0 specimens have been forwarded to London for comparison with the types in the British Museum. (?) Se Several specimens of a small Ichneumonid parasite, also a single Tachinid fly, emerged in the rearing cage, but have not yet been identifi- ed. Both in 189] and 1892 damage was reported in the forests of the Hyderabad Assigned Districts by caterpillars which defoliated the teak trees. The specimens, which were forwarded to the Museum through the Forest Department in 1891, could not be identified at the time, as they were immature. They were preserved, however, for further investigation, and careful comparison with authenticated caterpillars since received from Burma shows that the insects in the two cases are identical. The species is the one referred to on page 94 of volume IIT of these Noges under the name of Paliga damastesalis, Walker, According to a report furnished by the District Forest Officer of Berar, the insect appeared in the early part of September, but information has not been received upon the subject of the extent of the damage that was occasioned. Teak-defoliators. In 1892 the insect was a different one. It proves, from the speci- mens forwarded to the Museum, to belong to the species Hyblea puera, Cramer. Injury commenced earlier, and a good deal of damage was done in the beginning of the rainy season. The attack is said to have been very severe in pure patches of teak, but was less noticed m areas where the forest was a mixed one. The trees that were attacked looked quite (*) The insect has since been identified through the kindness of Mr, G, F. Hampson ss Amatissa consorta, Templ. 12 ae Indian Museum Notes, [ Vol. III, brown amongst the surrounding foliage, and ultimately lost their leaves, but a new flush of leaves soon appeared. When full fed the caterpillars were said to have let themselves down by silken strands and to have formed cocoons in the ground. The species /1yb/a@a puera, Cramer, has previously been recorded as attacking teak in Lower Burma, as well as in Dehra Dun, North- Western Provinces, and in the Kulsi plantation in Assam, so probably occurs throughout India. Injury by the caterpillar of the Noctnes moth dchea melicerte, Drury, was reported in August 1892 from Dehra Dun in the North-West Himalayas, and in Oe- tober of the same year from the Cuddapah district in Madras. In the case of Dehra Dun a considerable amount of damage was done both to tallow trees (Sayvum sebiferum) and to tea. The eaterpillars appeared shortly before the commencement of the rainy season and began by eating the leaves of the tallow trees. When these were stripped they let themselves down on to the tea bushes beneath and attacked them in a similar manner, Specimens were forwarded both from the Forest School and from Mr. Leslie Rogers. The latter noted that the caterpillar stage occupied from fifteen to twenty days and the pupal stage about ten days. The insect seems to have disappeared almost as suddenly as it came. In tke case of the Cuddapah district the insect was reported as doing a good deal of damage by defoliating castor-oil plants. The specimens from which the identification of the species was determined were furnished to the Museum through the Collector’s office, Achaea melicerte. Mr. F. A. Skuse, of the Australian Museum, Sydney, who has made a The identification of the special study of Nemocera, has lately examined mosquito, some specimens forwarded to him from the Indian Museum of the common brown mosquito of Calentta. He identi- fies the species as Culex pipiens, Linn, said to have been introduced from Egypt, and now oceurring throughout Australia, America, New Zealand and the old world. The fact is of interest, as the Indian form does not appear to have been previously identified with certainty. Representa- tives of the striped black and white mosquito, which is almost as great a nuisance in the day time, in Calcutta, as the brown mosquito is at night, have been forwarded to Mr. Skuse for favour of identification, (1) (4) It has since been determined by Mr. Skuse as a new species of Culex for which he proposes the name C. aléopictus. is description will be published in a subsequent number of these Notes. No.3.) Méscellanecus Notes frim the Entomological Section. 113 In Mareb 1898 caterpillars were forwarded to the Museum by the Deputy Commissioner cf Betul, Central Pro- vinces, They were reported as having proved des- tructive to gram(?) during the cloudy weather, which had been prevalent in the district. The material proves insufficient for precise identification, but the insect is one of the Noctues. It may be noticed thatthe cater- pillars of the specious Helcothis amigera, Hiibn., sent to the Museum in 1889 from Patna, where they had been attacking Lathyrus sativus plants, are very similar in general appearance, though somewhat differ- ently marked. They also tunnelled into the pods very much in the same manner. It is probable, therefore, that the two forms are some- what nearly related to each other, though they are likely to represent distinet species. Gram caterpillar, An imago of the insect referred to in volume I, page 198 of these Notes, as oceasioning a considerable amount of damage by boring into teak trees in Travancore, was forwarded to the Museum in March 1893, by Mr. T, F. Bourdillon, who had successfully reared it from the caterpillar. The imsect proves to be « Bombyces moth related to the family Cossidz, but it is new to the Museum collection, so has been forwarded to Mr. F. Moore, who has made a special study of Indian Macrolepidoptera. (?) According to an interesting note furnished by Mr. Bourdillon, the perfecs insect would seem to emerge in the dry weather about March, and to lay its eggs shortly afterwards, for the borers are found from May onwards. Large caterpillars are alse in some cases found at other times of the year, so. it is likely that more than one season is sometimes passed in this stage. It is only softened, unhealthy wood that affords lodgement for the Lorer. Healthy trees appear to be quite free from its attack. Travancore teak-borer. In August 1892 specimens were forwarded by the Officiating Magis- ‘A Hesperid caterpillar trate of Saran of an insect, known as * Sapta,” injuring paddy. said to have been causing much mischief to young paddy plants. Theimago was reared in the Museum and proved to be a Hesperid butterfly. The specimens have been kindly examined by Mr. L. De Niceville, author of the Butterflies of India, who identifies them with some donbt as belonging to the species Paruara colaca, Moore. ‘The excessive multiplication of this species appears to be somewhat unusual, (}) Probably Cicer arietinum. i (2) It has since been examined by Mr. Moore who identifies it as allied to his cossus caaambe, Moore, 114 Indian Museum Notes. L Voi. TT. -@ Defoliation of orange and lemon trees in Dehra by the caterpillar of the butterfly Papzlio polytes was reported from the Forest School in October 1892, and is worthy of record as confirming the observation that the injury to these plants is not confined to the one species Papilio erithonius, Cram. The identity of the species was ascertained by comparison with a carefully- named series of Indian butterflies presented some years back to the Forest School by the Trustees of the Indian Museum. Orange tree defoliator. Specimens of a large wood-boring insect, which has been identified Tone icoraborerstinithe bane nae the Cerambycid Neocerambys holosericeus, jab. Fabr., were forwarded in December 1892 by the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Punjab. They were procured by the Deputy Commissioner of Dera Ismail Khan in Novem- ber 1892. According to the account furnished, the insect is to be found in trees growing in dry places and specially in the * Farash('!)” but also in the “ Sarin(?)” and * Kikar(’).”. 1¢ is known as Daina in Hindi and Raniah in Pashtu. It generally attacks the trunk near to the ground, but the branches also suffer occasionally. The affected portion of the tree can usually be recognized hy a swelling in the bark. The species has previously been sent to the Museum as associated with other Cerambycide in attacking young teak trees in the Kulsi plantation of Assam, so is likely to frequent many kinds of wood. A longicorn-borer, received from the Conservator of Forest, Berar, was forwarded tothe Indian Museum in July 1892 by the Director of the Imperial Forest School, with the information that it does considerable damage to babal (Acacia arabica) plants. The larva is said to enter the stem some three or four inches above the ground, and to tunnel through the root to such an extent as eventually to causedeath. The species is new to the Museum collec- tion cf Cerambycide ; it would seem to be nearly related to the genus Celosterna, but has been sent to Europe for further examination. (*) Babul-borer. ()| Tamari« articulata ? (7) Botanical name not ascertained. (8) Acacia arabica. (*) It has been kindly examined by Mr. C. J. Gahan of the British museum, who identi- fies it as rather a small male example of the species Celosterna (sic) spinator, Fabr. Mr. Gahan notices that this species shou!d be placed as a variety of C. seabrator, Fabr., which only differs in having the pubescence of the elytra more tawny or brownish in colour. No. 8.] WMésceliancous Notes from the Entomological Section. 115 In April 1898 information was called for upon the subject of the The preservation of books ‘estruction of books by insects in Caleutta, from insects in India. and asthe matter is one of general interest, it may be useful to notice what was ascertained. The most troublesome insect in Calcutta libraries appears 1o be a minute Ptinid beetle, which agrees with the description of the species Sitodrepa panicea, Linn, This cosmopolitan book-maggot drills pin holes through and through the cover and body of a book, and often completely disintegrates it. The only other insects which have been noticed as causing any considerable damage are white ants ( Zermes sp.) and cockroaches (Periplaneta am- ertcana, Deg.). ‘They first devour the books wholesale, but are easily pre- vented from gaining access to them by placing the shelves upon the stone insulators commonly in use, while the second merely deface the bindings, so are of less importance. The treatment recommended for use in the library of the Revenue and Agricultural Department was that of disinfecting the books by pouring a few teaspoonfuls of refined mineral naphtha, or what is known as benzine collas, into the crevices of the binding, and then shutting up the volume for a few days in a close-fitting box to prevent the escape of the fumes, Books so dealt with to be afterwards sponged over lightly with a very little of the finest kerosine oil, which should be rubbed off with a cloth before it has time to penetrate into the binding. This ren- ders the books to a great extent distasteful to insects without causing serious injury. It is objectionable on account of the odour of the kero- sine oil, but has the recommendation of harmlessness combined with con- siderable efficiency. Particulars have since been obtained, through the kindness of the Superintendent of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Sibpore, of a system which has been adopted for preserving books in that institution. The treatment has been in use for a number of years, apparently without accident, and Dr. George King reports very favourably upon its effects. It consists in brushing the books over with a saturated solution of corro- sive sublimate made by constantly keeping a few lumps of the poison at the bottom of the jar of aleohol (presumably the ordinary methylated article which has a strength of about seventy or eighty per cent.), so that the maximum amount may be absorbed. Great care should of course be taken in handling the corrosive sublimate on account of its exceedingly poisonous nature. It may be useful to add that in the Indian Museum Library, where the books are kept in close-fitting glass-cases with a few ounces of naphthaline upon each shelf, little or no damage is caused by insects. From a note furnished by Mr. R. Chapman, late Librarian, it appears that the paste used in binding the Indian Museum books is poisoned by 116 Indian Museum Notes. CVol. 111. adding about half an ounce of sulphate of copper to each tb of paste, while books already infested are disinfected by shutting them up for four or five days in a close-fitting box of loose naphthaline with as much of this substance as possible between the leaves. The following insects found attacking groundnut plants (Arachis hypogéa) in the neighbourhood of Panruti, South Arcot, were forwarded to the Museum in October 1892 by the Deputy Director, Land Records and Agriculture, Madras :— (1) Madupicht,—This insect is said to be the most serious pest. It affects large areas and materially arrests the growth of the plant. A good shower of rain appears to remove it. Further information is promised. The specimens forwarded comprise larve and pupz of a microlepidopterous insect which can- not be determined precisely without an examination of the Imago. (2) Verptichi.—This insect is said to occur only in isolated patches, and is chiefly injurious in times of drought. It devours the fibrous roots of the groundnut plant and bites off the end of the tap root, Plants attacked by it are killed outright. It occurs in most fields, but is not common. The Shiyali taluq, where groundnut cultivation is comparatively recent and the soil sandy, is said to be to a great extent exempt from it. The pupal case of what would seem to be a Noctues moth was forwarded in connection with this insect, but the material is insufficient for the determination of the species. (8) Kambilipuchis.-—These insects are said to appear in large swarms in times of drought. They pass ex masse from field to field completely defoliating the plants. An imago was reared in the Museum from a pupa forwarded, and proves to be an Arctiid moth of the genus Aloa. The specimen differs in markings, and is somewhat smaller in size than the typical Aloa lactinea, Cramer, but is likely to be merely a somewhat abnormal representative of this common defoliating species. (4) Pachaipulu.—This insect is said to devour the leaves of the groundnut plant, but is usually rare. The material proved insufficient for determination. (5) Kalippuchi.—This insect is said to defoliate groundnut plants to a small extent, also to commit serious ravages on raggi and gingelly crops. The specimen forwarded is an Acridid grass- Groundnut pests. No. 3.] Miscellaneous Notes from the Eutomological Secticn. hE hopper of the genus Crotogonus, which is a common pest throughout India. To the above may be added an insect known locally as Alapuchi reported as having caused some very slight damage by eating the leaves of groundnut plants in Villupuram (South Arcot) m September 1892. The specimens forwarded to the Museum by the Deputy Director of Agriculture, Madras, consisted of Curculionidae beetles belonging to a species which seems to be allied to the genus Hpisomus. The insect is as yet undetermined in the Museum collection, and has been sent to Europe for further examination. () Specimens of an ant belonging to the genus Cremastogaster were sent to the Museum in January 1893 by Mr. E. E, Green, of Ceylon, with the information that it had proved very troublesome in ecinchona and coffee plantations. The insect was forwarded to Prof. A. Forel, who has kindly examined it, and who identifies the species as Cremastogaster dohrut, Mayr, a form which oceurs throughout Ceylon, India, and Sumatra. The following particulars are taken from an interesting note fur- nished by Mr, E. E. Green :—The ants construct their large dark-brown nests—sometimes more than two feet in diameter—on the stems of the cinchona and Grevillea trees, or on the branches of the coffee, and resent intrusion. They have no stings, but the bites they inflict are so severe that it 1s almost impossible for coolies to work in the immediate neigh- bourhood. The nest seem often to be originally started around a colony of plant lice, either of the species Lecanium coffee or Dactylopius adonidum. - The presence of the ants causes a good deal of damage to the trees, as the portion above where the nest is situated often dies off, the branches below remaining unaffected. ‘lhe breaking up of a nest only disperses the colony and increases the evil, for in a very short time a number of smaller nests take the place of the original. e Cremastogaster dohr- ni, Mayr. Amongst the Scarabeide forwarded to the Museum since the issue ; of the last number of these notes, may be noticed :— Scarabzide. 2 (1) Imagos of the species Serica pruinosa, Burm. (Melolonthini), forwarded in June 1892 from Devikulam, 5,000 to 6,000 feet in the Madura district of the Madras Presidency, by Mr. A. W. Turner, The insect is reported to have done a con- siderable amount of damage by defoliating coffee bushes. (7) It has since been identified through the kindness of Mons. Desbrochers des Loges, who determines it as Hpisomus Crenatus, De}. 118 Indian Museum Notes. [ Vol. IIL. (2) Images of the species Clinterza confinis, Hope, forwarded in July 1893 by Mr. E. J. Buck. The insect was noticed as attacking peach and apricot trees in Simla. Workers of the ant Vorylus longicornis were forwarded in October 1892 by Mr. HE. E. Green, with a suggestion that this species might possibly be the one referred to on page 42 of volume IT of these Notes as attacking potatoes. Specimens of a small red ant, which appears to be identical with the workers of the species Monomorzum basale, Smith (Myrmecide), as deter- mined in the Museum collection, were forwarded in April 1893 by the Deputy Commissioner, Betul, Central Provinces, with the information that they had multiplied to such an extent in the town of Badmir as to have become a great nuisance to the people. The Curculionid referred to in volume II, page 12 of these Notes, as attacking young opium plants in the North-West Provinces, has been identified through the kindness of Mons. J. Desbrochers des Loges as belonging to the species Zanymecus indicus, Faust., MS. In March 1893 imagos of the Dermestid Anthrenus vorax, Water- - house, which has previously been noticed as attacking skins in the Museum, were forwarded by Mr, L. de Niceville, with the information that they had proved destructive to some of the fittings in railway earriages on the Great Indian Peninsula Railway. Indeterminable chrysomelid larvee were forwarded in July 1892, by Babu N. G. Mukharji, as attacking potato plants in Berhampore. Miscellaneous. The above figure represents the tiger beetle Cicindela sexpunctata Fabr., natural size. This insect is referred to in volume I, page 59, volume II, page 148, and volume III, page 17, of these Notes. It No. 8.J A/zsceliineous Notes from the Eutomotogical Section. 11% is a predaccous species, and is said to perform useful service in destroying the rice sapper Leplocorisa acuta, which does an enormous amount of damage to paddy (Oryza sativa) throughout India. The above figuee represents the larva and imago, both somewhat enlarged, of the Dermestid Mhriostoma undulata, Motsch. Below the imazo are much enlarged diagrams of the antenna and of the first, second and third pairs of legs, the latter numbered 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The natural size of the insect is shown by hair lines, This species is referred to in these Motes, volume I, page 61, volume II, page 48, and volume III, page 23. It is known as Kapra in the Delhi bazar, where it is said sometimes to destroy as much as six or seven per cent, ci wheat stored in godowns. » The above figure represents the larva and imago, }oth enlarged, also B Detail 120 Indian Muscum Notes, [ Vol, Uf. much magnifiel diagrams of the antenna, and onecf the legs of the Dermestid Anthremes vorax, Waterhouse. The natural size of the insect is shown hy hair lines. This species is referred to in these Notes, volume J, page 208, and volume III, page 118. It attacks skins and leathe: of all kinds, and is a troublesome Museum pest in India. The above figure, which is after Curtis, represents the larva, pupa, and imago of the Cucujid Si/ranus surinamensis, Linn, The natural size of the insect is indicated by tair lines. This species is referred to in there Notes, volume I, page 60, and volume IJ, page 148. It is a common warehouse pest in India, where it has been noticed as attacking both dried fruit and also farinaceoas substances. The above figure represents the imago of the Cucujid Lamolphleus te, a } No. 3.] dlisce/taneous Noles from the Entomological Section, 121 pusillus, Fabr. The natural size of the insect is mdicated by hair lines. Below are given enlarged diagrams of the antenna and of the first, second, and third pairs of legs. The latter are numbered 1, 2, and 3, respectively. ‘The species has been reported as attacking ships’ biscuit in Caleutta, and seems to be a common warehouse pest. The above represents the Lucanid Lucanus lunifer, Hope, male, natural size. This insect is referred to in volume II, page 148 of these Nofes. it has been reported as destructive to oak trees in the Himalayas. Bie 122 Indian Museum Notes. — C Vol, IT. The above represents the Melolonthid, Lachnosterua impressa, Burm., in various stages of development, all natural size, also the side of the head in the imago, enlarged, to show the structure of the antenna. This species has been reported as extremely destructive in tea gardens in Sikkim. It is referred to in these Notes, volume I, page 59, volume II, page 149, and volume III, page 3. SSS ee he The above is the Buprestid Chrysobothris sexnotata, Gory, natural size. Its larve are said to bore into sil timber. Vide these Notes, volume II, page 149, No. 8] Miscellaneous Notes from the Entomological Section. 128 The above is a species of Ptinide, probably belonging to the genus Stnoxylon. It has been reported as tunnelling into the wood of the tree Terminalia belerica. The figure shows the imago enlarged, also much magnified diagrams of the antenna, and first, second, and third pairs of legs. The latter are marked 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The insect is noticed in these Notes, volume III, page 22. The above represents the destructive bamboo borer Dinoderus sp. (Piinade). The figure shows the imago enlarged, also much magna 124 Ladian Museunm Notes. [ Vol. Ill, —— fied diagrams of the antenna and first, second, and third pairs of legs, the latter numbered 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The natural size of the insect is shown by hair lines, ‘The species is referred to in these Notes, volume I, page 43, and volume IT, page 150. The above represents the imago of the Ptinid Rhizopertha pusilla, Fabr., enlarged, also much magnified figures of the legs and antenna. The natural size of the specimen delineated, which was obtained from Sialkot wheat, is indicated by a hair line. The insect attacks wheat, cholum seed, and other farinaceous matter, It is referred to in these Notes, volume I, page 6(), and volume IT, pages 27 and 150. ‘The above represents the Tenebrionid Vribolium ferruginveum, Fabr. The figure shows the imago enlarged, also much magnilicd diagrams of the antenna and first, second, and third pairs of legs, the latter marked 1, 2, and 8, respectively. The natural size of the insect is indicated by No. 8.] 0 Mrsceddaneous Notes from the Hntomological Section. 125 hair lines, The species is a common museum and warchouse pest in India. It is ferred to in these Notes, volume I, page 60, and volume II, page 150. The above represents the imago of a Cantharid bectle, which has been reported as attacking crops in Meerut, It has not yet been identi- fied. The natural size of the inseet is indicated by hair lines. The above represents the larva and pupa, both enlarged, of the Cur- culionid Apion strobilantht, Desbroch. The natural size of the specimens is indicated by hair lines. This insect is referred to in these Noées, volume II, pages 32 and 151, the imago being figured on page 32. It attacks the plant Strobzlanthus pectinatus in Sikkim. 126 Indian Museum Notes. Pant Violent, The above represents the imago of the Curculionid Astyeus lateralis, Fabr., enlarged, with much magnified figure of the antenna. The natural size of the insect is indicated by hair lines. The species is referred to 4 in these Wotes, volume I, page 58,and volume II, page151. It has been reported as attaeking various plants in different parts of India. The above represents the Curculionid Astycus chrysochloris, Wied., naturai size, with magnified figure of the antenna. This insect has been reported as attacking tea plants in Cachar. Itis referred to in these Notes, volume III, page 99. The above represents the imago of the Curculionid Stpalus granulatus, Fabr., natural size. This insect is referred to in these Notes, volume II, page 151. Its larvee are said to bore into Butea frovdusa timber. The above is reduced from a figure in Mr, H, N. Ridley’s report on 128 Tnaian Museum Notes. L Vol. EU. the Destruction of Cocoanut palms by Beetles, Singapore, 1889, It shows the dilapidated appearance which a cocoanut estate presents when suffer- ing from the attack of the beetles Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, Oliv., and Oryetes rhinoceros, Linn, ‘These insects are referred to in these No/es, volume II, pages 8, 9, 149, and 151, the various stages of Liyncho- phorus ferrugineus, Oliv., bene figured in volume I], page 8. The above represents a species of Scolytide belonging to ths genus Polygraphus (allied to P. pubescens cL Europe), which has been reported as tunnelling imto the bark of Pinus exce/sa trees in the North-West Himalayas. The figures show the larva and imago enlarged, also much magnified diagrams of the antenna and legs of the beetle. ‘Ihe topmost lee is the front one. No. 8.) Miscellaneous Notes from the Hutomological Section. 129 The above represents the imago of the species Bruchus chinensis, Linn., enlarged, also the seeds (natural size) o£ various leguminous plants it attacks. The natural size of the insect is indicated by a hair line. ‘The species is referred to in these Noées, volume I, page 209, volume IT, page 152, and volume III, page 29. The above represents a beetle which has been identified as Bruehus emarginatus, Allard. Var. The figure shows the imago enlarged, also much magnified diagrams of the antenna and first, second, and third pairs of legs, the latter numbered 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The insect attacks the seed of the Piswm sativum plant. It is referred to in these Notes, volume I, page 209, and volume II, page 152. 130 Indian Museum Notes. [ Vol. SII. The above represents the imago of the longicorn Xylotrechus quad- rupes, Chevr., both natural size and enlarged. Its larva does much damage by tunnelling into the stems of coffee bushes. The insect is referred to in these Notes, volume I, page 61, and volume II, page 153. The above represents a block of s4l timber, one-seventh natural size, which has been tunnelled by the larve of the Longicorn Plocederus % No. 8.] fiscellancous Notes from the Entomological Section. 151 obesus, Gahan = P. pedestris, Cotes. This insect is referred to in these Notes, volume I, pages 60 and 91, and volume II, page 153. The above represents the imago of the Longicorn Stromatium barba- tum, Fabr., natural size. The specimens delineated were reared from khair wood. The species has also been recorded as attacking teak and other timber. It is referred to in these Notes, volume I, page 59, and volume IJ, pages 12 and 153. The above represents a worker, natural size, of the jungle honey bee Apis dorsata, Faby. This insect builds large single combs in the open, and stores considerable quantities of inferior honey, It is referred to in these Nofes, volume II, page 39. 152 Indian Museum Notes. [ Vol, Lil. ——w The above figure, after Cameron (Mem. Proc., Manchester Lit, and Phil. Soe., vol. IV, 1890) represents the Proctotrupid Platygaster oryze, Cameron, referred toin these Notes, volume II, page 156. The natural size of the insect is indicated by a hair line. To the right is a much enlarged diagram to show the structure of the antenna. - The above figure after Cameron (Mem. Proc. Lit, Philos. Soc., volume IV, 1890) represents the minute Chalcid dAphelinus thee, Cameron, re- ferred to in these Notes, volume II, page 155. The insect is less than half a millimetre in length. To the right is a much enlarged diagram to show the structure of the antenna. No. 3.] Aiscellaneous Notes from the Entomological Section. 133 The above represents a section of the trunk of a young poplar tree from Baluchistan, one-tenth natural size, to show the tunnels made by the larva of the Aegeriid moth Sphecia ommatieformis, Moore. This insect is referred to in these Noées, vol. 11, pp. 14 and 156. The above represents the larval case, natural size, of the bag worm Eumeta crameri, Westw., which defoliates tea and other plants. The insect is referred to in these Noles, volume I, page 204, and volume II, page 157, 134 Indian Museum Notes. [ Vol. III. Tie above represents the caterpillar (natural size) of the species Spalyria minor, Moore, which has been reported as defoliating various plants in Burma, The insect is referred to in these Noées, volume II, page 159, and volume JII, pages 20 and 89. Figures of the imago, male and female, appeared in volume III, page 89. No. 3.) Miscellaneous Notes from the Entomologreal Section. 135 B elt am ff ; tH s is (i) ye es The above represents the male moth, also part of a leaf with pierced cocoon, both natural size, of the wild silk moth Aristhala sikkima, Moore. This insect is referred to in these Notes, volume II, page 89, It has since been forwarded to the Museum from Cachar, where it was found attached to the leaves of the peepul tree (Ficus religiosa). The cocoon is glistening white in colour, in shape and structure not unlike the cocoon of a poly- voltine mulberry silk worm, and containing a good deal of remarkably fine silk. The above represents the Noctuid Leucania eatranea, Guen., in various C 136 Indian Musenm Notes, [ Vcl. TIL. stages of development, all natural size. This inseet is referred to in these Woles, volume I, page 108, and volume II, pages 5, 10, and 169, It has been reported as destructive to various plants in Bengal. The above represents various stages in the life history of the Miero- lepidopterous insect Hudioptes indica, Saunders (after Saunders figures Trans, Ent, Soc., Lond., 1850-51). The species was deseribed as defo- liating cotton plants in Java, and is likely also to occur in India, It is referred to in these Woes, volume II, page 162. The above represents the female imago enlarged, of the brown mosquito (Culex pipiens, Linn.). This insect is referred to in these Notes, volume IIJ, page . ‘The natural size is indicated by a hairline. No. 38.) Afiseellaneous Notes from the Entomological Section. 137 The above represents the larva and pupa, much magnified, after Gilchrist of the species Culex pipiens, Linn, The above is from a drawing furnished by Mr. E. E. Green of 138 Tudian Museum Notes. E Woe Woe Ceylon. It represents the tea leaf miner Oscinis theae, Bigot. The following is an explanation of the figure :—a, tea leaf reduced, to show the tunnel made by the larva; b and e, larve enlarged; d, imago enlarged. The natural size of the insect is indicated by hair lines. The species is referred to in these Notes, volume I, page 204, and volume II, page 165, AS The above represents the imago of the Muscid Riveliia persicé, Bigot. The larva of this insect have been reported as attacking peaches in Chota Nagpur. The species was first described in these Notes, volume I, page 192. Notes on its life, history appeared in the same volume, page 195. The natural size of the insect is indicated by a hair line. The above represents the imago of the Tachinid Chrysops dispar, Fabr., which has been reported as troublesome to cattle in Baluchistan, No. 3.] Miscellaneous Notes from the Entomological Section. 139 The insect is referred to in these Notes, volume II, page 10., The natural size is indicated by hair lines, The above represents apple twigs, one-third natural size, from the Nilgiri Hills, showing the curious excrescences produced by the attack of the Aphid Schizoneura lanigera, Hausmann, This insect is referred to in these Notes, volume I, page 208, and volume II, pages 18,52, and 167. The above shows the result of the attack of the Green Fly Bight 110 Indian Museum Notes. Wall, 1UuL Chlorita flavescens, Fabr., upon tea shoots, All the figures are drawn half — natural size. The sprig marked (a) is an ordinary healthy tea shoot, while those marked (4) are shoots of the same age but suffering from the attack of the Célorita, which dwarfs their growth and renders them useless for tea making. The insect is referred at length in these Notes, volume III, page 9. eee) No. 38.] Ilscellaneous Notes from the Entomological Section. 141 The above represents various stages in the life-history of the common white ant of Lower Bengal, Termes taprosanes, Walker. The first block represents the soldier with large mandibles, also the worker with small mandibles: the natural size in each case is indicated by a hair line. The second block represents the winged form natural size. The third block represents the full grown larva with budding wings, also the fertilised female after it has dropped its wings and returned to the nest, but before its abdomen has expanded to any very considerable extent. The natural size in each case is indicated by a hair line. The fourth block represents the female, natural size, after it has attained its full growth in the nest. The species is referred to in these Notes, vol- ume IT, page 172, and volume IJI, page 23, G.1.C. P. O.—No, 178 B. & A. D,— 5-4294, 1,000, Sha ER a | | INDIAN MUSEUM NOTES, ISSUED BY THE TRUSTEES, NOV 22 189y VoLuMeE III.—No. 4. ——$ "13 8b AN ACCOUNT OF THE INSECTS AND MITES WHICH ATTACK ‘THE TEA PLANT IN INDIA. == Bublished bp Authority of the Government of Endis, Revenue and Agricultural Bepariment, CALCUTTA: PRINTED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF GOVERNMENT PRINTING, INDIA. 1895. Price Eight Annas. Vol. III. ] NOV 82 1697 EN. Uy. INDIAN MUSEUM NOTES. - AN ACCOUNT OF THE INSECTS AND MITES WHICH ATTACK THE TEA PLANT IN INDIA. By E. C. COTES, Dzeruty SUPERINTENDENT OF THE INDIAN Museum, CONTENTS. PAGE PREFACE : ° ° e ° e e ° 5 a ‘ Aaa | MELOLONTHINI - . : : . “ ° i i i sins CHRYSOMELIDE . . : : ° : ° ° ; Z one CuRCULIONIDE A : 5 fs . ° ‘ 6 : para?) _CossIpE 6 . ° é 3 G 5 3 4 ae NoToDONTIDE 5 : é : ° . : » 4 : - 10 LimacoDIDz. ° : : . 4 ° ° . ° S sce: PsycHIDE . ' 6 3 ° ° ° ° 3 : “ Ker as BoMBYCES, VARIOUS FAMILIES 0 ° ° ; . ° 5 es GEOMETRES . i 0 6 9 : . ° ° 6 < 6 2B) Noctvues 5 : ° . ° ° . ° : . ° By MICROLEPIDOPTERA 5 ° ‘ ° ° ° ° ° : en o7 DIPTERA 6 G ; ° é A 0 ° i Ok CaPsIDE . e 0 ; : 6 5 ; ° e 5 - &8 JASSIDE 5 e ° : e ° ° ° e ; 5 . 34 FULGORIDE . ° a 9 : ° : ar ie ° ‘ » 36 APHIDE ° ° 2 . ° 2 ° ° ° ° ° . 38 CoccIDz 5 6 0 4 ‘ ° 5 5 A . F 5 Bo) THYSANOPTERA ° ° ° ° ° e ° e ° e 43 ACRIDIDE . ° ° ° e n e ° ° ° ° e 43 GRYLLIDE . . ° ° 5 ° ° ° ° Fy als TEEMITIDE . ° . > e e ° ° ° . < 4G ACARINA ° e e e ° e e e e ° e 4s INSECTICIDE APPARATUS LIKELY TO BE USEFUL UPON INDIaw TEA GaRDEns . 57 KEROSINE Euston 4 2 ae c : : ° 0 ; - 60 ARSENICAL INSECTICIDES 6 2 : : G ; 3 ; . &2 PyRETHRUM © ° e ° ° e ° 2 2 0) 5 - 64 Hyprocyanic Gas . : . e . ° 6 m f G5 HoOPPERDOZERS = ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° A . 68 PREHFACH. In January 1894, at the instance of the Hon. Mr. James Buckingham, C.I.E., Chairman of the Assam branch of the Indian Tea Associa- tion, a letter was addressed to the Trustees of the Indian Museum by the Government of India, inthe Revenue and Agricultural Department, suggesting the desirability of publishing in a collected form the informa- tion already brought together in the Indian Museum upon the subject of tea blights. The matter was favourably received by the Trustees, and the following report has been drawn up under their instructions. Attention was first directed to the imsects and mites which attack the tea plant in India by Mr. 8S, KE. Peal, then a tea planter in the Sibsagar District of Assam, who published a valuable paper on * mosquito blight ” in the Journal of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India, Vol. 1V, 1873. Mr. Peal described the effect of mosquito blight and warned the planting community of the extent of the injury likely to be occasioned by it. He further traced the insect through its various stages of development subsequent to emergence from the egg. In 1881 the late Mr. James Wood-Mason, at that time Deputy Superin- tendent of the Indian Museum, was deputed to Assam to investigate the matter. Mr. Weod-Mason’s report appeared in 1884. In it he confirmed Mr. Peal’s observations on the subject of mosquito blight, and added an account of the egg which he was the first to discover. He also traced the mite popularly known as “ red spider’? through its trans- formations upon the tea leaf. Numerous other species have since been complained of by tea planters as causing injury to the bushes, and from time to time specimens have been sent to the Indian Museum with inquiries as to their indentity. Some years since the study of the matter was taken up by the writer of this note as part of an extended investigation of the insects which attack crops generally in India. At first, owing to the unarranged con- dition of the general entomological collections of the Indian Museum, very: few of the species that were forwarded in connection with injury to crops could be determined. Little by little, however, the collections have been largely arranged and the identity of the more important species ascertained, B e Preface. The investigation of the habits and life-histories of the various insects, ineluding the whole practical side of the question, has had to be confined to what could be aseertained, without leaving the Museum, from specimens and reports furnished by planters and other residents in the localities affected. This method of inquiry was very desirable in the first instance in order to ascertain the nature and scope of the outbreaks which would require investigation. It has been only an initial step, however, and taken by itself is necessarily inadequate: The cordial eo- operation of many of those concerned, who have not only made observa- tions themselves upon the lines suggested to them, but frequently forwarded living specimens im such condition that they could be kept under observation in rearing-cages in the Indian Museum, has enabled @ surprising amount of information to be collected. The limit of useful work to be accomplished through this agency has now been to a large extent attained, amd the results arrived at require, for their further elaboration, extensive and prolonged investigations which can only be earried out effectively in the field, where all the concomitant cireum- stances can be inquired into. The prospeet of further advance is a hopeful one, provided means can be found of earrying on the investigation upon a scale commensurate with its importance. Already, the information collected in connection with the habits and lifechistories of many of the species is sufficient to indicate the possibility of adopting methods or treatment which have done wonders in dealing with corresponding forms in other parts of the world. Some of these methods have already been experimented wpon with promising results in India, and are likely eventually to be adopted upon a large seale. Others have been suggested, but not yet taken up, while a third class have hitherto hardly so much as reached the ears of the great majority of the planting community. In particular the insecticides, both liquid and gaseous, and the various forms of apparatus for applying them, now in general use in the United States, are worthy of special attention, while a field is open for the cultivation of beneficial parasitic forms, seemingly as promising as that which has yielded results of the greatest practical value against fluted scale in California. The only sound basis for investigations directed to the preventiom and mitigation of inseet ravages lies in the careful study of the habits and life-histories of the species eoncerned. Kesearches in the field and in the laboratory, however, must not be divorced from each other, but must go hand in hand, supported by practical experiments upon a seale sufficient to exclude error. This has been the system adopted in the United States with the result of saving a very appreciable portion of the enormous damage previously caused by insect blights; and there is no apparent reason why similar procedure in India should not be productive Preface. 3 of similarly use‘ul results, especially where such valuable crops as tea, indigo, and coffce are concerned. ‘The following report is intended to show the stage which the inquiry has reached in the case of the tea plant. It has been drawn up with a view both to facilitate reference to what has already been ascertained, and also to indicate the directions in which further research is desirable. The record of the inquiries conducted in the Indian Museum has been kept in the pages of the periodical Indian Museum Notes. The report, therefore, is chiefly based upon this publication, supplemented where possible from the papers of other observers who have frequently been in communication with the present writer upon the subject of their inquiries. Amongst works from which help has been received, special reference may be made to an admirable series of papers by Mr. E. E. Green, criginally published in nineteen instalments in the Ceylon Independent in 1889. In these papers Mr. Green describes his observations on a number of species which attack the tea plant in Ceylon. Most of the insects he describes have also been recorded from India, and are therefore discussed fully in the following pages. Others again have not hitherto been recorded from India, so are merely alluded to briefly, the reader being referred for further particulars regarding them to Mr. Green’s work, which should be in the hands of all interested in the subject. In his recent work on the Chemistry and Agriculture of Tea, Calcutta, 1893, Mr. M. K. Bamber makes a number of suggestions, many of them of much practical value, for dealing with the various blights which attack the tea plant. ‘The chapter which he devotes to the matter is arranged on the same plan as that adopted in the present report, his remarks, indeed, upon the entomology of the subject being in many cases transcribed from Indian Museum Notes. His recommenda- tions, therefore, can easily be consulted by those concerned and, as his work will no doubt be in the hands of most Indian tea planters, it has been considered unnecessary to do more than refer to it in this place. [When not otherwise acknowledged the figures in the following re- port have been drawn from the specimens by native artists in the Indian Museum, the majority being the work of Babu G. C. Chuekrabutty. Many of them have previously eppeared in illustration of papers by the writer in the pages of Indian Museym Notes. With two exceptions the wood-cuts have been prepared by Messrs. West, Newman & Co., of London. Owing to his absence from India the writer has been unable to revise the final proofs of this report; it is hoped, however, that the typo- graphical errors which escape correction will not be of impcrtance. } BZ THE TEA INSECTS OF INDIA. a INSECTA. COLEOPTERA. MELOLONTHINYI. Lachnosterna impressa, Burma—{ = White grub). The larva (7.e, immature form) of this insect is the soft, white, curved grub— shown in the left hand bottom figure. In 1891 it appeared in vast numbers in some of the Darjiling tea gardens, and made great havoc among young tea plants. In one garden it is reported (vide Indian Museum Notes, Vol. III, page 3) to have practically destroyed 100 acres of young tea as fast as it was planted. Its prevalence in other years is shown by the fact that in 1883 no less than 2,695,000 in- dividuals were co]lected and destroyed in the public gardens, Darjiling, alone (vzde Indian Museum Notes, Vol. I, page 59). From what is known in connection with the habits of insects of the same sub-family in other parts of the world we can be practically cer- tain that the life-history of ZLechnosterna impressa is somewhat as follows :— The beetle, a brown insect, depicted natural size in the upper part of the block, mates with another individual of the opposite sex, but other- wise almost exactly like itself, The female shortly afterwards lays 6 The Tea insects of India. its eggs on the ground. From these eggs emerge small curved white grubs armed with powerful jaws with which they bite off the roots of plants, These grubs never quit the ground. They moult at intervals and gradually grow bigger until they become of the size shown in the left hand bottom figure, or even bigger than this, They then moult their skins for the last time and transform into white motionless creatures (or pups), one of which is depicted, natural size, in the right hand bottom figure. The pupa lies dormant for a time in the ground, and then its skin splits down the back, and out of it emerges the beetle which makes its way out of the ground. The beetle flies about for a time and perhaps eats a few leaves, but its chief object in life is to find a mate and to become the parent of another generation. Thus the eirele goes on continuously. With regard to the time spent by the insect in its various stages of growth all that we know is as follows. A number of nearly full-grown grubs, sent to the Indian Museum, Cale itta, from Darjiling in October 1891, remained in the earth at the bottom of the breeding-cage in which they were kept, until the following February, when a beetle emerged, This shows that the insect passes the cold weather in the eround, for in the moist warm climate of Calcutta it is certain to develop at least as fast as in the hills, and possibly considerably faster. The beetle of a species belonging to the same family has been noticed by the writer emerging in large numbers from the ground, on the Cal- eutta maidan, in the latter part of the hot weather, so the probabilities are that the hot season is the usual time for emergence. Under these circumstances the eggs would be likely to be laid about the beginning of the rainy season in Northern India; but this point requires confirma- tion. How long is spent by the grubs in the ground before they become full grown we do not know, but the fact that the European species Melolontha vulgaris, Fabr., spends more than three years in this stave,! while the American species Macrodactylus subspinosus, Fabr., spends the greater part of one year,? leads to the supposition that an equally long period may be required in India. Much, no doubt, depends upon the climate of the locality ; for warmth and damp are almost certain to accelerate development, whereas dryness and cold retard it. In any ease, a generation of the insect is almost certain to occupy one year, and it is quite possible that it takes two or even three years to complete. On Ceylon coffee estates, where Melolonthini larve at one time proved very troublesome, the only method of treatment that seems to have been at all successful was digging out the grubs by hand; and this, though very costly, was generally admitted to be the most satisfactory method of dealing with the pest- 1 Ormerod. 2 Packard. The Tea insects of India, 7 Attempts have recently been made in Europe to destroy the gruls of an allied insect by inoculating them with the spores of a fungoid disease to whieh they are subject. This method of treatment, however, has not hitherto yielded any practical results, so cannot be recommended, In the case of aspecies which attacks the roots of vines in Europe, bisulphide of carbon is said to have been used with some success, but the writer is not in a position to say whether it is likely to be of any use in India. The simplest methcd of applying it is said to have been to make a hole near the main root of the vine by foreing a small stick into the earth, then to pour about half a teaspconful of bisulphide of carbon into the hole, and plug it with earth pressed down by the foot. CHRYSOMELIDA. Diapromorpha melanopus, Lacord—(Orange beetle). This insect: has been reported from Sibsagar, Assam, as eating the stems of tea shoots, so that they wither and droop (ede Indian Museum Notes, Vol. I, p. 106), It is bright orange yellow in colour, and has hence been dubbed the “ Orange beetle.” The wood-cut shows the beetle as it appears from above and alse from the side, both enlarged, also much magnified diagrams of the antenna and of one of the legs, The size of the insect in nature is indicated by the hair lines which show the length measured frem the head to the posterior portions of the elytra. The species is a common one in Intia. The Indian Museum possesses specimens from Sikkim, Sibsagar, Birbhum, Murshedabad, Sahibganj, Calcutta, and Malda. It belongs toa family of leaf-feeding beetles, so any damage that it may do will no doubt be of the nature of defoliation, Nothing seems to have been recorded in India upon the subject of its transformations. From what is known of other species of the same family, it may be expected that tiie eggs are laid upon the leaves, that the larve are active little creatures which feed upon the foliage, even- tually transforming, in some sheltered corner, into stationary pups from which the beetles ultimately emerge. These points, however, require corroboration, It would be useful also to ascertain the period spent by the insect in its various stages of development at different times of the Sap The Tea insects of India. year, the number of annual generations, and the plants other than tea whieh it attacks. CuRCULIONIDZ. Astycus chrysochiorus, Wied. This beetle was sent to the Indian Museum in April 1892 from a tea garden in Cachar, where it was supposed to have been the cause of some injury to the bushes. It was said to strip the young leaves off the tea shoots, but nothing further is known of its habits. The block shows the beetle, natural size, with enlarged figure of its antenna. ‘he insect is covered with tiny seales, which give it a light greenish lustre. LEPIDOPTERA. CossIDzm. Zeuzera coffeze, Nietner—(Red borer!). The larva of this moth is a reddish grub, which tunnels into the stems not only of tea bushes, but also of coffee bushes and young sandalwood trees. 1 White borer of Hampson. The Tea insects of Indra. 9 The figure shows the moth and pupa, also a little piece of stem con- taining a full-grown caterpillar, and an empty pupal ease protruding from the tunnel, as it appears after the moth has emerged. ‘The speci- mens from which the figures are taken were reared in the Indian Museum from infested sandalwood stems from Mysore. Caterpillars thought to belong to the same species have been sent to the Museum from tea gardens both in Darjiling and in Jorhat. The insect was originally described in connection with coffee by Nietner in his pamphlet on the enemies of the coffee tree in Ceylon, 1861. The following is an extract from S, Green’s edition of Nietner’s work, page 14 (Colombo, 1880) :— “This insect . . . . destroys many trees, young and old, the caterpillar eating out the heart : for this purpose it generally enters the tree six or twelve inches from the ground, ascending upwards. Fortunately it is not abundant. It resembles the cater- pillar of the goat-moth of England, is two inches long, and as thickas a goose-quill, nearly naked, of yellowish colour, back red, head thoracic, and anal plates blackish ; when full-grown the colours are light and dirty. The sickly, drooping foliage, and a heap of globules of conglomerated wood-dust at the foot of a tree soon indicate that the caterpillar is carrying on its destructive work inside. The chrysalis rests three months, and its skin half protrudes from the hole when the moth escapes, which is about February. ‘The moth measures 1?” across the wings, which are white, spotted with steel blue; the upper ones, with one large spot and numerous series of small ones, placed in rows between the nerves; the lower wings are less spotted. Thorax with four spots near margin. Abdomen variegated with blue. Legs blue, second pair with white femora, third pair with white femora and tibie.” An excellent account of the insect in connection with tea has lately been given in a paper by Mr, E. EK. Green, which appeared in the Ceylon Independent. According to Mr, Green’s observations it is by no means uncommon on tea estates in Ceylon, though the damage which it does is often ascribed to other causes, as the caterpillar is very completely con- cealed in the interior of the stem. The female moth lays her eggs in the bark, and the young caterpillars tunnel their way into the heart of the wood. ‘They are generally found in the first instance in the smailer twigs, but as they grow bigger they make their way into the main branches and stem, and sometimes kill young tea bushes down to the ground. Wher full grown they transform into chrysalids in the burrow. Mr. Green adds that the presence of the insect may usually be detected by the heaps of sawdust-like excrement to be found on the ground under the bush. ; The chief points which remain to be ascertained in connection with the life-history of the insect are the dates of emergence and the periods of time spent by it in the ege@ and larval stages. In the case of coffee Mr. Nietner observed that the moth emerges about February, and it is noticeable that a moth reared in the Indian Museum in 1892 from sandalwood, forwarded to Calcutta from Mysore, also emerged in this 10 The Tea insects of Tudea. month. Mr. Green, however, notices that he has found moths at several other times of the ycar in Ceylon, so it would appear that the insect does not invariably emerge in February. The European species Cossus ligni- perda, Fabr., which belongs to the same family, is said to spend as much as three years in the larval stage, and it is not unlikely that Zeuzera cofiee will prove to be nearly equally slow in development, though, as a general rule, insects develop more rapidly in India than in Kurope. With regard to remedies, cutting out infested stems seems to be the most promising treatment that has been suggested, though the damage occasioned appears to be seldom sufficient to make this worth while. In the case of coffee bushes Dr. Bidie remarks (Report on the ravages of the borer in coffee estates, Madras, 1867): —“ If not much injured, the exter- — nal opening should be closed with a wooden peg, which causes the death of the borer, and the tree will then in all probability recover.” Squirting kerosine oil into the hole or hooking the grub out with a barbed wire would also be likely to be effective in cases where the trouble was worth taking. NoToDONTIDA. Lobster caterpitlars. Stauropus alternus, Walker. The caterpillar of this species has been recorded by Green as occasionally feeding on the leaves of the {ea plant in Ceylon. It has also been noticed as feeding en cocoa and Cassia fistula. As in the case of other members of the same family, the caterpiliars are curious hump-backed creatures with long legs. Famber notices that they are found in Darjiling, and as the species is one that occurs throughont India, besides inhabitirg Ceylon, it may appropriately be included in the present report. The Tea insects of India. 11 The figure, which is after Moore, shows the moth, larza, and eccoon, all natural size, The caterpillar spins a cocoon amongst the leaves, and Green records that the pupal stage lasts for two or three weeks. The eggs are likely to be laid upon the tea plant, but neither the locality of ovi-position nor the number of generations in the year seems as yet to have been ascertained, LIMACODIDH: Limacodids caterpillars (nettle grubs) have been reported as attack- ing tea alike in the Dooars, Assam, and Ceylon. They feed upon the foliage and can be recognised by their curious slug-like appearance. They are mostly brightly coloured and armed with urticating spines which are capable of inflicting an unpleasant sting. When full grown, the caterpillar forms around itself a curious potato-like case which is a very characteristic feature of the family, Here it transforms into a chry- salis, from which, after a period of repose, the moth emerges. The species hithereto recorded as attacking the tea plant are as follows :— (1) Thosea (Miresa) cotesi, Swinhoe. Pupal cases very similar to those of this species, but insufficient for precise identification, were sent to the Indian Museum in October 1889 from a tea garden in the Dooars where they had been found upon tea bushes, The species itself was afterwards described by Colonel Swinhoe from i2 The Tea insects of India: moths reared in the Indian Museum from caterpillars forwarded from Durrang in January 189]. In Durrang the caterpillars were reported as having defoliated tea bushes and when full grown descended to the ground to pupate. Children had been employed to hand-pick the cater- pillars, but the insect had proved too numerous to be dealt with success- fully in this way. Some difficulty aiso was experienced in hand-picking owing to the stinging spines with which the caterpillars were armed. The figure shows the male, female moths, also the empty pupal case, all natural size, drawn from specimens reared in the Indian Museum. The pupal case is depicted with the upper portion pushed up, like an open lid, as it appears after the moth has emerged. With regard to the times of emergence, all that has yet been observed is as follows:—-Full-grown caterpillars, sent to the Indian Museum from Durrang in January, transformed into pupx the same month, moths emerging on 26th January. From its activity in the coldest month of the year and the short period spent in the pupal stage, the insect would seem likely to pass through a number of generations in the year, but more extended observations are required. Parasa lepida, Moore. This species has been recorded by Green as attacking tea in Ceylon. It has previously been noticed, under the name IJimacodes graciosa, by Nietner as defoliating coffee bushes in the same island. It has also been reared in the Indian Museum from caterpillars fcund feeding upon mulberry leaves in Calcutta. The Museum further possesses specimens from Ranchi. The insect has also been recorded from Java, so is probably widely distributed. in the case of the specimens reared in the Indian Museum, the cater- pillars were found in September, but the moth did not emerge until June in the following year, the intervening eight months being spent in the pupal case. This long period of hybernation does not appear to be an invariable feature of the life-history of the species, for Nietner, writing in connection with Ceylon, observes “‘the chrysalis rests from The Tea insects of India. 13 the middle of August to the middle of October.” A probable supposi- tion is that the insect passes through several generations in the year, the length of time spent in the chrysalis stage being hable to protraction when warmth or moisture, or both, are deficient. The fact that Nietner only records the presence of the caterpillars upon Ceylon coffee bushes between the months of June and August points to the possibility of at least occasional hybernation even in that island, The figure above, which is after Moore, represents the male and female moth, also the caterpillar, all natural size. The moths are brownish in colour with bright green markings. The caterpillar is greenish with mauve stripes; the sting which its spines are capable of inflicting is described by Green as rather more intense than that of the common nettle. The cocoon is purplish in colour and is usually attached to the plant. Green describes the eggs as oval and almost transparent; he found them in masses of from fifteen to twenty on the back of the leaf, overlapping each other like the scales of a fish, Psycnipm—(Bag worms), Several species of Psychide attack tea. The caterpillars, which are popularly known as “bag worms,’ may be recognised by the curious little cases of sticks or leaves which they carry about upon their backs. They injure the tea plant by eating up the foliage. The caterpillar enlarges its case from time to time as it grows bigger. When full crown it fastens its case with silken strands on to some twig or leaf. It then closes up the entrance in front and, after turn'ng completely round upon itself inside the case, so that its head comes where its tail had _pre- viously lain, it moults its skin for the last time and transforms into a pupa (=chrysalis). After resting for a while, the pupa, which is armed 14 The Tca insects of India. with curious backward set spines for the purpose, works for itself an opening in the loose end of the case. ‘The pupal skin then cracks and the sexually mature inseet emerges, The female is a degraded wingless grub which never quits the case. The male is an active winged moth which flies rapidly about and mates with the female as she lies inside the case. After mating, the male dies and the female proceeds to lay her numerous eggs inside the case. The treatment that seems to be generally adopted upon tea gardens is that of collecting the cases by hand, As the evgs are laid inside the case, it is necessary to collect not only those which have eaterpi!lars inside them, but also the old and aparently dead cases; for otherwise there will be fear of leaving cases full of live eggs from which young caterpillars may afterwards emerge in great numbers, As the female is incapable of flight, the only way that the insect spreads is by the caterpillars, which are very active, crawling from bush to bush. The evil, therefore, can easily be kept in check by a vigilance in. picking off the caterpillars, A small trench with a streak of coal-tar at the bettom is likely to be sufficient to prevent the insects from invading a garden from the neighbouring jungle. ‘This they are always liable to do, for most of the species feed upon numerous other plants besides tea. ‘The species hitherto recorded as attacking tea are as follows :— Eumeta crameri, Westw. Caterpillars of this species have been sent to the Indian Museum on several cecasions from tea gardens alike in Sikkim and Assam. SSS US = —— The ifsest has also beet recorded Ly Green as feeding upon both tea and coffee bushes in Ceylon. The cases, shown natural size in the figure, are like miniature fagots of sticks. The most remarkable feature about the caterpillars is theit extraordinary vitality. Indeed, they will withstand an amouiit of rough handling which would be fatal to the Jarve of almost any other group of Lepidoptera. The point is an important one to remember in considers ing how best to dispose of what are brovght in by coclies. The Tea insects of India. 15 The chief points in connection with the insect which remain to be ascertained are the number of generaticns in the year and the periods passed in the various stages of development. Eumeta sikkima, Moore. A very complete and interesting account ©f£ this insect has been given in the pages of Indian Museum Notes by Mr. G. C. Dudgeor, who found the eaterpillars very generally vpon sal and Jess often upon tea in the Darjiling district. The figtte, which has Leen taketi from spegineéns presented to the Tndian Museum by Mr. Dudgeon, shows ;—(1) the male moth; (2) the degraded wittzless fémale as she appears when taken out of the ease j (3) the larval case iti which the female passes her existerice ; (4) the larva! ease of the male, with pupal skin protruding from which the male moth: has emerged. ‘The figures are all natural size. The following is an extract from Mr, Dudgcon’s paper ‘— “The larvee emerge about the Ist of April fom eggs laid at the beginning of March in the same year. This is the first brood of the year, but the othets do not follow in any regularity, and it has been impossible for me to ascertain how many broods there are, as the larvze and pupe are found in all stages throughout the rains. Larve when first emerged are about ohessixteenth of an inch in length. Colour 16 The Tea insects of India. reddish brown. Heads large, mandibles strong. Body cylindrical, tapering towards the tailend. Pectoral legs large, long, and very powerful ; abdominal legs seen perfectly through magnifying glass, semi-developed, ten in number, including anal legs. Pec- toral segments dorsally covered with a light brown shell-like covering. They do not seem to utilise the old cocoon in the construction of their own cases, and walk about for days with the abdominal segments always held perpendicular to the rest of the body. Some form cases about the third or fourth day from bits of moss and bark of sal trees on the leaves of which they feed, but they constantly desert their cases at first. The larva feeds on the young leaves of the trees at this stage, but afterwards seems almost to prefer the old and tough ones. The larva never leaves its case after it has once begun to enlarge it, which it does by adding small bits of moss, leaves, flowers, stalks, and in one case the elytra of a beetle was used. The mouth of the case is always made flexible, so that when alarmed the insect can draw in its head and the mouth of its case as well.’’ Cases of a Psychid, which may perhaps belong to the same species, were sent to the Museum in 1888 from Ranchi, where they were said to appear chiefly in November and to infest tea, sal, and other plants. The material in this case was insufficient for the absolute identification of the species. Amatissa consorta, Temp]. This insect was sent to the Museum as responsible for a good deal of damage to tea in the Darjiling district in the early part of the rains of 1893, The specimens received in June were larva, but both males and The Tea insects of India. 17 females emerged in the Museum before the rainy season was far advanced, so the period passed in the pupal stage must be comparatively short. Several specimens of an Ichneumonid parasite, also a single Tachinid parasite, emerged in the rearing-cage in which the caterpillars were kept in the Museum, These parasites have not yet been precisely determined, but they both belong to groups of insects which lay their eggs upon caterpillars. From what has been observed in the case of other species we know that the grubs which emerge from these eggs cut their way into the eaterpillar’s body. Their victim may drag on a weary existence for some time afterwards, but invariably perishes in the end, without leav- ing offspring, The point is interesting as it shows that even the tough case in which the bag worm encloses itself is not sufficient to ensure it from the attack of these parasite forms, which, as will be shown under the heading of Dasychira thwaitesit, have a wonderful effect in keeping down some defoliating species of Lepidoptera in India. The block shows—(!) Adult male of Amatissa consorta; (2) its larval case with empty pupal skin protruding ; (3) ‘Tachinid parasite ; (4) Ich- neumonid parasite. The figures are all drawn natural size. Govisana bipars, Walker. An insect thought to belong to this species has been recorded by Dudgeon as feeding upon the tea plant in Darjiling, Dudgeon noticed that it completely strips the tea bushes it feeds on, and often kills them by taking off the bark to make its case. The figure is from a specimen of the male moth presented to the Indian Museum by Mr. Dudgeon. Postscript.—A quantity of live caterpillar in various stages of development, which are thought to belong to the species Govisana bipars, Walker, have just been received from a tea garden in Assam where they are said to have killed a number of bushes down to the ground by eating off the bark—28th March 1894. Babula sp. Bamber notices a caterpillar of this genus which “builds for itself a conical case from the epidermis of the leaves on which it lives,’ He adds—“I have only seen it on a few bushes in Assam, but these it completely defoliated, being present on the bushes throughout the whole season and preventing their flushing.” The insect C 18 The Tea insects of India. may not improbably belong to the species Babula yroter, Moore (=Acanthopsyche mooret, Hampson), figured below. The figure to the left represents the male moth, that to the right its larval case with empty pupal skin protruding. The figures are taken from specimens reared upon Lagerstremia indica leaves in the Indian Museum. ‘The species has also been recorded as feeding upon babu, BoMBYCES, VARIOUS FAMILIES. Dasychira sp. Caterpillars and cocoons of a species Dasychira, referred to in /ndian Museum Notes urder the specific name of Dasy- chira thwaitesiz, Moore, were sent to the Indian Museum in February 1886 from a tea garden in the Dooars where they were said to have caused serious damage by feeding upon the leaves. The insect is thought to be identical with a species previously recorded by Fisher as having defoliated a large area of sil trees in the Dooars in October 1878, where it also attacked tea and other plants.! The caterpillar is covered with hair and has four thick tufts on the back which give it a somewhat characteristic appearance. When full grown it spins itself up between the leaves of the tea plant in a scanty cogoon composed chiefly of its own hair, which appears to be very easily detached. Here it transforms into a chrysalis. In the case of the February generation, which was the one kept under observation in the Indian Museum, the insect remained in the cocoon for rather less than a 1 See Indian Museum Notes, Vol. I, p. 29. The Tea insects of India. 19 fortnight. The number of generations in the year and the time spent, in each of them has not yet been ascertained. The figure above shows—(1) the male moth; (2) the female moth ; (8) the cocoon partially. enveloped in a tea leaf; (4) the chrysalis as it appears when extracted from the cocoon ; (5) the caterpillar ;—all natural size. The most remarkable feature noticed about the insect was the extent to which it suffered from parasites. The number of live caterpillars and cocoons forwarded to the Museum was considerable, but so great was the mortality among them from this cause that very few moths could be reared. On the other hand, large numbers of Tachinid flies emerged in the breeding-cage, also two species of Chalcide. The Tachinid flies have been referred to the two species 7rycolyya bombycis, Becher, and Masicera dasychirz,| Wulp. The Chalcide have been identified as Chaleis euplea, Westw., and Pertlampus sp. Both the Tachinid flies and also Chalets euplea are practically certain to attack the caterpillar. In the case of the Pertlampus there is some doubt ; indeed, from observations made by Howard in America upon other species of the same genus, it is probable that the insect is parasitic, not upon the caterpillar, but upon the Tachine. The question of the habits 10f the four adult specimens preserved in the Indian Museum, three appear to belong to the species Zrycolyga bombycis, Becher, and one to the species Masicera dzsy- chire, Wulp. c 2 20 The Tea tnsects of India. of the PeriJampus is an interesting one, though the insect has not yet been found in sufficient numbers to be of any practical importance. The wood-cut to the left shows Chalcis euplea enlarged; that to the right shows the Perz/ampus, also enlarged. The natural size in each case is indicated by hair lines. The most important parasites are undoubtedly the Tachinid flies, which would seem to act as a most effectual natural check upon the multiplication of this and other defoliating caterpillars in India. Their history requires very careful working out, as there are two forms con- cerned which superficially are almost indistinguishable from each other, though the specialist in Holland, to whom they have been submitted, looks upon them as representing separate species, The point is an im- portant one to investigate, asone of the two species (vz., 7rycolyga bombycts, Becher) is the well-known silk-worm fly which is very destruc- tive to silk-worms in Murshedabad and elsewhere in Bengal. The figure above shows 7rycolyga bembycis on three stages of develop- ment, all natural size. To the left is the full-grown larva (maggot), in the middle is the pupal case, and to the right is the sexually mature fly. The habits of Trycolyga bombycis, as observed in the silk districts,' are briefly as follows :—The fly lays its eggs, one at a time, on the bodies of the caterpillars. One fly is therefore able to infect a large number of caterpillars. The ege hatches a few hours after it is laid, and out of it creeps a tiny maggot which bores its way into the body of the cater- pillar. Here it lives and grows, feeding on the fatty tissues of its host 1 See Indian Museum Notes, Vol. I, p. 83. The Tea insects of India. 21 for about a week, The caterpillarin the meantime lives on and may even spin itself up into a cocoon, When full grown, the maggot, which now looks much like a grain of boiled rice, endowed with movement, cuts its way out of the caterpillar’s body and crawls down to the ground, where it buries itself. In cutting its way out of the caterpillar’s body it inflicts such severe injury that the caterpillar invariably dies. In the ground the maggot transforms into a pupa enclosed in the brown bean-shaped case shown in the figure. In this state, in warm weather, it remains inactive for about a fortnight, the pupal case then cracks and out of it emerges a full-grown winged fly which seeks a mate and becomes in a few days the parent of another generation. The period spent in the different stages of growth varies according to the time of year, the pupal stage in particular being said to be protracted, in the cold weather, to some months, during which period the insect hybernates. Suggestions have been made for importing the silk-worm fly from the silk districts, in cases where defoliating caterpillars have multiplied excessively, and the experiment would seem to be well worth trying, though its success must depend largely upon the question, which has not yet been sufficiently investigated, of the relative importance of the part played by this particular species amongst the numerous forms which attack caterpillars in India, From recent observations, now in course of publication in the periodical Indian Museum Notes, it appears that Try- colyga bombycis attacks such different caterpillars as the mulberry silk- worm, the eri silk-worm, the tea Dasychira, and Olene mendosa, Hiibn. In the case of the mulberry silk-worm, we know that a very few flies, when allowed unimpeded access, are able rapidly to destroy a very large number of caterpillars. Indeed, so much is this the case that the doors and windows in Bengal silk-rearing establishments have to be carefully protected by screens in order to keep out the flies, Where this precau- tion is not taken, the silk-worms are liable to be destroyed almost whele- sale, Mukerji recounts how, upon one occasion, the fly destroyed ninety per cent. of a lot of silk caterpillars he was rearing in Berhampore, and his experience is a common one. It remains to be seen to what extent it can he turned to practical account. Chalcis euplea is likely to attack the caterpillar in a manner very similar to that adopted by Zrycolyga bombycis, the only point of much practical importance in which it is likely to differ, being in the place of pupation, for Chaleide larve often pupate in, or close to, the body of their victim, instead of sheltering themselves in the ground as is the case with Tachinz. The precise habits in this instance have yet to be ascer- tained by actual observation. Olene mendosa, Hiibn.—(=Dasychira mendosa, Hamp.) Cater- pillars of this species were sent to the Museum in February 1890 fromm 99 The Tea insects of India. Darjiling, where they were said to feed upon tea bushes, The figure shows the female moth, also the caterpillar, both natural size. The figure of the moth is from a specimen reared in the Indian Museum, that of the caterpillar is after Moore. The male moth is a brownish creature not unlike the female, but differs in being very consi- derably smaller and in having pectinated antenna. The caterpillar is covered with hair, One of the specimens sent to the Museum was found to be parasitized by the T'achinid Trycolyga bombycis, Becher. No further information has been obtained, but the insect is likely to have very similar habits to the Dasychira sp. described above. Undetermined hair-covered caterpillar. The precise identity of this insect has not yet been ascertained. The following ex- tract from a note by the writer (/udian Museum Notes, Vol. III, page 2) gives all that has yet been recorded about it :— * In April 1891 specimens were furnished by Messrs, Andrew Yule & Co. of an insect which had proved destructive to tea (Camellia theifera) in the Jorhat district of Assam. The manager of one of the gardens wrote that he had been getting twenty- five 2-maund bags of these caterpillars picked off the bushes daily, but that in spite of all his efforts they seemed rather to increase in numbers. They stripped the leaves and the bark of the bushes to such an extent as in some cases to kill the plants. The manager added that during the ten years he had been in the district he had never seen such a visitation, and that his coolie sirdars, some of whom had been over twenty years on the garden, could not remember the like. The specimens that were forwarded were found to be the larvae of a Bombyces moth which is thought to belong to the family Arctiide. The insect does not appear to have been previously sent to the Museum as attacking tea, and it cannot be identified precisely without an examina tion of the moth into which the caterpillar transforms.” Andraca trilochoides, Moore. ‘The caterpillars of this species (=A, bipunctata, Hampson) were reported in 1893 as doing a good deal of damage by defoliating tea bushes both in Cachar and Jorhat. The The Tea insects of India. 23 figure shows the moth, the catterpillar and the cocoon, all natural size from specimens forwarded to the Indian Museum :— The first specimens that reached the Indian Museum were forward- ed from Cachar in January 1893. The insect continued prevalent in Cachar for some time subsequent to this date, and was again sent to the Museum in September 1893 from Jorhat. In Cachar, according to the information forwarded, the bushes that were attacked were not situat- ed in blocks, but were scattered here and there through the tea. In many cases they were said to have been completely defoliated, and the nature of the damage that was occasioned may be judged from the fact that in one garden alone in Cachar, in the six months ending May 1893, it was found worth while to spend some fifteen hundred rupees in employing coolies to pick the insects off the bushes. In this case no less than sixty-nine and a half maunds weight of caterpillars were said to have been destroyed—a goodly quantity when it is remembered how voracious is the appetite of each individual insect. Moths emerged in the Museum in March and from caterpillars received in February from Cachar. From caterpillars again, forwarded to the Museum from Jorhat in September, moths emerged in October. This would seem to indicate that development goes on throughout both the rainy season and the cold weather, the number of generations in the year being, no doubt, numerous. The cocoon is a loose silken structure attached to the twigs of the tea plant, so in habits the insect is likely to resemble the Dasychira described above. GEOMETRES. In July 1890 an obscure Geometrid caterpillar was forwarded to the Indian Museum from Nowgong, Assam, where it was said to have been attacking tea bushes. ‘The material furnished was insufficient for the precise identification of the species, and as the insect has not e 24 The Tea insects of India. SE subsequently been complained of, it is not likely to be of very much importance. The figure shows the caterpillar, natural size. The specimen was kept for some time in alcohol before the drawing was made, so the figure is not a very satisfactory one, though it gives the essential features of the insect. Caterpillars of the group Geometres can be recognised by their pecu- liar mode of progression, They have the anterior pairs of prolegs rudi- mentary and the remainder set far back, while the body is slender and elongated. Owing to this peculiar structure they are able to step along with considerable rapidity, by holding the ground first with the little jointed legs (A), at the front end of the body and then with the prolegs (B), at the posterior end, while they alternately hump up their bodies and stretch them out to their full extent, Geometres caterpillars are on this account popularly known as loopers. They all feed upon leaves, When full grown, the caterpillar transforms inte a chrysalid whence the moth afterwards emerges. The moths of the various species are very different from each other in appearance, but most of them are slender creatures with large weak wings. The males have flat comb-shaped antenne, the females have slender thread-like antenne. The species which feeds upon tea has yet to be determined and traced through the various stages of its development. NoctveEs, Agrotis suffusa, Fabr. This cosmopolitan insect is one of a number of allied species which do much damage to crops in all parts of the world, | It has been recorded by Green as attacking young tea plants in Ceylon, where its caterpillar is known as “‘ black grub.” It has not actu- ally been sent to the Indian Museum in this connection from any Indian tea garden, but it has frequently been reared by the writer from cater- pillars sent to the Museum as attacking other crops in India, and it repre- sents a group of insects with one or more of which the Indian tea planter is very likely to be troubled. It has been reported as attacking various crop plants in Kurseong, Jessore, Murshidabad, Tipperah, Ghazipur, The Tea insects of India. 25 Fatehgarh and Behar, and as specimens have also been captured by ento- mologists in Kulu, Solun, Sikkim, Caleutta, Mhow, Poona, and Quetta there can be no doubt about its prevalence throughout India. The figure shows the moth, and the full-grown caterpillar, both natural size, the former from a specimen in the Indian Museum, the latter after Riley. The caterpillar is a soft dark-coloured grub which lives in a hole in the ground in the day-time and sallies out at night to feed upon young plants which it bites off close to the ground. Green notices that a single caterpillar will sometimes cut off as many as twelve young tea plants in one night, the severed stems being left lying about where they fall. It will thus be seen that the insect is capa- ble of doing a good deal of damage, Like other “ cut worms” the caterpillar of Agrotis suffusa, when full grown, transforms into a chrysalis in the ground. From this chrysalis the moth afterwards emerges ready to mate and lays its eggs. The insect has been very carefully studied in America by Dr. C, V, Riley, United States Entomologist, who writes in one of his reports :— “The eggs are laid in small batches, and often in two or three layers, covered sparsely with long scales from the abdomen of the female moth. They are pale- fulvous in colour, and nearly spherical in shape, the base being somewhat flattened. The polar ribs are not very distinct, and the crown is small. These eggs we have found laid on peach and sycamore leaves, upon which the larve do not feed. The larva in the first stage is also a semi-looper, the front prolegs being atrophied. The species is parasitized by Tachinide, which we have often bred from it.” In Behar opium fields the caterpillar has been reported as chiefly prevalent between November and March, the moth being common from the beginning of February until the beginning of March, A caterpillar, forwarded to the Indian Museum in May 1889 from Kur- seong, transformed into a pupa on 17th May and emerged as a moth on 28th May. A moth again emerged in one of the Museum rearing-cages 26 The Tea insects of India. in March 1890 from caterpillars forwarded from Oudh the same year. The Museum also possesses a moth from Jessore dated September. It may be concluded that in Northern India the insect goes through several generations in the course of the year. The precise habits in this respect, however, have yet to be observed in connection with tea. Digging the caterpillars out by hand or flooding them out of their burrows with water aad then collecting them seem to be the most satis- factory methods of dealing with the pest. According to Scott, who observed the insect in pope yonelia in Behar between the years 1874 and 1878, the cultivator goes round his poppy- plot in the morning, armed with a spade, with which he digs out the caterpillar wherever he sees the protruding leaves and stalks which mark the creature’s burrow. Irrigation also is employed to bring the caterpillars to the surface, where they are fed upon by crows, mynas, starlings, cattle egrets and other birds, though these creatures are not sufficient by themselves to keep down the number of the insect, Scott adds that the pest can easily be checked by dusting the plants over a few times in the evenings with a mixture of quicklime and ashes, but he notices that the cultivators generally do not resort to this method. Achzea melicerte, Drury. The caterpillar of this moth was re- ported from Dehra Dun in August 1892 as doing some damage to tea. It first appeared in the early part of the rainy season on the tallow tree (Sapium sebiferum), and seems only to have attacked the tea plant to save itself from starvation after all the leaves on the tallow trees had been devoured. The species has been sent to the Indian Museum on numerous occa- sions as attacking a variety of crops in India, and as it has also been recorded as occurring in the Malay Archipelago and in Australia, its range must be extensive. Its principal food plant in India appears to be castor oil, which it often completely defoliates. It is said to pupate in the leaf, and the fact that caterpillars have reached the Indian Museum in such different seasons as January, July, August, and September, makes it likely that a number of generations are gone ‘through in the course of the year, Inthe rainy season in Dehra Dun The Tea insects of India. Q7 the caterpillar stage was said to have occupied from fifteen to twenty days, while about ten days were spent in the pupal stage. The figure shows the moth and caterpillar, both natural size. MICROLEPIDOPTERA. Gracilaria theivora, Wlsm. This species was originally de- scribed by Lord Walsingham in the pages of Indian Museum Notes from specimens furnished to the Indian Museum by Mr. FE, E, Green, who reared them from caterpillars which he found mining the leaves of the tea plant in Ceylon: The figure, which is after Walsingham, shows the moth much enlarged. The natural size is indicated by hair lines. The insect is not known to do any appreciable damage in Ceylon, and has not yet been recorded from India, The following summary of its habits, as observed by Mr, Green, is reproduced from Ixdian Museum Notes, Vol. 11, page 50 :— “ The egg is laid on the underside of a young leaf, generally on a young bush. On the hatching of the egg, the young caterpillar mines the leaf, the mine being visible on the underside only and terminating in a small pocket formed by the folding over of the ‘edge of the leaf. Here the caterpillar sheds its skin, and, this done, it proceeds to roll 28 The Tea insects of India. the leaf together, so as to form a shelter in which it lives for the remainder of its larval life, feeding upon the substance of the leaf. When full fed, it is about three-eighths of an inch in length, and yellowish or greenish in colour, With a few short bristles scattered over its body. - The chrysalis is formed in a flat silken cocoon on the leaf, the pupal stage lasting about two weeks. The caterpillar is attacked by minute Ichneumonidae, besides being often drowned in wet weather by the water that accumulates in the rolled-up leaf,” Pandemis (? Capua) menciana, Walker (=Cacecia sp., Green). The caterpillar of this minute moth has been recorded by Green as doing a good deal of damage in Ceylon tea gardens. It has not yet been authoritatively recorded from India, but Bamber notices the pres- ence of an insect which may perhaps belong to the same species. According to Green’s observations, as published in the Ceylon Independent, the caterpillar, which is a yellowish creature, when full grown about three quarters of an inch in length, feeds upon the young leaves. It twists up the leaves and spins them together with a silken web, thus rendering the shoots unsuitable for tea-making. When full grown, the caterpillar transforms into a chrysalis in a silken shelter which it spins for itself between two leaves. From the chrysalis emerges a minute brownish moth with the bell-shaped wings characteristic of the group Tortrices. DIPTERA, Oscinis theze, Bigot, MS.—(= Agromyza (?) sp., Green). This minute two-winged fly was discovered by Mr. HE. E. Green, who traced it through its various stages of development in Ceylon, where its larva mines the leaf of the tea bush. It is not known to have done any appre- ciable damage in Ceylon and has not yet been recorded from India, According to Mr. Green’s observations, as recorded in the pages of the Ceylon Independent, the egg is laid upon the leaf. The larva, a minute yellowish maggot, burrows into the tissue of the leaf, leaving a sinuous tunnel easily visible from the exterior. When full grown, it pupates at the end of its tunnel, and emerges after a few days in the form of the adult fly. Mr. Green notices that the insect is subject to the attack of a minute hymenopterous parasite. RHYNCHOTA. CaPsIDz, Helopeltis theivora, Waterhouse—(=H. thetovora, Moore, as quoted by Wood-Mason). ‘This insect does a great deal of damgae to tea. It chiefly attacks the tender leaves which are the ones used in tea- making, and as it affects wide areas, it is a formidable enemy to the tea trade. When full grown, it has much superficial resemblance to the The Tea insects of India. 29 mosquito, and is hence generally known as “ Mosquito blight.” It may be distinguished at a glance by its knobbed scutellar spine which has been appropriately compared to a minute drumstick sticking out from the middle of its back. The figures, which are taken from specimens in the Indian Museum collection from Assam, show the larva in two stages of development, also the winged form, all much enlarged. ‘The natural size in each case is indicated by hair lines. Attention was first directed to the insect by Mr. S. EH. Peal, who published a valuable paper upon it in the Journal of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India ( Vol. IV, 1873), with excellent figures, illustrating both the various stages of the insect after leaving the ege, and also the damage done by it to the tea bush. The method of oviposition was first described by the late Mr. J. Wood-Mason, whose report appeared in 1884, Further light upon the habits of the insect is afforded by some valuable communication to Indian Museum Notes from ‘Messrs, Harcourt and Dudgeon; while for information relating to the practical side of the question, the writer is also indebted to a review of the genus Helopeltis by the late Mr. E, T. Atkinson. The insect Injures the tea bush by sucking up the juice with its proboscis, which it inserts into tissue of the leaf much in the way that the mosquito sucks blood. The following extract from Peal’s paper, as quoted in The nature of the damage. 30 The Tea insects of India. Wood-Mason’s report, gives an excellent account of the nature of the damage in Assam :— ‘¢ The general view of the tea is that the shoots are all brown, withered, and in fact dead, and the tea presents a generally brown look, instead of the bright healthy green that is usual. On examining a tree so affected, if the blight has only recently affected it, the appearance is very different from that of a tree which has suffered some time. In the former case, the general growth and the look is normal, but the youngest shoots and tips are more or less spotted with brown, the size of the spots varying with the age of the insect. If the bug is very young, the punctures are close and minute, and the discolora- tions coalescent; but if it is full grown, the spots are larger, say an eighth of an inch in diameter. Again, if the punctures are recent, the colour is pale brown and darkest at the edges; but if one or two or more days old, the spots are dark brown verging on black, the entire leaf curling up and withering completely if they are close. “Tn the case of a tree that has suffered some time and severely, the symptoms are often less visible at first glance; the dead leaves have mostly fallen off, and the minute shoots at the leaf-axils alone show the damage, and all are dry and dead ; there is less dead leaf showing, and in its place we find dead ‘ tips’ everywhere. ‘© A more careful study will often show a still more unpleasant fact—#.e., that ere it ceased entirely to shoot out, the tree had made many efforts to grow, all of which had been rendered abortive; and a branch that has not yielded one single leaf or tip will present all the appearance of having been very severely and persistently plucked. “ On the tips of the young vigorous shoot being punctured, it has died as certainly as if nipped off, and the eyes below in the leaf-axils shoot out vigorously; and ere the bug can do serious damage, one or two shoots have attained some size and carry several leaves; but as the insects increase in size, these tips again are attacked and other shoots start from other eyes, though attaining a less vigorous growth, and in a short time we have a regular «broom,’ where not one leaf or tip has been taken by us, but has been killed off or sucked dry by the bug alone: drawings of such I send herewith to illustrate. ‘When this is the case, growth will have come toa complete standstill, as every shoot requires from (say) forty to fifty days to mature from an eye to be fit to pluck. We may say the trees are shut up for about two entire months at least; and it is specially unfortunate that this takes place usually about mid-season, and when we should be doing our very best. I do not state that the entire garden is thus affected at once, or we should soon see tea itself at a standstill, but that the particular patches and trees most blighted are so as before stated. It is difficult to tell what part will be attacked this year or next: all places seem pretty equally liable to blight, and, unless very bad indeed, it is seldom seen, as yet, over an entire garden at once; but that this will be the normal state eventually, I do not doubt. The recovery of the tree is slow, unless pruned, and then is about as bad as the disease, as far as our outturn of crop is concerned.” According to a summary of Hareourt’s notes on mosquito blight in the Darjiling district,as given in Indian Museum Notes, Vol. Il, p. 43, the blight does not ascend above an elevation of about 4,500 feet, and most of the damage is done in the Terai, tea planted on black sandy soil appearing to be particularly attacked. Gardens are often affected to the extent of closing the crop earlier than usual and considerably lessening the outturn. Helopeltis theivora belongs to a group of insects which do not ue lifechistory of the insect, pass through an inactive pupal stage. Ac- cording to Harcourt, the eggs are about The Tea wnsects of India. 31 ee ee ee eee ee eee a a ee ee eee aoa ee ' gtr Of an inch in length and very slender. When first laid, they are hard and white in colour, but they become red before hatching. The larva feeds like its parents upon the young tea-shoots, and Harcourt notices that it becomes full grown in about a week after emerging from the egg. Harcourt adds that it has the characteristic bug-like odour, and that the only animal he has noticed to attack it is a small spider. In his report referred to above, Wood-Mason describes the female as “ provided with a serrated oviposition, of the shape and sharpness of a sabre, where- with to pierce holes in the soft tissues of the plant for the reception of her eggs.” He writes : — “ The female deposits her eggs singly in the substance of the tenderest shoots of the plant, in the internodes or portions of the stem between the pekoe and the two or three leaves succeeding from above downwards, and in the buds developed in the axiles of plucked leaves and in the parts thereabout . . .». . the presence and position of each egg is from the first indicated on the exterior by two unequally long, glistening, white, bristle-like prolongations of the shell, and later by discoloration of the point pierced. . . . . ‘The respiratory processes of the egg-shell so closely resemble the fine pubescence which clothes the surface of the shoots as to be quite indistinguished from it by the unaided eye, and, to eyes unaccustomed to zoological work, even with the aid of an ordinary lens. » - . - In order that the reader may form some idea of the number of the eggs, I may state that on one occcasion I counted more than forty eggs in twelve shoots taken consecutively and at random from a plucker’s basket, and that on another occasion I selected and plucked from one bush ofa plot of tea, which was only moderately blighted, four shoots with one or more eggs in each, The females appear instinctively to avoid puncturing the shoots or the parts of the shoots in which they lay their eggs, for one can rarely find eggs on badly-injured shoots.” The method of oviposition kas since been carefully observed by Dudgeon, who has worked independently in Darjiling. His results, as communicated to Indian Museum Notes, confirm in the main those quoted above from Wood-Mason, who worked in Assam, and show conclusively that little weight need be attached to the supposed discovery by less skilled observers of other methods of depositing the eggs. The chief points which remain to be ascertained ia connection with the life-history of the insect are the length of time passed in the various stages of development at different periods of the year, and the method of hybernation, also the extent to which plants other than tea are liable to harbour the insect. In 1881, when Wood-Mason visited Assam, he found that the China variety of tea was alone attacked, the indigenous variety being un- touched. He also reported that he had been unable to find the inseet elther upon the weeds of tea gardens or on the vegetation of uncleared and waste lands in the immediate vicinity. Dudgeon, again, has shown conclusively that an insect which attacks the shrub Maesa indica in Darjiling, is totally distinct from mosquito blight, though it is liable to be mustaken for the latter on account of the resemblance between 32 The Tea insects of India. the marks left upon leaves by the two forms. Under these circumstances the reports which frequently appear of the finding of mosquito blight upon plants other than tea must be received with caution. it is worthy of note, however, that a species of Hedopeltis so nearly allied to Helopeltts thewora as to have been considered, by so competent an observer as the late Mr. E. T. Atkinson, to be but a variety of this species, were forwarded to the Indian Museum in January 1888 from Munghu, Sikkim, where they had been found on cinchona. Again, the species Helopeltis antonit, Sign., which Wood-Mason notices is so closely allied to the Assam form as to have been considered by no less an authority than the late Professor Westwood to be only a variety of it, has been reported by Dr. Trimen as having “caused much alarm by its depredations on cacao and cinchona plantations” in Ceylon.!| Under these circumstances the subject would seem to require further investiga- tion, as it has an important bearing upon the question, which has not yet been satisfactorily settled, of what becomes of the insect when off the tea. Owing to finding the eggs of the insect on the young shoots, Wood- Mason suggested the vigorous and unremit- ting plucking of the blighted portions of bushes as likely to mitigate the evil. This treatment would no doubt tend to be beneficial, but cannot be looked upon as complete in itself, for Dudgeon has since shown that the eggs are largely to be found upon the portion of the green shoot which is passed over by the leaf-pluckers as too hard for manufacture into tea. Remedies. The following account of what was actually done upon a tea garden in Dibrugarh is quoted from a report by the Manager, published, without date, as an appendix to Atkinson’s paper in Indian Museum Notes, Vol. 1, page 185 :— “ Now to reply to your inquiries about what we did to get rid of the ‘ Mosquitoes.’ To begin with, before we stopped plucking last year, and while the blight was at its worst (about September and October), I started cutting down a ‘belt’ of jungle 80 yards wide all round the edge of the garden ; this ‘ belt” was completed about the same time as the pruning of the garden was finished (the end of February this was): well, then I commenced lighting fires all over the place; in the tea the prunings were being reduced to ashes as rapidly as the cut-down jungle in the belt was being burnt up; by the middle of March I finished all the burning I wanted to do, and then every soul was put on to hoe round the bushes, take away all stale earth from near the stumps of the plants, and fill in fresh earth. The pruning I went in for last cold weather was most severe: the whole of the garden nearly was cut down to within eight inches of the ground ; alZ knotty and gnarled wood was removed, and nothing but straight wood left. During the pruning, immediately following up the pruners were gangs of women and children armed with small knives whose only work.was to rid the bushes of every leaf and small twig. To protect the plants from the flames (while the prunings were being } Vide Nature, Vol. XXX, p. 634 (1884). The Tea insects of India. 33 burnt) a drain fifteen inches deep by a foot wide was made in every alternate row of tea, and into this the pruning leaves, fe., from round about were carefully brushed before being set alight to. “Up to date not a trace of the blight is to be seen; this time last year about 100 acres (or more) were completely ruined ; the tea is looking as healthy and nice, and growth is as vigorous as though the plants had never been blighted. So successful have we been so far in combating this destructive pest, that I am convinced now we will not be troubled with it a¢ all this season, and that we will make our 8 to 84 maunds an acre against a miserable 4 maunds an acre last season ! ‘The theory of letting tea run has been tried without the slightest signs of doing any good, for the simple reason the bushes can’t and wont run! Bushes that I left alone during the three months (middle of April to middle of July) were, if anything, smaller at end of this period than at commencement of it, because not a vestige of growth had been made during the whole of this time, and the long healthy shoots (chiefly in the very centre, therefore the tallest part of the bush) died gradually down to the parent stem. I have measured some of these dead shoots occasionally and have found them in some cases to be over 18” long. “ The shoots that I have found to so die down have always been of this year’s growth, viz,, those shooting out from just below last cold-weather pruning. “ Now, as blighted patches here have been found to have a large number of the young of the bug (which, by the bye, are in appearance like red ants, with two feelers apiece, and are Wingless) in all stages of development (from the size of a pin’s point to almost a full- grown bug) on nearly every bush, and as these young live right away inside the bushes and feed on only the ‘ minute shoots at the leaf-axiles,’ the theory of pruning is to give the bush pruned a severe check and so stop for a time the rising of sap (and, of course, the production of the ‘minute shoots at leaf-axiles’) in the hopes this brief period of the bushes’ dormancy will be sufficient to kill the young bugs of starvation. Whether we have succeeded or not in destroying any young ones by starvation it would be difficult to says but that pruning is doing good is quite certain. Three days ago I got 25 maunds of leaf off the piece of tea that was pruned (5 acres in June last) in July; previous to pruning, this bit of tea was completely ‘shut up’ for about 23 months. “Of course we know it is only right to cultivate and keep extra clean any tea that may be ‘ hanging fire’ or doing atall badly; I reversed the order of things with a bit of about five acres of very badly blighted tea: I allowed it to go into ‘howling jungle,’ the bushes were out of sight for over a month; strange to say, when [I hoed and cleaned it up, after a fortnight, I found the bushes quite recovered and with a very decent, flush on them. The block of tea of which these five acres are a part presents a peculiar spectacle with its small piece of bright green healthy tea surrounded by dismal-looking acres and acres. ‘* Some weeks ago I tried sprinkling kerosine and water (4 of k. to 2 of w.) over a piece (about 2 acres) of tea: on two occasions the day the mixture was squirted I found a young dead mosquito, evidently killed by the oil having reached them.” For accounts of other methods of dealing with the insects, reference should be made to Bamber’s Hand-book, pages 247 and 248: Helopeltis antonii, Sign. This species was originally described from Ceylon, where it was afterwards complained of as attacking both cacao and cinchona. It has since been referred to as attacking tea in Ceylon. It remains to be ascertained, however, to what extent the Helopeltis which is found upon Ceylon tea bushes is distinct from the insect referred to above under the name of Helopeltis theivera. D 34 The Tea insects of India. J ASSIDA. Chlorita flavescens, Fabr, (Green fly blight). A large amount of damage from this insect was reported in 1891 from tea gardens, especially in Cachar and in the Upper Assam Valley. Specimens reached the Indian Museum in the latter part of May from Assam, in June from Darjiling, and in July from Cachar. In the ease of the Upper Assam Valley, the insect is said to have appeared in the early part of the season and to have lasted on unti June. In no case do its habits seem to have been observed with any minuteness. It was generally supposed in the tea districts, however, to be responsible for the injury caused to the tea bushes, and as this was of a kind that it would be quite capable of inflicting, the probabilities are that it was rightly accused. . Both in life-history and method of feeding it is probably somewhat similar to Helopeltis theivora, though its eggs are more likely to be affixed to the leaf than buried in the tissue of the shoot. It may be noticed that the specimens forwarded to the Indian. Museum in June from Cachar comprised both larve and adults. ‘The species is said to be fairly common in Europe and has also been recorded from Algeria, Brazil, and Siberia. It must necessarily, therefore, be able to subsist upon other plants besides tea. The figure, which 1s taken from specimens in the Indian Museum collection from Cachar, shows the wingless larva when nearly full grown, also the winged adult. The figures are much enlarged, but the natural size of each form is indicated by hair lines, so no confusion need arise on this account. According to a report dated 19th June 1891, from a garden in Cachar, as quoted in Indian Museum Notes, the insect stops the growth of the young shoots and prevents their ever becoming fit for plucking. The effect of the pest was said to be deplorable. Over whole sections of the tea garden the plants were covered with leaf about an inch in The Tea insects of India. 35 length, which never grew any bigger; and one case is cited where 1994 acres had been plucked, and had given considerably less leaf than had often been obtained from a patch of seventeen acres, The only treat- ment that was tried was extra hoeing in the hope of bringing vigour to the bushes. The Manager adds :— * To bring the state of things before you in the most comprehensive manner, I have pressed some shoots and send them by to-day’s post, together with a little bottle contain- ing about 100 of the insects which do, or are supposed to do, the damage. They are so active and difficult to catch that it took a boy a day anda half to procure the specimens tosend. . . . . » On one sideof the sheet of paper, on which I have pasted the samples of shoots, you will find healthily-grown leaves, . . . - purposely chosen, rather under than over the average as regards size, so as not to createa false impression, or make the comparison too striking, On the opposite side of the sheet are thrippy shoots of all kinds, from the smallest to the largest, but also representing three leaves and the bud. Every one of these should have been as big or bigger than the healthy shoots, but I think the total weight of the sixteen former would not equal that of the three latter. A glance at the specimens will show you how impossible it is to make any outturn out of growth of this kind.” The shoots in question were forwarded to the Indian Museum through the courtesy of the Calcutta agents, They are shown half size in the figure above. The sprig marked (a) is an ordinary healthy tea-shoot, while those marked (8) are shoots of the same age but suffering from the attack of the insect. According to another report, also quoted in Indian Museum Notes, the experiment was tried upon one garden of placing open lamps about in the tea, in hopes of attracting the insects and enabling them to be destroyed. It was found, however, that whereas myriads of other insects D2 86 The Tea insects of India. came to the lamps, the green fly remained undisturbed under the tea leaves. In view of the fact that Chlorita flavescens is allied zoologically to a species which attacks mango blossom, and which from an experiment conducted in Saharunpore has been shown to be susceptible to an arseni- cal insect poison known to the trade as London purple, the writer of this report suggested in the pages of Indian Museum Notes that this preparation might be worth trying on tea bushes. It was pointed out that great care would be necessary in any application of London purple to tea on account of the poisonous nature of the substance; though in cases where a garden had been shut up by the blight there would be no danger in the experiment, provided no plucking at all were done until after a new flush had appeared and the bushes had been well washed by rain, Experiments were afterwards made with this and other insecti- eides by Mr. M. K. Bamber, who has published an interesting account of the result in his work on the Chemistry and Agriculture of Tea, pages 250 and 251. The matter would seem to be worthy of further investiga- tion, though the results so far obtained have not been altogether pro- mising. FuLcoripz&. ? Phromnia marginella, Oliv. Homopterous larve insufficient for precise determination, but thought to belong to this species, were forwarded to the Indian Museum in February 1890 from a tea garden in the Assam Dooars. Very similar larvee were sent to the Museum in October 1890 from a tea garden in the Mungledye District, Assam, with the information that they were feeding on the bushes and retarding the flushes, the whole garden being badly attacked. Unfortunately the specimens from Mungledye cannot now be found. In recording the matter in Indian Museum Notes at the time, the writer of this note referred the insect to the species Plata conspersa, Walker, which is somewhat allied to Phromnia marginella, Oliv. Since then the Indian Museum has acquired undoubted specimens of the larve of Phromnia marginella, and comparison of these with the specimens from the Dooars has not disclosed any distinction of specific importance. ‘As, therefore, both sets of specimens from tea in Northern India are likely to belong to the same species, they may conveniently be treated together under the heading of Phromnia marginella, for they are both undoubtedly related to this species, though the specific identity has not been made out absolutely in either case. ; The most striking feature connected with the larva of Pionnin marginella is the dense white fluffy secretion with which the body is The Tea insects of India. 37 covered, This gives bushes where the insect clusters a somewhat characteristic appearance which has been noticed by more than one observer. The insect is a common one throughout Northern India, It has been reported as feeding upon Maodendron roxburghit in the Central Provinces, and is likely to have several other food plants besides tea. The figure shows the imago and half-grown iarve, both natura! size, of Phromnia marginella; the larva divested of its flocculent covering. The habits of Phromnia marginella were carefully observed by the late Captain Thomas Hutton, who published a paper upon the subject in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. XII, p. 898, (1843), in which he deseribed the insect under the name of Vlata limbata. The following summary is reproduced from Indian Museum Notes :— “ The insect was found by Captain Hutton on the lower slopes of the Mussoorie Hills in the North-West Provinces, the sugary secretion being only obtainable throughout the dry weather from January to June, as it gets washed away by the first heavy rain that falls upon it. According to Captain Hutton, the eggs hatch in December, and the larve cluster like sheep upon the food plant. They feed by sucking up the juices of the leaves, and moult several times, gradually increasing in size until the setting in of the rainy season in June, when winged imagos begin to emerge. In the imago the front wings are grass-green, with interior margins red 3 the posterior wings are milk-white, the body is greenish, and the abdomen is generally covered up with white flocculent matter similar to what is found upon the larvae. The eggs are laid in considerable numbers in the bark of the twigs, slight swelling of the wood often taking place where the eggs have been laid. The imagos move but little from the food plant and often live on until after their eggs have hatched in the cold weather. The larve, and toa less extent the imagos, are covered with masses of white flocculent matter, which is thought to be secreted by small glands distributed over the abdomen, and opening by minute poresin the integument. The sugary matter is said to be excreted in a liquid state by the larve, and drops on to the leaves, where it hardens. Little is known of the method of its origin, but it is likely to be secreted by the large gland-like organs which are situated on either side at the extremity of the abdomen in the larve.” 38 The Tea insects of India. APHID, Ceylonia thezecola, Buckton (Aphis sp., Green). This species was originally described from specimens forwarded to the Indian Museum by Mr, E. K. Green, who found both the winged and wingless form in large numbers on the succulent shoots of young tea plants in Ceylon. Representatives of what is undoubtedly the same species have since been sent to the Indian Museam upon two occasions from Indian tea gardens. The first to be received comprised both the winged and wingless forms, and were forwarded in March by Mr, M. K. Bamber, who has since noted that the species has been found attacking tea in most districts; the second to be received arrived from Cachar in August and comprised the wingless form only. Ceylonia Thecola The wood-cut, which is taken from Buckton’s figmes in Indian Museum Notes, shows the wingless and the winged form both enormously enlarged, also the ontenna of the latter still further magnified. The Tea insects of India. 39 The insect itself is a tiny blackish creature, the body of the winged form being only about one twenty-fifth of an inch in length, Like other Aphide, Ceylonia theecola feeds by sucking up the juices of the plant through its slender proboscis. Its effect on the young leaves it attacks is said to be to cause the edges to curl up and become distorted. The life-history of the insect has not as yet been completely traced, but Mr. Green has observed that both the winged and wingless forms reproduce themselves parthenogenetically, the young settling down bee side the mother and becoming full grown in about ten days after they are born. As in the case of numerous other species of Aphids, ants are attracted by the honey-dew secreted by the glands connected with the two large tubercles, shown in the figure of the winged form, on either side of the abdomen, and are to be found in constant attendance, Mr. Green notes that in Ceylon the Aphid is not only liable to be devoured by the larve of Syrphide, Hemerobide, and Coccinellide, but is parasitized by a minute hymenopterous insect, the combined effect of these enemies being so considerable that it is often completely kept in check by them. As the result of his experiments Mr. Green considers that wood ashes, powdered sulphur, and dry carbolic powder are alike useless as applications for destroying the pest. On the other hand, washes, either of dilute kerosine emulsion or of phenyle, are effective. The proportions he recommends are one part of kerosine emulsion to eighty parts of water, or one part of phenyle to two hundred and forty of water; the wash to be applied in the evening or ona cloudy day, as hot sunshine, following its application, is apt to scorch the leaves; in the case of phenyle the application of the wash to be followed the next morning by a copious drenching with ordinary water. Coccipaz. Chionaspis theze, Maskell—(= Te tea bark louse, Green). This insect was first observed in Ceylon by Green, who found that it was very generally prevalent upon tea, where it accounts for many “ hide-bound ”? and unproductive bushes. It has since been sent to the Museum from tea both in the Kangra Valley and also in Cachar. In the Kangra Valley kerosine and soap emulsion jis said to have been tried upon it with success, though the insect does not appear to have as yet caused very much damage, The female is a little rounded flattened scale about a tenth of an inch across. It is to be found upon the branches of the older bushes, and is so much like the bark on which it rests as to be unnoticeable except on very close inspection. In its earlier stages, the male is a tiny 4.0) The Lea insects of Indra. little white fluted scale which is often to be seen in colonies on the leaf, where it is comparatively conspicuous ; it eventually transforms into a minute creature which Green desertises as bright red in colour with four prominent black eyes. As in the case of other species of the same family, the eggs are laid beneath the female insect, which never quits the spot on which it first settles down. The larve are minute six-legged creatures which crawl actively about after leaving the eggs. ‘They eventually settle down and insert a long proboscis into the tissues of the plant, Through this proboscis they gradually absorb the nutrient juices on which they feed, and in this. way they weaken the plant. ‘The female insect continues to absorb the juices ef the plant throughout the whole of her existence, but the male takes no food after it becomes winged. PEAT USS molt ANS) Nitra, fs SERN ON: ( : The figure shows a colony of male seales cn a leaf natural size, also an individual scale enormously enlarged to show the characteristic ridges with which it is covered. Male scales have been forwarded to the Museum in December from Cachar and in February from the Kangra Valley, so the winged male is likely to emerge in the early part of the year. Green has noticed that the live female scale is sometimes covered with lichens which must have taken some time to grow, so the life of the insect in this stage is likely to be prolonged. ‘The dates of emergence, also the periods passed at different times of the year in the various stages of development, have yet to be ascertained. In all scale insects the question of dispersion is an important one, for owing to the adult female being stationary, itis only the newly- hatehed larvee which are able to travel from bush to bush, and thus spread the evil. It is important, therefore, to ascertain at what period of the year the larve emerge and the extent to which they are liable to be earried by the wind. Under ordinary circumstances insects of this kind spread slowly ; it is therefore most important to watch them carefully, for, whereas it may. The Tew insects of India. 41 be easy enough to keep them in check with kerosine emulsion or other treatment when only a few bushes are attacked, the case becomes very different when large areas have been allowed to become affected. The hydrocyanic gas treatment, described on page 65 of this report, is especially applicable to this species. Aspidiotus flavescens, Green—(=4. thee, Maskell). This insect was originally described by Green in the pages of the Ceylon In- dependent, It has since been reported both from Assam and the Kangra Valley. According to Green’s observations it attacks young plants of from one to two years’ growth, and often injures them to such an extent as to make it neceseary to replace them with fresh plants. C: =D) ves Na Neos Se Te Side ae ete Kee The figure, which is after Maskell, shows a piece of tea twig, natural size, covered with female scales, which are yellowish in colour and con- spicuous, To the right is an enormously enlarged diagram of the newly- hatched larva to show its legs and antenne, also the long coiled proboscis which it eventually inserts into the tissues of the plant. ‘The insect is likely to be very similar to the preceding in its develop- ment, but its precise life-history has yet to be traced. _ Aspidiotus transparens, Green. This insect was originally discovered upon tea bushes in Ceylon by Mr. E. . Green. A few isolated scales of what is thought to be the same species have since been found upon leaves forwarded to the Indian Museum in January 1894, from a tea garden in Jalpaiguri. Neither in Ceylon nor in India, however, has the insect yet been reported as occasioning any appreciable Injury. As seeu upon the tea leaf, the scales appear as flattened semi-crans- parent, yellowish discs, from one to two millimetres in diameter. The life-bistory of the insect has yet to be traced through the various stages of development. Lecanium coffeze, Nietner. This insect, which is usuaily aceom- panied by a black fungus which grows upon its secretion, was described 42 The Tea insects of India. many years ago by Nietner as attacking coffee in Ceylon, It has since been found upon tea in Ceylon by Green, who has published an interest- ing account of his observations in the Ceylon Independent. It has not yet been noticed upon tea in India, but has-been recorded as attacking coffee in the southern -portion of the Peninsula, The fol- lowing account of the insect is taken from Nietner’s work on the Coffee Tree and its Enemies. “* Lecaniwm coffee (Brown or scaly bug!). Male: Head transversely ovate-rotundate narrowed, and square in front; eyes large, black ; ocelli 2, small, lateral; antenne 9- jointed, 2nd joint smallest, 3rd longest, thence decreasing to the tip; mouth as in the male of the white bug. Thorax ample, cordiform, narrowed in front; wings 2, hyaline, 2-neryed, subcostal nerve dark pink, not folded straight down the back when at rest, but half spread out. Scutellum as in white bug. Abdomen triangular- sub-cylindrical of shrivelled appearance, with 2 lateral points, 1 central appendage, and 2 long, thin, white filaments at the extremity. The insect is still more delicate than the male Pseudococcus, of clear, light pinkish-brown colour, slightly hairy ; very pretty. ‘Female: Apterous, tortoise-like, yellowish, marbled with grey or light brown, sub-oval, more or less semi-globose according to age, back with one elevated longitudi- nal and 2 transverse cost, uneyen; split behind, at the extremity of a split bifid anal flab of brown colour; eyes marginal, black ; antenne 7-jointed, 3rd joint longest ; proboscis with 1 long sucking bristle. he old individuals are light brown with a dark margin, smooth, semi-globose, fixed to the branch. “Larvee of female with 2 anal filaments which are lost in after-life. The larve and pup of both sexes are active, with the exception of the male pupa, which is plentiful on the underside of the leaves, where the long, narrow, oval shell under which it rests is easily discovered. This shell is transparent, and composed of 9 plates, 3 central and 3 on either side. I haye occasionally found the entire underside of leaves covered with nothing but male pupz, all dead. This species of bug affects elevated (above 3,000 feet), cold, damp, close localities, where it is found in all stages of development all the year round, the propagation being, as in the white bug, con- tinuous. As in the latter species, the males seem to be more abundant about June and January than at any otherseason. The eggs, which are oval and of pinkish colour, are not actually brought forth by the female, but when they are matured the parent insect dies, the whole interior forming one mass of eggs protected by the shell. “ This kind of bug is closely allied to the lac insect (Coccus lacea, K.) of India. “The brown bug is much infested by parasites, amongst which the following are the most common :— Scutellista cyanea, Encyrtus Nietneri, 50 paradisicus, Cephaleta purpureiventris. 55 brunneiventris. A fusciventris. Cirrhospilus coccivorus. Marietta leopardina. 1“ This insect is generally called ‘black bug,’ but the above is a more correct name, it being of brown colour, and only the fungus found in its company, black.” The Tea insects of Indra. 43 “These are all Hymenoptera of the most minute description, presenting under the microscope the most elegant forms, and for the most part the most brilliant metallic colours. The Marietta, for instance, is shotted or ocellated all over black and white, like a leopard. They can easily be obtained by putting a bugged branch, cut in convenient lengths, into a bottle, when after some time the little wasps will be found flying about inside, having made their escape from the bugs. The mother parasite lays her eggs amongst the bugs ; when hatched, the young larve find their way easily to the soft underside of the bugs, where they attach themselves like leeches, and, pro- tected and fed by the body of the bug, remain until they reach the perfect state. A bug thus attacked produces of course no eggs, and, instead of the young bugs, in course of time there escape these little wasps. The shells of the old bugs are frequently found with one or two holes; it is from these that the parasites have escaped. I have seen as many as six larvee (belonging to different species of Hymenoptera) attached to one single bug. These laryz can easily be seen on turning upsome old bugs with the point of a penknife ; they are little white or yellowish eyeless and footless maggots, some of which can leap to a considerable distance by doubling themselves up and spasmodically extending themselves again to their full length.” THYSANOPTERA, Thrips sp.? A representative of this group of minute insects has been recorded by Green as feeding upon the leaves of the tea plant in Ceylon, where it causes unsightly patches, especially on the backs of the leaves. As in other species of the family Thripide, the eggs are said to be laid on the leaf, where the larve and adults are also to be found, ‘The adult may be recognised by the curious narrow hair-fringed wings which are characteristic of this family of insects. Green notices that the same species also attacks rose bushes and fuchsias in Ceylon, He found it to be subject to the attack of a minute hymenopterous parasite. ORTHOPTERA. ACRIDID&. Between the years 1889 and 1891 almost all the tea districts in India were visited by stray flights of the locust Acridiwm peregrinum, Oliv., from the deserts of the Punjab and Rajputana. The insect often settled in countless numbers upon the tea bushes, but seems to have disliked the flavour of the tea leaf, and to have occasioned no perceptible damage, Itis unnecessary, therefore, to do more than refer to it amongst the various insects which attack the tea plant in India. The same does not hold of other species of Acridide which are usually spoken of as “ locusts,” though they frequently differ in important points from the migratory forms. In February 1892 injury of the kind to young tea plants was 44. The Tea insects of India. reported from a garden in the Western Dooars, Of the insects for- warded to the agents in Calcutta, some were identical with specimens in the Museum collection determined by Dr. Henri de Saussure as his Catantops indicus, which is figured below natural size, while others were a variety of the same species characterised by the absence of striped markings on the posterior femora. Two specimens of the species Acridium flavicorne, Fabr., as deter- mined in the Indian Museum collection, were afterwards forwarded as associated with the insect first reported. A small specimen of the male of derzdium flavicorne, Fabr., from the Museum collection, is figured above, natural size, In the end of February the Manager wrote that he had been toa great extent successful in destroying the insects, and that he had not heard of their appearing on any of the neighbouring gardens. The method adopted was hand-collecting by coolies, who were paid two annas per hundred insects. Up to the date of his letter the Manager estimated that he had destroyed 31,770 insects in this way, with the result that they were getting so much scarcer that, at the time he wrote, the coolies were only bringing in about 25 per cent. of the daily number they had been able to obtain when hand-collecting was first started. Acridide of this kind are likely to lay their eggs in the ground. The Jarve are active grasshoppers, which differ from the adult chiefly in being smaller in size and wingless. ‘They are active throughout theit entire existence, and devour the leaves of plants in large quantities. The The Tea insects of India. 45 individual habits of the two species “afore to above have yet to be observed in India, GRYLLID™, Damage of sufficient extent in tea nurseries to make it occasionally worth while to keep children employed collecting the insects by hand has been noticed as caused by erickets in Assam. The only oceasion on which representatives of the insect concerned have been sent to the Indian Museum was in July 1895, when some larve of the species Brachytrypes achatinus, Stoll., as determined in the Museum collection, ‘were forwarded from Jorhat. The figure shows the insect natural size. Like others of the same group, it transforms, when mature, into a creature very similar in appearance, but differing in the possession of large membraneous wings, which are neatly folded on the back so as not to interfere with burrowing. The eggs are likely to be Jaid in the ground, but this and other points in connection with its life-history have yet to be traced by actual observation. According to information furnished from the garden in Jorhat where the specimens were procured, the insect cuts the young tea plants off level with the ground at night; in the day-time it conceals itself in a burrow from nine to eighteen inches deep which it constructs in the ground; it is specially abundant on sandy soil, and may be recognised by the shrill piping which it makes in the evening when it sits in the mouth of its burrow. _ The species Brachytrypes achatinus, Stoll., has previously been sent to the Museum as causing serious damage to jute and rice crops in Bengal; tea is therefore likely to be only one of a number of plants on which it feeds. a Another common species of Gryllidz also likely to attack young tea plants, though it has not actually been sent to the Indian Museum in 46 The Tea insects of India. this connection, is Schizodactylus monstruosus, Drury, the adult male of which is shown below, natural size. \ iS ae ‘id Gar Hi This species can be at once recognised by the curious structure of the tarsal joints, and also, in the adult, by its curious curled-up wings. It is known in the indigo districts as dherwa, and does a large amount of damage by cutting off indigo, tobacco, and other crop plants with its enormous shear-like jaws. TERMITIDA, White ants are sometimes very plentiful in Indian tea gardens, where they occasionally do a good deal of damage, especially to young and weakly plants. The identity of the species concerned has not yet been satisfactorily ascertained, and the life-histories of the various forms have still to be traced through the different seasons of the year. The commonest species in Lower Bengal is J'ermes taprobanes, Walker, and this is likely to be the form whose large earthen nests are often to be found amongst mature tea bushes, where, however, they seem, as a general rule, not to do very much harm, A distintt and larger species has been deseribed by Green from Ceylon, where he observed that it was liable to attack the stems of full-grown tea bushes to the extent of com- pletely tunnelling out the contents. The following, which is taken from a manual of zoology prepared by the writer of this report for the Forest Department of India, gives what are said to be the general habits of Termitidee as observed in other parts of the world, The figures are from specimens of Zermes taprobanes in the Museum collection, The Tea insects of India. 47 White ants live together in communities, which consist of the follow- ing four sets of individuals ;— (1) A female or queen (shown above, natural size), with enormously distended abdomen ; she is incapable of locomotion, and lays all the eggs of the community. (2) Small ant-like neuters, which may be compared to the worker bees. ‘They are of two kinds, z., individuals with large heads and sharp mandibles to defend the nest, and indivi- duals with small heads to build the passages and nest, col- lect food, and do all the work of the community. The figure above shows the two forms of neuter, both somewhat en- larged, the natural size, in each case, indicated by a hair line. (3) Wingless larvee which develop into winged males and females. This form is shown below, to the left, enlarged, the natu- ral size being indicated by a hair line. 48 The Tea insects of India. (4) Winged males and females. The males and females fly out of the nest in clouds, generally after rain.. Those of them that escape their numerous enemies are said to drop their wings and copulate. The female cither finds her way back to the original nest or starts a fresh nest for herself. Her abdomen grows by distention of the membranes between the chitinous plates, until she becomes like a sausage, two or three inches long, with a minute head and thorax at one end (vide first figure). Queens in several stages of devel- opment may sometimes be found in a single nest. The figure above, to the right, shows a young queen shortly after dropping her wings and before the abdomen has grown very much. The figure is somewhat larger than life, the natural size being indicated by a hair line at the side. Below is a figure of one of the winged forms, natural size. Various suggestions for dealing with white ants in tea gardens are given by Bamber in his work on the Chemistry and Agriculture of Tea, pages 254 and 255. ACARINA (MITES). Teranychus bioculatus, W. M. (Red spider). This mite, pre- viously known to tea planters under the name of “red spider,” was de- scribed by Mr. Wood-Mason in his Report on the Tea Mite and Tea Bug of Assam, 1884, It has since been identified by that careful observer Mr. E. E. Green ! as belonging to the same species as the “ red spider ” of the coffee tree, described many years previously by Nietner? under the _ name Acarus coffee. Unlike both “ mosquito blight” and ‘‘ green fly blight,”’ the red spider of the tea plant chiefly confines its attack to the mature leaves. It is 1 Insect Pests of the Tea Plant, No. 7. 2 Observations on the Natural History of the Enemies of the Coffee Tree in Ceylon. The Tea insects of India. 49 essentially a hot-weather pest, and almost completely disappears when the rains break, though colonies are subsequently to be found upon sheltered bushes. In Ceylon, where red spider also attacks tea, Mr. E, E. Green has noticed that the tomato plant is likewise liable to suffer. The figures, which are after Wood-Mason, show the male and female mite both enor- mously enlarged, The male is considerably smaller than the female, the latter being described as about one twenty-fifth of an inch in length. The following is taken from Wood-Mason’s report :— ‘* The mite lives in societies on the upper surface of the full-grown leaves, beneath an exceedingly delicate web, which it spins for itself as a shelter. This web, ordinarily invisible to the naked eye, is often rendered visible by the deposition upon it of dew in minute globules, which give to the leaves, when bathed in the morning sun, an indescribably splendid appearance of being sprinkled over with minute diamonds. I believe that this web serves chiefly as a protection to the tiny arachnids from dew and light showers, for heavy rain, especially if long-continued,. breaks up the sheltering webs, and thus leads to the disappearance, if not to the destruction, of the pest. ‘The mites lay their eggs in hollows, close to the ribs of the leaves usually. The eggs are oblate spheroids, flatter at one pole, by which they are firmly and broadly attached to the leaves, than at the other, at which their transparent shell is suddenly drawn out into a long and tapering and slightly curled glossy process. They are red, like the mite itself, and at the close of segmentation present at their surface a beauti- ful reticulated pattern, due to the presence of a concentrated and dark-coloured layer of protoplasm around the nucleii of all the cells of the blastoderm. The young arachnids leave the egg as six-footed lary, which do not attach themselves as parasites to the bodies of insects and spiders, as do their distant relations the Trombidiidz, nor undergo any of those strange changes which many other mites pass through in the course of their development, but attain to the adult condition by a simple change of skin that usually, though not perhaps invariably, is made on the same leaf as that on which they emerged as larvze from the egg. The shells of the hatched eggs remain glued to the leaf for some time as microscopically small objects resembling porcelain saucers. E 50 The Tea insects of India. “Preparatory to the final moult the mites draw all their legs in under them, become perfectly motionless, and appear to change from red to white;-but no ~ change of colour actually occurs, the appearance of whiteness which the thin. and colourless old skin presents being due to the access of air to the interval between it and the new. “The male differs from the female not only in size but also remarkably in the form of the body. The former sex is the smaller, and in the shape of the body resem- bles a plover’s egg. being broadly rounded at the anterior end and pointed posteriorly, while the latter resembles an egg which is similar and semi-circular in outline and nearly equal at both ends. “The males are most solacious little creatures, and the very remarkable mode in which they couple with the female has frequently been witnessed by me under the microscope. After a brief courtship, which consists in actively and excitedly career- ing round and round the female for a few seconds, in caressing her with his sensitive feet, and in exciting her by repeated thrusts from his needle-shaped and protrusible mandibles, the male embraces the female by placing his two front pairs of legs upon the upper surface of the end of her body, then suddenly dives downwards and forwards beneath her body, retaining firm hold of her by means of the claws and suckers with which his legs are furnished, and finally extends and recurves the end of his soft and flexible body until his genital aperture, which is placed on the ventral surface just in front of the terminal anus, is opposite to that of the female, which occupies a similar position. _ “The mite injures the tea plant by repeatedly puncturing the leaves and pumping out the liquid contents of the epidermis (P and parenchyma) through the punctures by the aid of the pharyngeal pump with which it, like all other arachnids, is provided. A freshly-punctured leaf exhibits a regular and pretty pattern of irregular star-shaped patches of light green worked upon a dark ground. The pale spots are caused by the mites, and in the centre of nearly every one of them two most minute punctures can only with difficulty be made out, even by the aid of a microscope. In order that the manner in which the punctures are made may be understood. it will be necessary briefly to describe the mouth-parts of the animal. These consist of (1) a conical rostrum or beak, the sides of which are embraced and partly formed by (2) a pair of short, stout and jointed palpi or feelers which end in a pair of pincers, and answer to the great claw-bearing feelers of the scorpion and to the first maxillze of an insect ; and of (3) a pair of jaws or mandibles, which do not enter into the composition of the beak above, and in frontof which they lie, but between which and them, on the contrary, there exists a wide interval. The rostrum is not sterrated on the edges so as to resemble that of an ordinary tick, as it is in the Kuro- pean 7. ¢elarius, but on each side of the minute slit-like opening which constitutes the mouth, and is placed at its lower extremity, it bears two minute curved and probably movable spines. At the ends of the short fixed arms the pincers of the feelers open the ducts of the glands, which furnish the viscid secretion wherewith the animals spin their protective webs. The mandibles or jaws are a pair of long and delicate needle- shaped rods, which ordinarily lie retracted out of sight into their sheaths ready to be shot Out with lightning rapidity. It is a remarkable fact that the sheaths, which appear to be none other than the basal joints of the mandibles, retain their primitive embryonic distinctness throughout life, and do not coalesce in adult life so as to form a single com- mon sheath, as they are said todoin 7 ¢elarius. It is more probable that the leaves are punctured by these mandibular needles, and that the two little movable spines placed at the sides of the rostrum serve only to keep the sucker-shaped elevation around the mouth The Tca insects of India. 51 closely applied to the wounded spots in order that the buccal pump may act as effec- tually as possible, than that the latter perform the double duty of lancets and rete- tive hooks. “ The Tea-Mite is an excessively minute animal, the female measuring only about one twenty-fifth of an inch, or about one millimetre, in leneth between the extremities of the outstretched anterior and posterior group of legs, and the male being about one- sixth smaller. he egg-shaped bo ly is divided, except when inflated to its fullest extent by imbibed tea juices; by distinct grooves into six divisions in the female and into seven in the male ; and each of these divisions, as to which it is exceedingly- doubtful whether they represent true segments, bears two pairs of long and stiff and backward- ly directed white hairs, forming four longitudinal series placed two on each outer third of the upper s surface ; the first segment, which has only one pair of hairs, and is moreover longer in the male than in the female, carries, in both sexes, two groups of two unequal eyes, forming two pairs, one of which, the anterior, is smaller than the other. “To the naked eye the Tea-Mite appears as a dull blood-red speck, but under the microscope presents itself as a much brighter and more variously coloured object, its lees being of a pale flesh-colour adorned with a light crimson stripe, the front segment of the body bright crimson with a semi-circular mark in the middle of its hinder margin, con eolorous and in contact with the deep blood-red of allthe remaining segments in the femule, which is dark blood-red from the front end ofthe second segment to the extremity of the body, but of the four following segments only in the male, which has the two terminal segments bright crimson, fie the front of the body. The legs are sparingly clothed with long and colcurless hairs, and they are all terminated on each side by one or two curved bristles and in the middle by a single hooked claw, on either side of which there spring from the apex of the terminal joint of every limb two delicate glassy threads with enlarged tips, forming long and thin-stalked suckers, by the aid of which the mites are enabled to retain their footing and to walk securely over the leaves, and the males to clasp the females firmly by the back during copula- tion. In crushed specimens which had been rendered transparent by reagents, a pair of highly refractive and spheroidal solid bodies having a. faint concentric structure was always to be made out beneath the skin in front of and internal to the eyes, in a position, therefore, corresponding as closely as possible with that in which Claparéde neyer failed to find in embryos, but only in embryos, of 7. felarius, a pair of sacs each containing a pear-shaped solid body. “IT propose for the Tea-Mite, which would appear to be unknown to science, the name of Zetranychus bioculatus in allusion to its double (really two pairs of) eyes. “The T'ea-Mite, so far as I have been able to make out, usually first affects small patches consisting of a few bushes, whence it rapidly extends over the whole ora large part of a garden. It always seemed to me to consist of numerically larger and more active societies on the bushes of very old gardens, from which it never appeared {o be entirely absent, as vigorous societies were to be obtained therefrom as often as. IT wanted fresh material for my observations. ‘The view entertained by many planters that this pest is carried to gardens and distributed over them by insect agency does not receive the least support from my observations. Moreover, the analogy of the closely-allied European species, 7. telarius, is wholly opposed to such a notion, which doubtless owes its origin to the ‘Tea-Mite having been mistaken for some one of the numerous red or reddish-yellow Mites belonging to totally different groups, which do commonly occur parasitically on the outside of the bodies of the most diverse groups of insects—a kind of parasitism which is of such common occurrence that I have rarely if ever sorted the contents of a EZ 52 The Tea insects of India. bottle containing a mixed collection of terrestrial arthropods preserved in spirits without finding one or more individuals, or even species, of these parasitic arachnids» and the least observant amongst us must have repeatedly met with instances of it. “When first attacked by the mite the leaves have the appearance described above ; but as the punctures increase in number they gradually assume a dull, dirty coppery- reddish tinge, become dry and bent and cockled, and finally fall to the ground, leaving, in extreme cases, the stems and branches of the bushes bare. A badly- smitten garden may be recognised from a distance by its red colour.” The principal points in connection with the life-history of the mite which remain to be ascertained are the number of generations in the year and the length of time spent in its various stages of development, The mite is only capable of slow locomotion, and therefore spreads in the first instance very gradually. From Green’s observation of its presence upon sheltered bushes in the rainy season, it may be expected to be found to lie up in this manner until the time comes round for it to recommence operations upon the bushes generally. In consequence of its frequent localisation in certain areas, red spider lends itself specially to destruction by artificial means and numerous experiments have been made to this end.! The most promising agent for use against red spider appears to be sulphur in one form or another, The only method of applying it which seems as yet to have been adopted in Indian tea gardens upon any considerable scale is that of dusting flour of sulphur over the affected bushes. This is said to have been first tried in the Darjiling district, and has since been taken up elsewhere. The following series of reports by Mr. G. F. Playfair, furnished through the courtesy of Messrs. Barry & Co., give a full and excellent account of the experience of a Cachar tea planter in the matter.? - Sulphur versus red spider. 14th March 1892,.—“ I am taking advantage of the present hot weather to apply the sulphur as advised by Mr. Christison, who makes a point of putting it on during times of bright sunshine. I find the quantity used is exactly one hundredweight to the acre, and cost. of application R1-6. Up to date I have sulphured 60 acres, and will keep on as long as the sulphur lasts or the drought continues. I have given up my original intention of applying half now and the balance when red spider becomes active, as I find in places a good deal of blight is already visible, and I am hopeful that the sulphur will stamp it out before the insect has time to propagate. Some experiments with the mosquito itself tend to show that it dies if lightly dusted with the sulphur.” 25th March 1892.—“ Red spider began to show itself all over the early pruned sections, but I applied the sulphur as fast as I could, and wherever the application 1 Amongst other preparations, decoctions of tomato leaves in water have been strengly recommended for spraying over affected bushes. The number of applications required, however, to rid a single bush in this way of the pest is so great as to render the treatment inapplicable for large areas. In view of what is known of the habits of the pest, it has been suggested as probable that spraying the same number of times with water alone would be almost equally effective. 2 Most of these reports have appeared in Indian Museum N otes. The Tca insects of India. 53 2 eI BS em 71 ‘was made not a trace of spider remains. Altogether 138 acres have been sulphured with the five tons sent up. The sulphuring has been most carefully done, either a Babu or Mr. Burns being in constant attendance, and, as far as can be judged at this early stage, the experiment is likely to be a very remunerative one. Whether or not the spider will come back remains to be seen, but at the present moment I can guarantee there is not a single affected bush over the whole 188 acres.” 13th April 1892.—* The drought still continues, only 86 inch of rain having fallen in April, the total to date since the Ist January being 4°05 inches. Notwith- standing, Bundookmara is looking very well and would flush at one with rain. The great heat and dryness of the soil have brought on some red spider, but not much, as the early pruned sections were all sulphured, and the later pruned have not yet suffi- cient foliage to make red spider harmful. It is gratifying to observe that not a single plant over the sulphured area shows the slightest sign of red spider, and blight, which had appeared with the first growth, has also entirely disappeared. I believe that in dealing with the one disease we have also dealt with the other, and that the early part of the season will be free from blight.” 18th April 1892.—* There have been no charges in connection with the sulphur— it having been brought up to the garden by my own boats. From the inyoice and estimating for freight, I make out the five tons have cost approximately R900 and applied to the bushes about R8-4 per acre. A very small increase in yield will cover the expense, and I am hopeful, from the look of the sulphured sections, of proving to you that the money has been well spent. You must not expect to see any very ' startling increase in outturn in consequence of the sulphuring, as I have naturally ‘treated those flats which are the poorest and most in want of encouragement ; but if by doing away with spider, and possibly blight, I can in time bring these flats from poor ‘to good, the gain will be great indeed. At the present moment I believe that the application of sulphur will result in an increase of a maund of tea per acre ; it certainly will be so if blight is mitigated as well. “ | have written out extracts from my diary, giving you full particulars respect- ing the way the sulphur was applied, the state of the bushes before, and the imme- diate result after application. It will be interesting to compare this report with subse- quent ones which I will send from time to time in the same form.” Abstract of diary.—“ The treatment was begun on 7th March 1892 and com- -pleted on 21st of the same month. Sixty acres were treated at the rate of one hundred- weight to the acre, which gave a yery sufficient sprinkling, sixty-seven acres at the ‘rate of two hundredweight to three acres, while eleven acres were treated with a mixture of one part of sulphur to two parts of sifted lime. The tea that was treated was of the ‘ China’ variety. The bushes were rather below than above the medium size: They had not put out much growth owing to the drought. Red spider had appeared, and careful examination showed that it was present in many places. The application of the sulphur was made through markin cloth by simply shaking the bag over the bush. Where water was ayailable the bushes were first splashed with water, but over a considerable area the application was made without previous watering. The sulphur adhered fairly well even on dry bushes, in spite of the high wind which blew both at tke time that the treatment was going on and afterwards, ‘he average cost of applying the sulphur was about #1-4-9 per acre, including the purchase both of the cloth and also of the Zulcies for watering. As far as could be made out, provided the sun was strong, bushes powdered in the morning had all the red spider killed by evening. After sulphuring the bushes were examined daily, but the only bushes on which red spider could be found were one or two which had been treated with the mixture of lime and sulphur ; even here, however, very careful search was required to 54 The Tea insects of India. find live insects. On 16th April it was noted that red spider was to be seen in all parts of the garden except the sulphured area, while neighbouring gardens were very much affected by it. The sulphured area was the first pruned and should, under ordinary circumstances, have been the most affected. With reeard to the effect of the sulphur treatment on mosquito blight, some mosquito blight insects were caught and experimented with on 231d March. When sulphur was powdered on to them it adhered to the hairy parts of the body and legs to a considerable extent, but the insects did not dieat once, though putting them in this state under a glass in the sun was fatal to them. After applying the sulphur all signs of blight disappeared, careful search not revealing a single punctured shoot. It must be added that little blight could be found on other parts of the garden, but the flats which had been treated with su:phur were always the ones to be first attacked.! 6th May 1892.“ 1 have no objection whatever to Mr. Cotes making use of any inform- ation he may have derived from my writings, and will ke glad to supply him with further notes from time to time. I strongly object, however, to trying Mr. Cotes’ suggestion about sulphur soap instead of the pure sulphur (except asa supplementary experiment) for this Teason.? _ ‘The action of sulphur against red spider is now proved beyond doubt, and requires no comment. It also seems to have killed off the blight insect ; and if this is a fact it would bea vast pity to operate against the one disease without the other in fature, for the sulphur soap wash, however efficacious against spider, could not be expected to do much harm toa ‘winged insect like blight. Moreover, the wash requires special apparatus for application, and the purchase of such insufficient quantity to go over hundreds of acres quickly would be prohibitive. That blight has actually been killed out over the sulphured area seems to me acertainty. On the 14th March I wrote to you saying that my original plan of dis- tributing the sulphur had been changed owing to a considerable amount of blight being noticeable. This is proof that blight was there ; it is equally certain there is none now, and the accompanying extract from wy diary will prove that during the past ten years I have in- variably reported blight not later than the week ending the 23rd April, and almost always in the same spot, which this year is free. Iam not yet in a fosition to ask you for a further and larger supply of sulphur for next year, but trust to be able to do so when I can lay the result of the pluckings of the sulphured and non-sulphured areas before you.” 23rd June 1892.—“ Since the Ist June, I have been keeping a record of the pluckings of sulphured and non-sulphured areas, and on a separate sheet [ give you the results, ‘You will observe that over three weeks’ plucking, the average per acre is 118) of leaf in favour of the sulphur for every time the acre was plucked, or, say, 33% inall. At first sight this does not appeara very large increase, but you must remember that only the wors$ places were sulphured, and now it is evident these sections are doing rather better than the rest. Also I have refrained from comparing pluckings till red spider was fairly on the mend; had I done so from the beginning of May the difference would have been too marked and misleading. “ T.eaving out of consideration all differences between sulphured and non-sulphured areas, and taking them as of the same value, the difference in favour of the sulphured would be 44fb leaf or 11fb tea per acre forthe whole month. ‘The cost of treatment a ‘ Very careful experiment will be necessary before concluding that sulphur is actually effective against mosquito blight, for the experience of entomologists in other parts of the world seems to be that while sulphur is exceedingly active against all kinds of mites (of which red spider is one), it has little effect on insects.— E. ('.C. 2 “ It may be noticed that washes made of soap and sulphur combined have been recommended both in the United States and in England for use against mites like the ved spider, The wash is sprayed on to the plants by means of a force pump fitted with a nozzle to give a very finely divided spray. This method of. applying the sulphur may possibly prove cheaper and more effectual than dusting it on to the leaves, though Mr, Playfair’s experiments with sulphur in powder seem so successful as to leave little to be desired. Compounds of soft soap and sulphur can now be purchased in England ready made, so as only to require the addition of water. In her fifteenth annual report on Injurious Insects, Miss Ormerod men- tions the Chiswick Soap Co., of Chiswick, England, asa firm from which. the mixture can be procured.” — (Extract from ‘ Indian Museum Notes,’”’) The Tea insects of India. 55 amounted to R8-4 annas per acre, so that with tea at 6 annas per pound all expenses would be recovered in two months. “Iam quite convinced, however, that the sulphur will give me quite one maund of tea per acre by the end of the year.” 23rd June 1892.— SULPHURED. NON -SULPHURED, Date. RgeMARKs, an, [GRR | Awe. |e Junel . . 77°25 | 43 48 Indigenous omitted from both. Thirty acres of non-sulphured 2 31 19 47 manured with oil-cake, against no manuring on sulphured 3 60:25 | 55 65 | area, m 4 36 44 14 6 33 46 45 7 19°25 |'19 10} 13:25. | 15 5 8 64:50 | 39 48 9 6 8 46 | 25 20 88 10 : 62 62 60 11 850 | 10 4 13 44:25 | 32 59 14 34 27 45 3 2 AO | NG 19:25 | 18 55) 21:50 | 15 59 16 22°50 | 27 89 | 50°75 | 23 25 | 17 30 16 20 18 7 4 18 20 41:25 | 29 55 21 | ToTaL 822°25 |310 12 | 317:25 |259 76 77 66 | Average per acre each plucking. | _ 14th May 1893.—“T had bad luck as regards weather, March being a wet month this year... Reserving 2 cwt. for experimental purposes, the balance of 5 tons of flour of sule phur was applied to 135 acres, of which 85 acres had good sunshine for between ten and fourteen days before being washed by rain ; 28 acres for two days ; and 22 acres were pows dered i in the morning and washed in the evening. Still the effect seems to be much the same over the whole area which is practically free of spider. I qualify the latter statement, as a bush every here and there does show up red this year, which was not the case in 1892, The number is altogether insignificant, Won under 1 per cent., but I mention the fact as being curious and unlike the past season’s experience. “The only point worth noting this year is, that a single day’s good hot sunshine appears sufficient for the sulphur to do its work. 5 _ “The 138 acres treated in 1892 have for the most part very little spider. Some of the worst sections, especially those subject to flooding, show up a little red, but not one “quarter as bad as in former years; on the other hand, there are large stretches with no spider at all, _ © On the first signs I went over 72 acres with the one cask of 2 cwt: reserved for the purpose, sprinkling every bush that gave the slightest show. From the ground gone ovcr 56 The Tea wnsects of India. and quantity of sulphur used, I calculate the affected bushes amounted to just 3 per cent. With a little more sulphur I could have checked the disease over the remainder of the 138 acres, for I am glad to say the 72 acres are now quite free, whereas the rest have perhaps 10 per cent, of the bushes red. The 11 acres treated with sulphur and lime which I reported as unsuccessful last year have at least 50 per cent. attacked. “ Now that I know more about sulphur and its effects, I am convinced I made a great mistake in not applying it immediately after pruning. I have several reasons for saying so, amongst which are—(1) Red spider must hybernate somewhere in the bush; it cannot come spontaneously, Ore invariably sees it start on the old leaves, and work gradually up to the new growth which is always the last attacked, and I should not be surprised to learn that it remained through the cold weather in the bark. Therefore an application of sulphur in January ought to be as successful as in March. (2) The sulphur would go very much further on newly-pruned bushes, aud would also search out the bark, which it can- not do after the leaves form a covering. Moreover, there would be no fear of heavy rain for at least two months, nor would there be the high winds of February and March which waste a good deal of sulphur. (3) Although Mr. Cotes is not convinced on the subject, I still hold to my opinion that sulphur has an influence on blight. My experience of this year is exactly that of last,—viz,, that on the sulphured area there is still no blight, but a good deal on other places ; in fact it is unusually bad for the early season of year.” The following is an extract from an interesting report by Mr. A. H. Green upon the subject of late pruning as a check on red spider in Assam. Ithas been furnished through the kindness of Messrs. Barry & Co.! 8th May 1893.— The weather has been unusually cold for time of year. Red spider has also been showing on parts of gardens, but is getting less. The gardens promise well, and with suitable weather should soon make up and pass last year. “In connection with red spider, it may be of interest to you to note that this blight rarely, if ever, attacks bushes pruned after the last week in March. For three years I have kept small plots of bushes unpruned till last week of March, and this year I kept some 30 acres unpruned till after third week of March, the difference of the plots so treated being now very marked; that portion of same plot early pruned being more or less covered With blight, and the later pruned throwing out shoots without a sign of blight. “ My neighbour at Coolie Kusie has tried the same experiment with so far like result, I am of opinion that late pruning—not before first week in April preferably—will be found the best remedy or rather preventative for this blight; the bushes liable to it will pro- bably get the blight on them before they are pruned, but the pruning will remove a good deal, and the bush will throw out shoots straight away without a check. “Blighted bushes give little or no leaf for several weeks, and the little leaf given before they become attacked by the blight, would probably be more than made up by the unpruned bush up to beginning of April. i Late pruning versus red spider. “YI am referring to ordinary or light-pruned tea ; heavy pruning is probably best done early, and, further, red spider does not attack heavy-pruned tea as a rule.” Mites other than Red Spider.—In India red spider (Zetrany- chus bioculatus, W.M.) isthe only mite which has hitherto been recorded — as attacking the tea plant, but in Ceylon the two totally distinct species Typhlodromus carinatus and Acarus translucens have been discovered by 1 It should be observed that in Ceylon a bad attack of red spider is said to be very liable to follow a few months after heavy pruning (vide Green, Insect Pests, No. 7).— BK, C, C. The Tea insects of India. 57 Green, who found that they were responsible for much of the damage commonly attributed to red spider, from which, however, they should be carefully distinguished. The following is a summary of Green’s obser- vations as published in the Ceylon Independent. Typhlodromus carinatus, Green. Thisis a minute dull-coloured mite characterised when full grown by a series of fine white longitudinal ridges o£ waxy secretion down the back. It feeds both on the upper and under surfaces of the leaves, especially along the margins. When attacked the leaves become dry and bronzed, but they do not curl up as when affected by red spider. The life-history of the species would seem to be very similar to that of red spider, but has not yet been com- pletely traced. Green recommends treating nurseries affected with this mite with washes of one part of kerosine emulsion to eighty parts of water, or one part of phenyle to two hundred and forty parts of water. The appli- cation to be made in the evening and followed the next morning with a washing of pure water, unless rain has fallen in the meantime. Acarus translucens, Green.1 This isa minute amber-coloured mite with a clouded stripe down the middle of the back, It confines its attack to the flush where it is to be found on tke buds and young leaves. It seems to be unaffected by rain and continues its ravages all the year round, with the result that it occasions a large amount of damage on many estates in Ceylon. Green found the mite in all stages of develop- ment, including eggs, larve, and adult males and females, on the young leaves. He recommends the persistent plucking of every shoot on affected-bushes. For further particulars about these two species reference should be made to Green’s work. INSECTICIDE APPARATUS LIKELY TO BE USEFUL UPON INDIAN TEA GARDENS. Artificial means of destroying insects are now widely employed both in the United States and in Europe, and no reason is apparent why they should not be adopted for use in India. This is especially the case where such valuable crops as tea and coffee are concerned, which are likely to repay the cost many times over in increased productiveness. _ The first point to notice is the fact that the best time to employ insecticides is as soon as ever the blight appears, and without waiting 1 In Nietner’s Enemies of the Coffee Tree, second edition, Colombo, 1880, the name Acarus translucens is given to a mite found associated with the scale insect Lecanium coffee, Nietner, on coffee bushes in Ceylon. It does not appear whether the two forms are identical, = 58 The Tea insects of India, until appreciable injury has been done; for preparations which might profitably be employed to kill off the pest on the few bushes -where it first appears, and thus prevent its spreading wholesale throughout the garden, are liable to prove too troublesome and. expensive for application at a later date when large areas have become affected. Methods capable a more or less completely destroying. leno every form of insect blight have. now been invented in America and Europe. The relative merits also of almost every substance which possesses in- secticide properties have been so fully thrashed out by the United States eutomologists, that little is likely to be gained by attempts to invent new insecticides in India. What is rather required is to adapt already existing systems to the special requirements of the tea industry and to ascertain by experiment how to attain the most satisfactory results: with the least possible expenditure. The period immediately after pruning, when the bushes are small and thin, is no doubt a favourable one, under certain circumstances, for treating large areas for the destruction of such pests as red spider and scale insects which remain all the year round upon the plants; but the | shock likely to be caused to the bush by the application of poisonous substances must also be taken into consideration, and the objéct should be to select a moment for cperation when the insect is most olen to attack and the plant least liable to be-affected. With a few unimportant exceptions, the species which attack the tea plant in India are confined to Southern Asia; they are sufficiently closely related, however, to corresponding American and European forms to be likely to be to a very large extent amenable to the same insecticides. For this branch of the subject, therefore, the masterly publications of the United States Entomological Department. are of the greatest use, though great care must be taken only to institute comparisons between species which have essential features in common. The sulphur treatment for red spider, which has been fully described on pages 52 to 56 of this report, may be said to have already passed into the stage of practical utility in India. Sulphur has long been employed both in Europe and in America for the destruction of mites of all kinds, of which the red spider of the tea plant is one. Sulphur is therefore likely to be useful in India, not only against red spider but also against such species as Typhlodromus carinatus and Acarus translucens referred to on page 57 of this report. Whether, however, the system, hitherto adopted in Indian tea gardens, of sprinkling the sulphur ina dry powder over the bushes, will eventually prove to be the cheapest and most effectual method of application, is open to considerable doubt. Both in England and in America this system seems to have been generally abandoned in favour of mixing the sulphur with soap which is then The Tea insects of India. 59 dissolved in water and sprayed in this form over the affected plants. Cakes of soap and sulphur mixed ready to be dissolved in water are said to be already an article of manufacture in England (see foot-note to page 54), This substance can therefore be easily procured and would seem to be well worth trying upon an extensive scale, before concluding definitely that the system at present adopted is incapable of further improvement. Sulphur is one form or another at present to be the most promising agent for use against mites generally. From the experiments, however, which have been made elsewhere, it is almost certain to have little effect on pests which belong to the zoological group Insecta. In other words, while mites are exceedingly susceptible to sulphur, insects (properly so called) are but little affected by it. It must be borne in mind that in order to give satisfactory results, not only must an insecticide be carefully prepared and applied in the right. proportions and in the proper manner, but it is necessary to ascer- tain that the nature of the insect, which it is required to destroy, is such as to render it amenable to the particular form of insect poison employed. ‘The necessary caution also must be exercised in cases where the application is hurtful to the higher animals and man. ; From the contradictory statements which have been made by those who have experimented in India with identical insecticides, it appears that a good deal of misunderstanding exists with regard to the nature of these substances. In particular the fact seems to be often over- looked that because an insecticide is either effective or the reverse when applied in a particular manner against one insect, it by no means _ neces. sarily follows that it will have the same effect when used, either in the same or in some other manner, against a different species. - _ With this preface we may proceed to consider a few of the more important insecticides and mechanical appliances invented in America for the destruction of insects. It will be unnecessary to repeat what has already been said either about the sulphur treatment which has been fully dealt with above, or concerning such methods as that of applying bisulphide of carbon to root-feeding forms which has been sutliciently described on page 6 under the heading Melolonthini. “The subject may most conveniently be considered under the foilow- ing five headings :— (1) Kerosine Emulsion. (2) Pyrethrum. (3) Arsenical Washes, (4) Hydrocyanic Gas. (5) Hopperdozers. 60 The Tea insects of India. KEROSINE EMULSION. This insecticide is said to be very widely used in the United States against Aphid, scale insects and other soft-bodied insects, which feed by sucking up the juices of plants by means of a proboscis inserted in the tissues of the plant, and which are hence little affected by non- volatile poisons distributed on the surface of the leaves. In particular it is said to have proved very valuable in Florida for ridding orange trees of scale insects, In India it has been favourably reported upon for destroying the green scale bug, which is one of the most inveterate blights of the coffee tree, also for dislodging white ants, It is further said to have been successfully used in the Kangra Valley for destroying scale insects on tea, and has been recommended by Mr. Green to the attention of Ceylon tea planters for dealing with the five-ribbed tea mite (Zyphlodromus carinatus, Green), the tea Aphid (Ceylonza the@coala, Buckton), and such scale insects as Chzonaspis thea, Maskell. It is further worthy of very much more careful trial than has yet been accorded it against such insects as mosquito blight and green fly blight, For although it may be impossible, without seriously injuring the foliage, to make it suffi- ciently strong to destroy the winged adult forms of these species, which fly off as soon as spraying commences, it by no means follows that it will be ineffectual against the wingless larvee which also subsist upon the tea bush, where they not only do a considerable amount of injury them- selves, but also eventually develop into the winged form. No doubt the best thing would be an insecticide capable of destroying, on the first application, alike the eggs, the larvee and the adult insects, without injury to the tea bush, but failing this it is quite possible that useful results may accrue by the persistent use of less powerful agents, provided they are really effectual against any one of the forms through which each individual insect passes the course of its existence. For, to take a single instance, it is obvious that there ca be no winged mosquito blight to lay eggs, if all the wingless larvee have been destroyed as fast as they appeared. Kerosine emulsion is made by violently churning two parts of kero- sine oil, the purer the better, with one part either of milk or, better, of soap solution ; the soap solution to be made by boiling from a quarter of a pound toa pound avoirdupois of common yellow soap or whale oil soap with a gallon of water. The resulting emulsion is then mixed with from nine to fifty parts of water. ‘The churning is best done when the mixture is warm and should be continued until a thick cream like emulsion is produced, almost like butter in consistency. In the The Tea insects of India. 61 ease of soap solution the necessary temperature may conveniently be obtained by adding it hot off the fire to cold kerosine oil. The writer of this report has succeeded in making an excellent emul- sion on a small scale by the simple process of half filling a beer bottle with a mixture of kerosine oil and milk and then setting a cooly to beat it on a pad of cloth. This process, however, is far more laborious than that recommended in the United States, where the regular plan is said to be to drive the mixture backwards and forwards for five or ten minutes through the force pump used for spraying the plants. All that is necessary in this case is to insert both the feed-pipe and the nozzle of the force pump into the mixture and then to work the pump until the thick- ening of the fluid shows that the union of the two liquids has been effected. The object of emulsion is to enable the kerosine oil, which is the active insecticide agent, to mix with the water required to dilute it so as to prevent injury to the foliage, The amount of water that should be added varies according to the nature of the plant and that of the insect which it is required to destroy. When used carelessly kerosine emulsion is certain to burn the leaves _ to a more or less serious extent. This is especially the case when hot sunshine follows the application, but can easily be avoided by using the wash in a sufficiently diluted state. Much also depends upon the man- ner in which the application is made, for to obtain the best results it appears to be essential that the spraying should be done with a force pump fitted with one of the modern ‘‘cyclone ” nozzles originally in- vented in the United States Entomological Department. These cyclone nozzles are so arranged that the liquid issues in the form of a fine mist- like spray which envelopes the whole plant and covers every portion of it with the tiniest drops imaginable. This method of application not only makes the same amount of wash go very much further than would other- wise be the case, but the mist-like spray, penetrating as it does in all directions, is infinitely more effective, so far as killing insects is concerned, than large drops which are almost certain to leave portions of the bush untouched, besides running off on to the ground instead of adhering to the leaves. So-called “ knapsack force pumps” are now made with a reservoir which can be strapped on to the back of the operator, who thus conve. niently carries a considerable supply of the wash along with him while he sprays the plants by means of an aquapult force pump fitted witha cyclone nozzle. Further improvements will no doubt suggest themselves in the form of the apparatus when it comes into general use upon tea gardens in india. It is important, however, to notice that very satisfac- tory force pumps are already manufactured both in Europe and in America, where they are used for varions purposes, 62 The Tea insects of India. With regard to the amount of dilution required, a mixture of twelve parts of water to one of emulsion has been recommended in America as a safe wash for ordinary purposes. In Ceylon! Mr, Green has found so weak a wash as one part of kerosine emulsion to eighty parts of water sufficient when applied in the evening to kill aphids and mites upon the tender shoots of tea plants in nurseries, He recommends that even this should be followed witha washing of water the next morning if no rain intervenes in the night, It will probably prove, however, that very much stronger applications can be used with safety, without subsequent washing, especially upon the older bushes, when the necessary precautions are taken to apply ina very fine spray when the sun is off the plants. | ARSENICAL INSECTICIDES, The best known of these useful insecticides are Paris green and London purple respectively. Without going into the question of their chemical structure, it is sufficient to say that they are brightly coloured substances which are exceedingly poisonous, not only to insects but also to all forms of animal life, On this account they were for a lone time looked upon with very considerable distrust, Of late years, how- ever, it has been shown that when properly used the amount of poison which it is necessary to distribute is so small that with ordinary care they can be used with entire safety. As the result they are now em- ployed upon a very considerable scale, especially by fruit-growers in the United States. Like kerosine emulsion they require to be diluted to an enormous extent with water and applied to the foliage in the form of an exceed- ingly fine mist-like spray. The poison is thus distributed over the leaves and acts, not Jike kerosine emulsion by actual contact with the insects, but by poisoning the leaves upon which they feed. Paris green and London purple are thus principally effective against such caterpillars, grasshoppers, and beetles as actually eat the substance of the leaves, and are less useful against species which feed by sucking up the juices of the plant by means of a proboscis. It may be noticed, however, that satisfactory results have been obtained with London purple? in the Saharunpore Botanical Gardens, North-West Provinces, not only against caterpillars but also against a Jassid which attacks the flower of the mango tree, and which is closely related to the green fly blight of tea. In this case the precise action of the wash is somewhat difficult to’ ex- plain. ? Vide his papers in the Ceylon Independent. 3 eee _? The London purple experimented with in this case had been furnished to the Yndia Museum by Messrs, Hemingway & Co., of 60, Mark Lane, London, E. C The Tea insects of India. 63 ~ On aceount of their poisonous nature neither Pards gréen nor London purple should be used under any circumstance whatever upon tea bushes where plucking is going on. And no leaves or buds, which were in existence at the time that the spraying was done, should on any account be made into tea. Provided, however, that the bushes are well washed by rain subsequent to the application, and that sufficient time is allowed to elapse before plucking for an entirely new flush to appear, it would seem to be impossible for the tea to be affected in any way. As an additional precaution, however, it might be as well in the first instance to have the leaf tested chemically for the poison, though the faet that the closest investigation in the United States has failed to de- tect its presence in fruit picked from trees the foliage of which, only a few months previously, has been liberally treated with the wash, would seem to be sufficient indication that there is no possibility of danzer ‘Upon this score, The usual system for applying both Parcs green and Bone penne} is to simply mix the powder! with water and to spray the mixture, which is purely a mechanical one, over the plants. The powder, however, has a ereat tendency to settle to the bottom of the receptacle, and thus render the top too weak and the bottom too strong. To obviate this difficulty the mixture should be constantly stirred,and when empty the receptacle should invariably be rinsed out with water as a preliminary to refilling, for this prevents the accumulation of the poison atthe bottom. A little flour is sometimes added to the mixture both to render it more stable, and also to help it to adhere to the leaves; this, however, is by no means essential, provided the other precautions are taken. The precise amount of poison to be mixed with the water varies according to the nature of the insect and the resisting power of the foliage. When too strong the leaves are burnt, and when too weak the insect survives. Between these two extremes, however, there is usually plenty of room for the production of a satisfactory mixture. _ For use against the web worm in the United States the following proportions have been recommended : Forty gallons of water, one quarter to three quarters of a pound of London purple and tliree quarts of flour, the solid ingredients to be mixed with the water by washing them through a strainer. One pound of Paris green similarly mixed with from forty to one hundred gallons of water has been recommended for general use in America. In England for use upon young foliage, the proportions re- commended have been one ounce of Parts green to ten gallons of water in +1 Paris green is also manufactured inthe form of paste to be similarly used. The paste has the great recommendation of not being liable to get blown about by the wind in mixing, 64 The Tea insects of India. the case of plum trees, and one ounce to twenty gallons of water in the case of apple trees. The precise strength, which it is desirable to adopt in each case, can only be ascertained by experiment. It should be remembered, however, that mature foliage will always stand a stronger wash than young shoots, and that, as the full effect of the poison is not always observable until three or four days after the application has been made, it is better to err on the side of making the mixture too weak rather than too strong at first. Whether, upon the whole, London purple or Paris green is the better agent to adopt for general use in India, is a question which it is difficult to decide upon the evidence at present available. Both have their ad- vocates, and the circumstances under which it will be found preferable to apply one rather than the other can only be ascertained absolutely by experiment. PYRETHRUM. This preparation consists of the ground-up petals of the flower of Pyrethrum cineraria folium. It is largely used for domestic purposes and can also be employed for the destruction of caterpillars in the open. It has the great recommendation of being harmless to animals other than insects, but is unfortunately too costly for general use, under ordinary circumstances, in the field. The following extract from Notes ou Econo- mic Entomology, Calcutta, 1888, gives the necessary particulars about its application :— “ Pyrethrum cinerariefolium, a plant native to Dalmatia, has long been known to pos- sess insecticide properties, especially in the powder from the dried and pulverised flowers. The species has proved to be hardy throughout the greater part of the United States, and Mr. Milco of St on, California, has for some years cultivated it extensively with con- siderable profit, the product being sold under the name of “ Buhach.” The insecticide pro- perties reside ina volatile oil. It acts only by contact, and its action on many larvee is said to be wonderful, a minute quantity in time paralysing and ultimately killing. Its influence in the open air is evanescent, in which respect it is far inferior to the arsenical products ; but being perfectly harmless to plants, it can frequently be used on vegetables where more poisonous substances would be dangerous. é ‘‘ Pyrethrum is supposed to have no effect on the higher animals, Dr. Riley’s experi- ence, however, is that fumes in a closed room have a toxic influence, intensifying sleep and inducing stupor; while the experience Of Professor Bell with the powder copiously rubbed on a dog, showed that the animal was made sick and was affected in the locomotive organs very much as is the case with insects. “The pulverised flowers are sold at about fifty cents per pound in America. ‘The best method of using being to pour a quart of alcohol on a pound of the powder; leave it to stand for an hour and mix with ferty or fifty gallons of water to he applied with a San José nozzle, or better to let the alcohol simply percolate through the powder and thus obtain a clear tincture, which can be applied with any nozzle. The powder may also be applied with bellows or mixed with water and applied by a pump.” ie The Tea insects of India. 65 Hyprocyanic Gas. The Hydrocyanic gas treatment consists im throwing a moveable tent over the bush so as to confine the air and then fumigating the in- terior with Hydrocyanic gas. ‘The gas is produced in the simplest pos- sible manner by slipping inside the tent a saucer containing a little weak sulphuric acid into which a lump of potassium cyanide is dropped. The system has only been invented during the past few years, but is said to have already been adopted upon a very large scale for the destruction of scale insects upon orange trees in California. When carefully applied it is claimed to destroy, not only scale insects, but also almost every other form of animal life inside the tent, without injury to the orange tree, and it is likely to be almost equally satisfactory for tea bushes, In this case only a very small tent would be required and the whole process could easily be worked by a couple of coolies trained for the purpose. So promising indeed does it appear for use upon tea gardens that it is only surprising it has hitherto attracted so little attention. The following extract from a report by Mr. D. W, Coguillet, pub- lished in the United States Department of Agriculture, Division Ento- mology, Bulletin No. 23, gives all the necessary particulars concerning the treatment, so far as orange trees are concerned. For tea bushes the only modification likely to be required is to reduce the size of the tent and to use proportionately less of the chemicals. «“ Briefly speaking, this process consists in covering the infested tree with an air- tight tent, and afterwards charging the tent with hydrocyanic gas. The material com- monly used in the construction of the tent is what is known as blue or brown drilling. A few persons have used ducking instead of the drilling, but this is much inferior to the latter ; in the ducking the threads of which it is composed extend only lengthwise and crosswise, whereas in the drilling they also extend diagonally—this belonging to the class of goods to which our merchants apply the term “ twilled”—and for this reason the drilling is both stronger and closer in texture than the ducking. “ After the tent is sewed up it is given a coat of black paint, as it has been ascere tained that tents treated in this manner last longer than those which have been simply oiled with linseed oil. Some persons mix a small quantity of soap suds with the paint in order to render the latter more pliable when dry, and therefore less liable to crack ; instead of thus painting the tent some persons simply give it a coating made of an inferior glue called “ size,” first dissolving this in water and then covering the tent with it, using a whitewash brush for this purpose. Sometimes a small quantity of whiting or chalk (carbonate of lime, Ca Co) is added to this sizing with or without the addition of lamp-black. A few make use of the mucilaginous juice of the common actus (Opuntia engelmanni, Salm.) for this purpose; to obtain this the cactus leaves or stems are cut or broken up into pieces, thrown into a barrel and covered with water, after which they are allowed to soak for three or four days; the liquid portion is then drawn off, and is ready for use without further preparation. Tents which I saw that had been prepared with this substance were to all appearances as air-tight and pliable as when prepared in any other manner. F 66 ‘The Tea insects of Indra. “ A tent 26 feet tall by 60 feet in cireumference—a size large enough to cover the largest orange tree now growing in this State—if made out of drilling, and either painted or sized, as described above, will cost completed about 60 dollars. Where the trees to be treated are not more than 12 feet tall, the tent can be placed over them by means of poles in the hands of three persons ; to accomplish this, three iron rings are sewed to the tent at equal distances around, and 6 or 7 feet from the bottom of the tent; immediately under each of these rings an iron hook is attached to the lower edge of the tent. When the latter is to be placed over a tree, each of the hooks is fastened into the corresponding ring above it; one end of a pole is then inserted into each of these rings, and the tent is raised and placed on the tree. The hooks are then released from the rings and the lower edge of the tent allowed to drop upon the ground. “¢ Instead of allowing the tent to rest directly on the tree, some growers use an umbrella-like arrangement, the handle of which is in two pieces, which are fastened together with clamps provided with pins; this allows the handle to be lengthened or shortened according to the height of the tree. This apparatus is put up over the tree, and the tent allowed to rest upon it. By the use of this simple device the danger of breaking off the small twigs on the upper part of the tree by the weight of the tent is avoided. Mr. Leslie, of Orange, used four tents and tent rests of this kind, and he informs me that with the aid of two men he fumigated 120 trees in one night. To remove the tent from one tree, place it over another, and charge the generator required only one minute and a half. In the place of poles some persons attach a circle of gas pipe to the lower edge of the tent; then two men, each taking hold of opposite sides of this circle, threw the tent over the tree. Dr. J. H. Dunn, of Pomona, informs me that four men, using six tents like the above, fumigated 240 orange trees in one night, and that the average for each night was over 200 trees, the latter being 8. feet or less in height. After the tent is placed over the tree, the next step is to charge it with the gas. The materials used for the production of the gas consist of commercial sulphuric acid (K, SO,), fused potassium cyanide (KON), and water, the proportions being one fluid ounce of the acid, one ounce by weight of the dry cyanide, and two fluid ounces of water. The generator is placed under the tent at the base of the tree; it consists of a common open earthenware yessel. The water is first placed in the generator, then the acid, and last the cyanide, after which the operator withdraws to the outside of the tent and the bottom of the latter is fastened down by having a few shovelfuls of earth thrown upon it. The tent is allowed to remain over the tree for a period of from fifteen to thirty minutes, according to the size of the tree. “ Tt was found by experimenting that the trees were less liable to be injured by the gas when treated at night than they were when operated upon in the day-time, and at the same time the gas is just as fatal to the scale insects when applied at night as it would be if applied in the day-time; and, indeed, it appears to be even more fatal when applied at night. This is accounted for by reason of the fact that in the day- time the light and heat decompose the gas into other gases which, while being more hurtful to the trees, are not so fatal to insects. At night the trees are also more or less in a state of rest, and, therefore, are not so liable to be injured by the gas as they would be in the day-time, when they are actively engaged in absorbing nourishment and replacing wasted tissue with new materials. “Of the different materials used in generating the gas, the most important is the potassium cyanide ; of this there are three grades; the mining cyanide, commercial cyanide, and the C. P. (chemically pure). Of these three brands, the mining cyanide is wholly unsuitable for the production of the gas, and the C. P. is too expensive ; the commercial brand (fused) is the only one that is used for producing the gas, but even this varies greatly in strength, containing all the way from 33 to 58 per cent, The Tea insects of India. 67 of pure potassium cyanide. It is, therefore, of the utmost importance that the operator should know the exact percentage of pure potassium cyanide that his cyanide contains, and when large quantities of it are purchased at one time it would be advis- able to obtain one or more analyses of it by a reliable analytical chemist ; or if it is not possible to submit the cyanide to such person, an analysis of it could be made by almost any person accustomed to the use of chemicals or drugs. “ The only substance required for this purpose is the crystals of nitrate of silver (AgNO, ), which may be obtained at almost any well-stocked drug-store. Dissolve the nitrate in cold water contained in a glass or earthen vessel, using one-fourth of an ounce (Troy) of the crystals to one pint of water; this dissolves in a few minutes, forming a whitish, semi-transparent solution. The cyanide, when dissolved in water, forms a transparent, nearly colourless solution ; when a small quantity of the nitrate of silver solution is added to this it at first spreads out in a white cloud, like milk, but it soon breaks up into small, white, floccy pieces which gradually disappear upon being agitated, leaving the solution nearly as transparent as at first ; when more of the nitrate of silver solution is added from time to time, the above process is repeated except toward the last, when the cyanide solution becomes somewhat milky, but it still remains semi-transparent, permitting the operator to see quite clearly the bottom of the vessel containing the solution. As soon as a sufficient quantity of the nitrate of silver solution has been added to the cyanide eolution, the latter immediately becomes white and opaque, like mill, completely concealing from view the bottom of the vessel containing it. This completes the operation, and the quantity of nitrate of silver solution used will indicate the strength of the cyanide tested. When abso- lutely pure, 5° grains of th® potassium cyanide dissolved in water will require one fluid ounce of the above nitrate of silver solution before the turbidity oceurs, indicating that the cyanide is 100 per cent. strong ; if only one-half of a fluid ounce of the nitrate of silver solution produces this turbidity, this indicates that the cyanide is only half strength, or 50 per cent. strong; if only one-fourth of a fluid ounce is required, then the cyanide is 25 percent. strong ; and so forth. The nitrate of silver solution should be added to the cyanide solution very slowly, the latter heing agitated by gently staking it each time that any of the nitrate solution is added. Wherever any of the nitrate of silver solution comes into contact with the skin or nails of the hand it produces a reddish or black stain, which can easily be removed by washing the stained part in a solution of cyanide and water ; this will quickly remove the stain without causing any injury to the parts affected, except, of course, when the stains occur upon a sore or cut in the hand, in which case it would be dangerous to apply the cyanide to these places. “Tt sometimes happens that the percentage of syanogen (CN or Cy) is given instead of the percentage of potassium cyanide (KCN or KCy); but in cases of this kind the percentage of cyanide can be readily ascertained by always bearing in mind that two-fifths of a given quantity of potassium cyanide is cyanogen. Thus, if a certain brand of cyanide contains 24 per cent. of cyanogen, this is equivalent to 60 per cent. of pure potassium cyanide. Potassium cyanide when absolutely pure (equal to 100 per cent.) contains 40 per cent. of cyanogen; and, therefore, no grade of cyanide could contain a larger percentage of cyanogen than this. “The potassium cyanide used for producing the hydrocyanic acid gas is princi- pally manufactured by two firms: Power and Weightman, of Philadelphia, Pa., and the Mallinkrodt Chemical Works, of St. Louis, Mo. That made by the first-named firm is the most largely used ; when purchased by the ton the price is 36 cents per pound for the grade containing about 57 per cent. of pure potassium cyanide, packages and carriage extra. It is put up in tin cans holding 10 pounds each, and also in 68 The Tea insects of India. barrels holding about 400 pounds each. That in the cans is much to be preferred, since the quantity in each is so small that it will soon be used up after the can is opened ; whereas the barrel containing so large a quantity, the cyanide used towards the last will have lost much of its strength by contact with the air. It is customary to weigh out the cyanide in small paper parcels and mark each parcel with the number of ounces of cyanide that it contains: then when the tree is to be fumigated, it is an easy matter for the operator to select one of the parcels containing a sufficient quantity of the cyanide for the tree, thus saving the trouble of weighing out the cyanide as it is to be used for each tree. As the fumigating is done only at night, the weighing of the cyanide is frequently done by the ladies of the house upon the day preceding its use. “The quantity of cyanide to be used on each tree will, of course, depend not only on the size of the tree but also on the strength of the cyanide used, The following table will aid in determining the proper quantity of each ingredient to be used on different-sized citrus trees, the cyanide being about 58 per cent. pure :— Height of Tree. vee Water. Sulphuric Acid. oe Feet. Feet. Fluid ozs. Fluid ozs. Ounces, 6 4 3 3 $ 8 6 2 1 1 10 8 43 2} 24 12 10 8 » 4 4 12 14 16 8 8 14 10 10 5 5 14 14. 19 93 94 16 12 16 8 8 16 16 29 143 143 18 14, 26 13 13 20 16 36 18 18 22 18 52 26 26 ZA, 20 66 33 33°” HoprrrDozERs. These appliances have been invented in the United States for the destruction of grasshoppers and other active insects which Jurk in low vegetation. The value of the crops saved by the use of hopperdozers in the States of North Dakota and Minnesota alone in the year 1890 has been estimated by the Dominion Entomologist of Canada’ at no less than two hundred thousand dollars. Hopperdozers are likely to be of use upon Indian tea gardens, not only for destroying grasshoppers in the weeds about the tea bushes, but also for catching such insects as the active larve of the mosquito blight which drop off the bushes when disturbed, The forms in use in the United States vary a good deal in construc- tion. The essential feature in each case, however, consists of an open pan (7) See his address to the Association of Economic Entom:logists, Washington, 1891. The Tea insects of India. 69 containing either kerosine oil or coai-tar, which is drawn along over the ground in such a manner that many of the insects disturbed in its pro- egress fall into the tray, where they are either entangled in the coal-tar ron which they are unable to extricate themselves, or are poisoned by the action of the kerosine oil, which rapidly proves fatal to them, The following extracts from an admirable report by Dr. C. V. Riley, United States Entomologist, on Destructive Locusts, Washington, 1891, give full information upon the subject of methods of construction and utilisation :— ‘The pans that were used in Kansas and Iowa, but principally in the former State, were of very simple construction and very effectual. ‘* A good and cheap pan is made of ordinary sheet iron, 8 feet long, 11 inches wide at the bottom, and turned up a foot high at the back and an inch high at the front. A runner at each end, extending some distance behind, and a cord attached to each front corner, complete the pan at a cost of about $).50. “We have known from 7 to 10 bushels of young locusts caught with one such pan in an afternoon. It is easily pulled by two boys, and by running several together in a row, one boy to each outer rope, and one to each contiguous pair, the best work is performed with the least labour. Longer pans, to be drawn by horses, should have transverse partitions . . . to avoid spilling the liquid; also more runners. The oil may te used alone so as just to cover the bottom, or on the surface of water, and the insects strained through a wire ladle. When the insects are very small, one may economise in kerosine by lining the pan with saturated cloth, but this becomes less efficient afterward, and frames of cloth saturated with oil do not equal the pans. Where oil has been scarce, some persons have substituted concentrated lye, but when used strong enough to kill it costs about as much as the oil, The oil pans can be used only when the crops to be protected are small. “Small pans for oil, attached to an obliquing pole or handle, do excellent service in gardens. “Mr. A, A. Price of Rutland, Humboldt County, Iowa, sends the Commission the following description of a coal oil pan to be drawn on runners, and which was used with much success in North Western lowa. . . - Take a common board from 12 to 16 feet in length for the foundation or bed-piece. Make a tin trough 4 inches deep, 6 inches wide, and as long as required. Divide the trough into. partitions by means of strips of tin, so that each partition is a foot long, thus avoiding the spilling of oil. Back of this place a strip of tin 16 inches wide and as long as the trough. The back must be firmly secured by braces running down to the front edge of the board. Under all this place three wooden runners 3 feet long and shod with iron for the trough to rideon. Fill the pan half full of water, and then add a small quantity of kerosine sufficient to cover the water. A horse may be hitched to the machine by fastening a rope to the outside runners. . . » «+ The lightness of the machine will allow of its being used on any crops.” “A machine of this sort was patented by Mr. Lorenzo B. Canfield, of Syracuse (Patent No. 187,509, dated Nebr., February 20th, 1877).” “This pan was sold in the west at an exorbitant price, $4 being charged for royalty, Wherever we had an opportunity we advised farmers not to use it, but to construct others such as we have already described, and every bit as good, at far less 70 The Tea insects of India. expense. The principle cannot be patented, for since 1875 similar coal-oil pans, virtual outgrowths of the canvas frames originally employed for the same purpose, have been ‘known and used’ in Colorado. This fact is sufficient in law to defeat any patent right based upon any application for a patent subsequent to such know- ledge and use. “The essential features in all the contrivances are in fact—(1) a platform that runs on the ground, on runners or wheels; (2) a canopy at right angles with it; (3) a reservoir at the junction to contain the liquid. “ Another pan . . . - was made by Mr. James Adams, of Abilene, Kansas. It is 10 feet long, 2 feet wide; back (a) 1 foot high ; front (0) about 2 inches high at the inner edge; ends (c) 2 feet high. The front is made of a board 6 inches wide, leaning inward at an agle of about 45°. A cloth screen is placed on the back part which prevents the reel from knocking the locusts back over the pan. “The whole is made of pine, and it costs $8 or $10. The pan is painted within with asphaltum paint, which renders it impervious to water or oil. Tbe pan rests in front upon runners, to which ropes are attached for drawing, and on wheels behind which carry belts to turn the reel. “The reel revolves just in front of the pan, causing the locusts to hop, and then knocking them into the pan. A brush of cloth is sometimes fastened to one arm of the reel to brush into the pan any locusts that may be on the front-piece. Several of these pans were used about Abilene, and did good work. * A contrivance . . « . was constructed by President John A. Anderson for use on tbe Agricultural College farm at Manhattan, Kansas. “Tt was found to do very good service, killing the young locusts in considerable numbers. The oil did not evaporate so rapidly as was anticipated. One thorough saturation was sufficient for fifteen or twenty minutes, when a little more could be added. If the machine be hauled against [the wind, nearly all the locusts which hop will touch the oiled canvas. They generally take several hops upon the canvas before leaving it, thus ensuring a thorough saturation with the oil. After hopping from the apron they can take two or three hops upon the ground, then lose all power in their hind legs, stretching them straight out behind, and finally, in ove or two minutes after being ‘oiled,’ they are dead. “ Ooal-tar.—This may be used with most of the contrivances just described for the use of kerosine, and while not equal to the simple kerosine pan for speed in trap- ping and destroying, is yet very useful, especially in the neighbourhood of gas works, where the coal-tar can be obtained at nominal cost. It also permits the use of the simplest kind of pan. Enough tar is spread over whatever receptacle may be used to cover well the bottom, and when this becomes sufficiently matted with the young locusts so as no longer to destroy the new-comers, another coating is added, and so on until it becomes necessary to remove the whole mass, when it is shovelled from the pan and burned, or, what is far preferable, wherever there are wet ditches if may be thrown into these, when the oil contained in it, spreading over the surface of the water, destroys such locusts as may jump into or be driven into such ditches. Where the tar is scarce, as a matter of economy it will pay to melt the accumulated mass in iron vessels. By skimming off the dead locusts that rise to the surface, and thin- ning the residuum with alittle coal-oil, it may be used again. ‘A simple pan extensively employed . . . . was known as the Robbins ‘ hoppers dozer, . . . the general plan being that of the ordinary road scraper. Its simplicity The Tea insects of India. 71 and durability account for its general use. It was usually drawn by hand, though several pans were frequently bound together and drawn by horses; while, in some instances certain improvements in the way of mounting on wheels, so as to permit its being pushed from behind, were also adopted. We saw some with a wire screen or over hinge to the back, so that the insects might be secured when the pan was not in motion: but the cover seemed superfluous. We also saw lime and kerosine mixed go as to furm a mortar substituted for the coal-tar.” CALCUTTA ; 28th March 1894, re Pea | ) INDEX. Acanthopsyche moorei, 18. Acarina (Mites), 48. Acarus coffee, 48. Acarus translucens, 56—58. Achea melicerte, 26. Acridide, 43. Acridium flavicorne, 44. Acridium peregrinum, 43. Agromyza (2) sp., 28. Agrotis suffusa, 24, 25. Amatissa consorta, 16, 17: Andraca bipunctata, 22. Andraca trilochoides, 22: Aphide, 38. Aphis, sp., 38. Arsenical Insecticides, 62. Aspidiotus flavescens, 41, Aspidiotus thee, 4). Aspidiotus transparens, 41: Astycus chrysochlorus; 8. Babula, sp., 17. Babula grotei, i8. Bag worms, 13. Bherwa, 46. Black grub, 24. Bombyces, 18. Brachytrypes achatinus, 45. Cace@cia, sp., 28. Camellia theifera, 22, Capside, 28. Cassia fistula, 10. Catantops indicus, 44. Cephaleta brunneiventris, 42. Cephaleta fusciventris, 42. Cephaleta purpureiventris, 42, Ceylonia theecola, 38, 39, 60. Chalcis euplaa, 19—21. Chionaspis thee, 39, 60. Chlorita flavescens, 34, 36. Chrysomelide, 7. Cirrhospilus coccivorus, 42. Coal-tar, 70. Coccide, 39. Coccus lacca, 42. Coleoptera, 5. Cosside, 8. Cossus ligniperda, 10. Curculionide, 8. en ae Cut worms, 25. Dasychira, s.p., 18, 23, Dasychira mendosa, 21. Dasychira thwaitesti, 17, 18. Diapromorpha melanopus, 7. Diptera, 28. Hleodendron roxburghii, 37. Eneyrtus Nietneri, 42, Encyrtus paradisicus, 42, Eumeta crameri, 14, KHumeta sikkima, 15. Flata limbata, 37. Flata, conspersa, 36: Fulgoride, 36. Geometres, 23. Govisana bipars, 17. Gracilaria theivora, 27. Green fly blight, 34. Gryllide, 45. Helopeltis antonii, 32, 33. Helopeltis theivora, 28, 30, 32—34, Hopperdozers, 68. Helopeltis theivora, 28. Hydrocyanic Gas, 65. Ichneumonide, 28. Ichneumonid parasite, 17. Jassidee, 34, Kerosine Emulsion, 60. Lachnosterna impressa, 5. Lagerstremia indica, 18. Lecanium coffee, 41, 42, Lepidoptera, 8. Lobster caterpillars, 10. Limacodes graciosa, 12. Limacodide, 11. London purple, 36, 62, 64. Macrodactylus subspincsus, 6. Maesa indica, 31. Marietta leopardina, 42. Masicera dasychire, 19. Melolontha vulgaris, 6. Melolonthini, 5. Microlepidoptera, 27. Mites, 56. Mosquito blight, 29, Nettle grubs, 11. Noctues, 24. Notodontide 10. li Indez. Olenée mendosa, 21. Opuntia engelmanni, 65. Orange beetle, 7. Orthoptera, 43. Oscinis thee, 28. Pandemis (? Capua) menciana, 28. Parasa lepida, 12. Paris green, 62+64. Perilampus, sp., 19. Phromnia marginella, 36, 37. Psychide, 13. Pyrethrum, 64. Pyrethrum cinerariefolium, 64. Red borer, 8. Red spider, 48. Remedies, 32. Rhynchota, 28. Sapium sebiferum, 26. Schizodactylus monstruosus, 46. om Scutellista cyanea, 42. Stauropus alternus, 10. Sulphur, 52, 59. Tachinid parasite, 17. Tea-Mite, 51. Leranychus bioculatus, 48. Leranychus telarius, 50. Termes taprobanes, 46. Termitide, 46. Tetranychus bioculatus, 51, 56. The tea bark louse, 39. a Thosea (Miresa) cotesi, 11. Lhrips, sp. ? 43. Trycolyga bombycis, 19—22. Typhlodromus carinatus, 56—58, 60. Thysanoptera, 43. White grub, 5. Zeuzera coffee, 8, 10. G.I, ©. P. O.-No. 19 R. & A.D,8-5-95.— 13,00. INDIAN MUSEUM NOTES. ISSUED BY THE TRUSTEES. NOV 33 1897 [3.896 Votume IIIl.—No. 5. Eo, KES GF = SS \ GA = ss ing towards completion. Not only is it, as a whole, the standard work on the subject with which it deals, but each successive volume contains a greater wealth of information than its predecessor. While the gradual arrangement of the collections was proceeding in the Museum, attention was from time to time drawn to the enormous extent of thedamage annually caused to agricultural crops in India by insects of many kinds. Previous to 1884 Mr. Wood-Mason had been deputed to investigate the subject of the tea-bug and tea-mite of Assam, and had also, from time to time, furnished what information was avail- able about other injurious species. No attempt, however, had been made to deal with the matter systematically. Indeed, owing to the unarranged condition of the general collection, it was quite impossible to ascertain even the identity of the majority of the species concerned. In 1888, on the suggestion of Sir Edward Buck, the writer of this note undertook unofficially an investigation upon the subject of the wheat and rice weevil of India. His report was published by the Government with the approval of the Trustees, as the first number of a serial entitled Notes on Economic Entomology, "A second number of a slighter nature on Insecticides afterwards appeared in the same form, but it was appa- rent that further organization would be required to cope with so large an investigation as that of the insects which attack crops generally in India. The matter was taken up by the Trustees on the suggestion of Sir Edward Buck, and it was ultimately decided to make the investigation of the economic entomology of India a regular feature of the work of the Entomological Section of the Museum, the results to be published as materials accumulated, in the form ofa periodical to be entitled Indian Museum Notes which should be issued by the Trustees and published under the authority of the Government of India, in the Revenue and Agricultural Department; the articles to be signed by their respective 6 Indian Museum Notes, [ Vol, Il. contributors and no editor’s name to appear on the title page. Funds were furnished by the Government of India, both for incidental expenses and also for the entertainment of a small subordinate staff of assistants who were thereupon got together and gradually trained for the work. The writer of this note was deputed to attend an agricultural conference at Delhi, where the part to be taken by the various local governments was discussed. Cordial support was afforded by all the Directors of Land Records and Agriculture in the different provinces, and through them cireular letters were sent out inviting the co-operation of officials and others interested in agriculture in all parts of India, As the result a stream of reports from all sides poured in upon the Museum, accompanied by specimens of insects destructive to crops. The material that was furnished proved to be very unequal in merit, for while much was of the greatest interest, a large proportion was found to be almost entirely worthless owing to ignorance of natural history on the part of the senders, ‘The whole of it was none the less carefully exam- ined, and all the information that could be extracted was recorded in Indian Museum Notes. One report and one set of specimens often sup- plemented another, and little by little, by dint of constant correspond- ence pointing out what had already been ascertained and indicating the nature of the specimens and information required to enable the blanks in the record to be filled up, a large number of the destructive species were identified, and many portions of their life histories pieced together. The information gathered in this manner was supplemented, whenever live specimens could be procured, by rearing them through as many stages as possible in the Museum, and from time to time particular groups, as for instance the diverse silk insects and locusts of India, were made the subject of more special investigation. This system, continued for six years, has gradually resulted in the accumulation of a very considerable mass of information which has been carefully recorded in the form of more or less fragmentary notices in the numerous parts which make up the three volumes of Indian Museum Notes issued since the project was started. During the whole course of investigation much generous help in connection with the examination of specimens has been received from entomologists in different parts of the world, who have also described a good many of the new species that have been brought to light. Papers have been furnished for publication in Indzan Museum Notes by Lord Walsingham, Mons. J. M. F. Bigot, Mons. L. Lethierry, Herr Van der Wulp, Major C, T. Bingham, and Messrs. E. T. Atkinson, W. M. No. 5, J A Decade of Entomology. 7 Maskell, G. C. Dudgeon, P. Moore, W. L. Sclater, L. de Nicéville, W. F, H. Blandford, G. B. Buckton, O. E. Janson, F. A. Skuse and R. Newstead ; while the kindly sympathy and advice from time to time afforded by different members of the United States Entomological Department, and especially by Dr. C. V. Riley, the United States En- tomologist, also from Miss Ormerod and others engaged iu the study of Economie Entomology in different quarters of the globe, has materially lightened the burden of the work. In connection with the determinations adopted for those insects which it has been necessary to identify specifically in Caleutta, correction will frequently be required hereafter. This has been unavoidable owing to the confused state of much of the literature connected with Indian Entomology, and to the great difficulty experienced in getting specimens compared with the original types which are mostly preserved in Europe. Provided, however, that the system of carefully preserving, not only the specimens themselves, but also the original, and all the tickets on each specimen in the Indian Museum collection, be as rigidly adhered to in the future as it has in the past, no confusion will arise on this account, and no difficulty will be experienced in making the necessary correc- tions, as the more complete working out of the various groups renders this possible. The Museum now possesses large and representative, though by no means complete, collections of all the more important groups of the insect fauna of India. These have been arranged and named to the extent of making it possible to determine with very considerable accuracy the great majority of the commoner, besides many of the rarer species. At the same time the nature of most of the more important species which affect crops has been ascertained, and their habits in a large number of cases to some extent traced. The subject is so vast that what can be done by any one individual or group of individuals in the space of ten years must necessarily be com- paratively insignificant, when measured by that which remains to be accomplished, But it is not too much to claim that many of the pre- liminary difficulties have been overcome, and at least one stage of the path laid out for further advance. 8 Indian Museum Notes. [Vol. Ill. PARASITIC MUSCIDA FROM BRITISH INDIA. BY F. M. VAN DER WULP, (with plate I). The Trustees of the Indian Museum at Caleuttahave been so kind as to send me for examination a small collection of Muscide, reared in British India from Lepidopterous larve and pupe or from other insects: Among them are also typical specimens of 7’richolyga bombycis, Becher, and of the Tachinid fly, determinated by Bigot as Masicera grandis, Walker. The others, as far as I am able to make out, are undescribed species, and must be considered as fresh additions, to the immense variety of forms belonging to the large group of parasitical Muscide. Although represented merely by unique specimens, I have not hesi- tated to give descriptions and figures, which I hope will be sufficient for recognizing the species. It would be of great interest, if every one occupying himself with rearing insects, especially Lepidoptera, did not neglect to take notice of their parasites, and preserved these with the same earefulness as the Lepidoptera themselves. The Trustees of the Indian Museum have given here the example; may it find many followers and helpers! The advancement of our knowledge on the biology of insects, and in many cases the progress of economic entomology, will highly profit by such a proceeding. 1. Crossocosmia Sericarie, Rond, Ugimyia sericarta, Rond. Bul. Soc. Ent. Ital. II (1870), p. 137 (only the larva). a $6 Rond. @. ¢., p. 223. Tachina cilipes, Macq. Dipt. Exot. II, 3 (1843), p. 62, tab. 6, fig. 6. Masicera cilipes, v. d. Wulp, Sumatra Exped. Dipt., p. 36, alk il | fig. 5, (2). Masicera grandis, Bigot, Indian Museum Notes, I (1890), p. 211 (nec. Walker). Crossocosmia sericaria, Mik, Wien. Entom. Zeilschr. 1X (1890), p. 809. (Of this paper a translation into English | is given in Insect Life, IV (1891), p. 113.) Of this species I have received specimens from Java, captured by Mr. M. C. Piepers, also others bred by him from caterpillars, the name of which has not been recorded. The flies agree in the most caltistaceorp manner with the ample description given by Prof. Mik. I also have examined a typical specimen of the Tachinid fly from British India, No. 5.J Parasitic Museide from British India. 9 parasitic on the Tusser silkworm Anthere@a mylitta, Drury, and which has been determinated by the late M. Bigot as Masicera grandis, Walk. This typical specimen (a female) is altogether identical with OCrossocos- mia sericarie. Masicera (Tachina) grandis, from East India, as de- scribed by F. Walker in his Diptera Saundersiana, p.278; Bigot seems to have overlooked the figure which is added to the description in tabl, vii, fig. 1 (from the genial hand of Prof. Westwood). If hehad given atten- tion on this figure, he certainly would have seen that Zachina grandis, Walk., must be a quite other species, differing in the possession of a broader general form, the abdomen being broader than the thorax, in having irregular bristles on the outside of the hind tibie (in the genus Crossocosmia these bristles are fringe-like) in the profile of the head in which the cheeks are as high as the longitudinal diameter of the eyes, in the much shorter antenne, etc.* Tachina ezlipes, Macq., is undoubtedly a synonym of Crossocosmia sericari@. It is true that according to Macquart’s description the palpi are black, but this can scarcely be considered an objection, since in some of the specimens which I have examined the rufous colour of the palpi is very obscure. To Professor Mik’s description I may add, that the vibrisse are inserted at a short distance above the oral margin, and the anal segment is much shorter than the preceding segments. Only in some of the specimens, which I have seen, the basal joints of the antennz are rufous, in others they are of the same black colour as the third joint. Finally the posterior cross-vein is more or less curved and shows in this respect individual variation, 2. Crossocosmia biseriata, n. sp. (o °) Ie eto ale Greyish-black ; head white ; frontal bristlesin a double row; thorax with four black stripes; scutellum slightly rufous; antenna and lees black ; palpi rufous. Length 9 millim. As this species, though of smaller size, agrees in most of its charac- ters with Crossocosmia sericaria, it may be admitted, at least provision- ally, inthe same genus. I observe, however, thatit differs in some essen- tial points; for example, in the frontal bristles forming a double row, in the absence of orbital bristles together with the shortness of foot-claws * Brauer and V. Bergenstamm (Denkschr. K. Akad. Wissench. Wien. LX, p. 184, note 25) suggests that Tachina grandis, Walk., may be the same insect as their Nemorea tropidobothra (Denkschr. LVIII, p. 361), a supposition which appears to me a certainty since I am acquainted with both sexes of the latter species. 10 : Indian Musenm Notes. [Vol, ILL. and pulvilli, in the eyes descending lower, and in having two short mar- ginal macrochetz on the second abdominal segment. Head with a silvery-white pulverulence ; front on the vertex as broad as the eyes, but widening towards the antenne; frontal band blackish, narrower than the lateral portions of the front; frontal bristles very short, on each side of the band in two rows, which are very near to each other, the outward row finishing at the root of the antennz, the inner one descending to the end of the second antennal joint ; on the superior part of the front are two pairs of somewhat stouter bristles, and on the vertex a pair of still longer ones, Eyes bare. Face and cheeks broad, without pilosity ; facial ridges nearly parallel, cushion-like ; vibrissee at a short distance above the oral margin, which is not at all prominent ; above the vibrissze a short row of smaller bristles, and beneath them, along the under side of the head, a series of ‘similar bristles; inferior portion of the cheeks scarcely one-third of the longitudinal diameter of the eyes. Antenne inserted a little above the median line of the eyes; basal joints short ; second joint bristly on the upper part; third joint three times as long as the second ; arista thickened on the proximal half, Proboscis black ; palpi rufous, cylindrical, slightly thicker towards the end. Thorax cinereous, with four black stripes, of which the inner ones are indistinct beyond the transverse suture; the two outer stripes short and more spot like. Scutellum somewhat rufous, covered by a whitish srey dust; besides the marginal macrochetz, the scutellum has two shorter discal ones, Abdomen ovate, cinereous ; the first seement, the hind borders of the three following, and an indistinct dorsal stripe on the second segment, are black ; the black hind horders occupy about one- fourth of the segments ; the second and third segments are longer than the others, and have laterally a faint yellowish-red tinge. On the second segment there are two very short marginal macrochete, on the third a row of marginal macrochetz, on the anal segment many hairs and bristles. Legs black; under-side of the front femora with a row of bristles; middle tibize with some long bristles halfway up their length ; hind tibia externally fringe-like with bristles ; tarsi shorter and thinner than the tibie ; foot-claws and pulvilli short, the pulvilli yellowish. Tegule whitish. Wings nearly hyaline, slightly yellowish at the base; no costal spine ; small cross-vein nearly on the middle of the discal cell ; apical cell opened at a short distance before the wings tip; curvation of the fourth vein rectangular ; apical cross-vein slightly concave : posterior cross-vein somewhat curved. This fly was bred from the social casemaking caterpillar, Cenedomus hockingit, Walsingham. I have some doubt about the sex of the specimen; the absence of orbital bristles on the front seems to indicate that it is a male ; the short No. 5.] Parasitic Muscidae from British India. 11 foot-claws and pulvilli on the contrary that it should be a female. I know another species from Java (Crossocosmia curvipalpis) which I intend to describe in Volume XX XVI of the Dutch “‘ Tijdschrip voor Entomo- logie,”? and which shows the same combination of sexual characters. It stands in the nearest relation with the above described Cr, biseriata, but this latter differs from it in having a more prominent front, in the frontal bristles being more regularly arranged in a double row on each side, in narrower black hind borders of the abdominal segments, and in the apical cross-vein which is more concave. 3. Tricholyga bombycis, Becher. Becher, Indian Museum Notes, I, p. 77, pl. V, fig. 1. Of this Tachinid fly the Trustees of the Indian Museum at Calcutta have sent to me for examination two typical specimens, a male bred from Attacus ricini, Boisd., and a female, bred from the mulberry silkworm, Two other specimens (both females) in the same collection from Calcutta were not determinated, but proved to belong to the same species; they were indicated to be parasitic, the one on Olene mendosa, Hbn., the other on Dasychira thwaitesiz, Moore. Tr. bombycis seems to be a not uncommon insect in British India, as Becher has had several specimens of it. It also results from the fore- going remarks, that it attacks very different species of Bombycid Lepidoptera. A species, which is said to be related to ?r. bombycis, deposits its egos upon locusts (Acridium peregrinum, Oliv.): see Indian Museum Notes, 1V, p. 33. 4. Demoticus strigipennis, n. sp. (¢). Pl. I, fig. 2. Black ; head, sides of the thorax, and two girdles on the abdomen white; palpi rufous, Length 7,5 millim., Head hemispherical; front as broad as the thorax; frontal band black, as broad as the lateral portions of the front, which are silvery- white; frontal bristles strong, forming on each side a row, which descends to the end of the second antennal joint; two pairs of orbital bristles directed forward, and two pairs of bristles on the vertex, which are directed backward, Eyes bare, Face and cheeks silvery-white, without any pilosity, the face perpendicular; facial ridges nearly parallel; oral margin broad, not prominent; vibrisse inserted a little above it and surmounted by a few short hairs ; inferior portion of the cheeks a fourth 12 Indian Museum Notes. (Vol, ITI. of the longitudinal diameter of the eyes ; under-side of the head witha row of bristles. Antenne black, inserted on the median line of the eyes; first joint short, second a little longer, third joint three times as long as the second ; arista slightly pubescent, thickened at its proximal half. Proboseis black; palpi pale rufous, cylindrical. Thorax black ; a white dust covers the shoulders, and is prolonged to a broad lateral band ; a white median spot appears at the anterior margin; the hind margin of the thorax bears some lone macrochete ; scutellum black, laterally whitish, with long discal and marginal macrochete. Abdo- men black, elliptical; the segments of nearly equal length; the front half of the second and third segments white, forming thus two white rings, which, however, are somewhat interrupted on the dorsal portion ; first and second segments with a pair of marginal macrochetez, the second also with a pair of discal ones, third and anal sezments with two discal and a whole row of marginal macrochete; besides these macro- chet still lateral ones; all the macrochexte are long and strong; the anal segment is truncated, the short conical ovipositor rufous, at least towards the apex. Legs piceous-black, the front coxee and the hind side of the front femora with whitish dust ; the femora rather thick ; the legs have long and scattered bristles; tarsi thin ; foot-claws and pulvilli very short. Tegule bone-white. Wings slightly brownish, longer than the abdomen, their tip blunt and rounded ; apical cell opened nearly at the wings’ tip; curvation of the fourth vein rectangular without appendice; small cross-vein before the middle of the discal cell; apical cross-vein concave ; posterior cross-vein distinctly curved; first and third veins bristly, the first nearly over its whole length, the third as far as the small cross-vein; the surface between the second and third veins shows a series of oblique folds, which appear as cross-veins if the wing is seen against the light. A single female, bred in the Indian Museum from Lasiocam pid caterpillars destructive to rice-plants in Sambalpur. 5. Masicera castanea, n. sp. ( f). Pl, J, fig. 3. Blackish ; head whitish ; palpi, scutellum and sides of the abdomen rufous ; antenne and legs black, Length 10,5 millim. Head as broad as the thorax; front cinereous, on the vertex nar- rower than the eyes; frontal band more obscure but not black ; frontal bristles on each side in a curved row, descending to beneath the second antennal joint; no orbital bristles. Eyes bare. Face whitish, perpendi- cular ; facial ridges divergent downward and slightly bent inward near the No. 5.] Parasitic Muscidae from British India. 13 oral margin, which is not prominent; vibrisse inserted immediately above that margin, and surmounted by three much smaller bristles ; cheeks bare, their inferior portion no more than a fourth of the longitu- dinal diameter of the eyes; under-side of the head with a row of bristles ; beard white; occiput grey. Antenne inserted above the median line of the eyes; basal joints short; third joint four times as long as the second ; arista thickened to beyond the half of its length; its basal joints inconspicuous, Proboscis black ; palpi pale rufous, cylindrical. Thorax blackish cinereous, with indistinct black stripes ; scutellum rufous, Abdo- men elongate-oval, black, faintly cinereous at the front borders of the second and third segments, laterally with a large rufous spot, which occupies the second segment and the front half of the third; anal seg- ment rufous, blackish at the base; second segment with two marginal macrochetz ; the third with a row of. marginal macrochete; the anal segment with several macrochetz and bristly hairs; under-side of the abdomen nearly wholly rufous and densely haired. Legs black; middle tibiee furnished externally with three bristles, of which the most inferior is longer and stands on the middle, posteriorly, and a little lower down is another Jong bristle; hind tibiz outwardly with a row of many bristles of various length, (The apical joints of all the tarsi are broken off : probably the foot-claws and pulvilli will be elongate.) Tegulz yellowish- white. Wings greyish-hyaline ; apical cell opened at some distance from the wings’ tip; small cross-vein distinctly in front of the middle of the diseal cell ; curvation of the fourth vein rectangular, with a fold imitat- ing a short appendice ; apical cross-vein slightly concave; posterior cross-vein curved, -A single male specimen, bred from Leucania eatranea, Guen., which has proved destructive to crops in Patna. 6. Maszcera dasychire, un. sp. (¢). Pl. I, fig, 4. Cinereous; head whitish; frontal band, antenne, indistinct stripes on the thorax, first abdominal segment, hind borders of the following seements, and legs black; scutellum ochraceous; palpi rufous. Levegth 7,5 millim. ‘ Head broader than the thorax; front yellowish-grey, with parallel sides; frontal band black, narrower than the lateral portions; frontal bristles on each side in a curved row descending to the end of the second antennal joint; outside the rows of frontal bristles is a pair of orbital bristles; on the vertex two long bristles. Face white, per- pendicular facial ridges slightly divergent towards the oral margin and immediately above it curved inward ; vibrissw# inserted at this curva- 14. Indian Museum Notes. [ Vol, Iil. > —_ tion ; a few fine hairs above them; cheeks without any pilosity, their inferior portion scarcely a fourth of the iongitudinal diameter of the eyes ; under-side of the head with a row of bristles; beard white; occiput grey ; posterior orbits white. Eyes bare. Antenne inserted above the median line of the eyes; basal joints short ; third joint threeto four times as long as the second ; arista thickened to beyond the half of its length. Proboscis blackish ; palpi dark rufous, cylindrical, slightly thicker towards the end. Thorax blackish, cinereous; shoulders and pleure with grey portions ; thoracie dorsum with indistinct black stripes ; scutellum semi-circular, rufous, covered with grey dust and hence appear- ing ochraceous ; its surface with short black hairs and its margin with several long macrochztz. Abdomen ovate, cinereous; first segment black, the following segments with broad black hind-borders, second segment with two marginal macrochete, the third with a row of marginal macrochete ; anal segment densely furnished with bristly hairs. Legs black; middle tibie with some long bristles and long spurs; hind tibia furnished externally with fringe-like bristles ; foot- claws and pulvilli short. Tegule yellowish-white. Wings greyish- hyaline ; apical cell opened at some distance before the tip of the wing ; small cross-vein a little in front of the middle of the discal cell, curva- tion of the fourth vein rectangular without appendice ; apical cross- vein very slightly concave; posterior cross-vein a little curved near its insertion in the fifth vein. A single female specimen, bred from the caterpillar of Dasychira thwattesit, Moore, which is injurious to the tea-plant. 7. Masicera subnigra, n. sp. ( 2). Pl. 1, fie. 5. Blackish-cinereous ; face white with the oral margin rufous; thorax with black stripes; abdomen, antenne and legs black ; palpi rufous, Length 9 millim. Head as broad as the thorax ; front and face broader than the eyes, with parallel sides ; the front somewhat prominent, yellowish-cinereous with dark reflections ; frontal band blackish, narrower than the lateral portions ; frontal bristles strong, but not numerous, on each side in a curved row, descending to the end of the second antennal joint; outward of them a pair of orbital bristles directed forward; on the vertex two pairs of bristles directed backward. Eyes bare. Face and cheeks white, with some blackish reflections ; oral margin somewhat rufous, not prominent ; the face slightly inclined ; facial ridges divergent down- wards, but curved inwards kefore they reach the oral margin ; vibrissz inserted near that margir. surmounted by a few short bristly hairs; No. 5.] Parasitic Muscidae from British India, 15 under-side of the head rounded, with a row of bristles; inferior portion of the cheeks occupying a fourth of the longitudinal diameter of the eyes; occiput cinereous, densely furnished with yellowish hairs, Anten- nz black, inserted above the median line of the eyes ; first joint short, the second double as long as the first, the third scarcely three times as long as the second; arista bare, thickened in its proximal half, Palpi rufous. Thorax cinereous, with black stripes, which some- times appear broader than the interstices, but in other lights appear as narrow black lines; scutellum cinereous, with the base black and with long discal and marginal macrochete., Abdomen elongate-oval, black, with the front margins of the second and following segments obscure cinereous; anal segment pointed; a pair of macrochete on the hind margin of the first and second segments, those of the second segment longer ; a row of long marginal macrochete at the third segment; and many shorter macrochete ou the whole surface of the anal segment.— Legs black ; middle tibize furnished externally in the middle of their length with a long bristle, there are other bristles also below; hind tibiz furnished externally with several scattered bristles; foot-claws and pulvilli short. Tegule white. Wings greyish-hyaline, slightly yel- lowish at the base; apical cell opened at some distance before the tip of the wing ; small cross-vein before the middle of the discal cell ; curva- tion of the fourth vein rectangular and with a fold imitating a short appendice ; apical cross-vein distinctly concave; posterior cross-vein curved, A single female specimen, bred from Olene mendosa, Hbn. This fly has much resemblance to Tricholyga bombycis, Becher, but differs in the bare eyes, in the broad stripes, on the thorax, and in the less numerous and more scattered bristles on the outside of the hind tibie. 8. Miltogramma duodecimpunctata, n. sp. (4). Je, Me sires, Cinereous ; abdomen with three blackish spots on each segment ; leg blackish ; antennee and palpi rufous, Length 7, 5 millim. Head grey ; the cheeks and orbits with white reflections; front narrower than the eyes; frontal band cinereous, on each side with a row of short frontal bristles which descend to the end of the first antennal joint ; no orbital bristles. Eyes bare. Face perpendicular ; facial ridges firstly divergent, but inferiorly curved inward; vibrissee inserted justly at the oral margin ; cheeks broad, convex, their inferior portion short- haired, occupying at least one-third of the longitudinal diameter of the 16 Iudian Museum Notes. [Vol. III. eyes; under-side of the head long, with a row of rather short bristles. Antenne inserted above the median line of the eyes, rufous, with the tip of the third joint brown; basal joints short; third joint two and a half times as long as the second, but reaching no lower than the half of the face’s length; arista black, thickened and microscopically pubescent at its proximal half, Proboscis black ; palpi rufous, eylindri- eal, black-haired. Thorax and scutellum greyish-cinerevus ;. thoracic dorsum indistinctly with several blackish stripes. Abdomen conical, yellowish-cinereous, laterally slightly rufous; first segment shorter than the following segments, which are: nearly of equal length; anal seement and especially the anus with a yellow tinge; hypopygiam yellowish- rufous, turned downwards to the venter; each of the segments with three blackish-brown spots, the median ones larger; first and second segments without macrochetz; third segment with a pair of short macrochete ; anal segment with several diseal and marginal ones. Legs blackish ; coxe and femora cinereous; the femora broad; foot-claws and pulvilli slightly elongated, the claws black, the pulvilli yellowish. Tegulz white. Wings greyish-hyaline, with a small costal spe; apical cell opened before the wings’ tip; small cross-vein on the middle of the discal cell ; curvation of the fourth vein with an acute angle and a distinct append- ice ; apical cross-vein very concave near its insertion in the fourth vein ; posterior cross-vein straight. A single male specimen, sent to the Indian Museum at Calcutta as a parasite of Aerzdium peregrinum, Oliv. Its origin from this Orthop- terous insect, however, is somewhat doubtful, as it was not actually bred in the Museum; but in view of the occurrence of another Tachinid fly, living parasitically on locusts (see Indian Museum Notes, Volume III, p. 33), it may be admitted that the above deseribed species indeed | attacks orthoptera. 9. Calodexia lastocampa, nu. sp. ( 4). Jel Tine.” fs Thorax and scutellum grey, the thorax with black stripes; head whitish ; abdomen yellow; antennez, legs, an interrupted dorsal band on the abdomen, and the anal segment, black ; palpi rufous. Length 8 millim. Head semi-globular, when seen from before nearly as high as broad ; front whitish-grey, arcuated, narrowed behind, on the vertex half ag broad as the eyes; frontal band black, forming a long triangle with the tip towards the vertex ; frontal bristles in a row on each side of the frontal band, and descending to the base of the antenne; on the vertex two No. 5.] Parasitic Muscidae from British Tndia, 17 pairs of bristles directed backward, aud two ocellar bristles directed for- ward ; behind these a bundle of long hairs. Face and cheeks grey with white reflections ; the face not carinated, the cheeks narrow; the lower portion of the latter no more than a sixth part of the longitudinal diameter of the eyes ; facial ridges rather sharp, gradually divergent till at some distance of the oral margin, where they become less distinct and are somewhat curved inward; vibrisse inserted at the oral margin, which is not at all prominent; under-side of the head with a row of bristles ; occiput grey, the broad posterior orbits white. Eyes bare. Antenne inserted on the median line of the eyes; first joint short; second twice as long as the first, with one or two short bristles; third joint linear, one and a half time as long as the second, and reaching to about the middle of the face; arista shortly plumose. Proboscis black ; palpi rufous, slender. Thorax grey ; thoracic dorsum cinereous, with four black stripes, the two median linear; pleure with white reflections ; scutellum cinereous, blackish at the base. Abdomen elliptical, rufous- yellow, slightly transparent; on the first three segments a black dorsal band, which is interrupted at the front borders of the second and third segments, and enlarged at the hind border of the third ; the anal segment is black with lateral spots of white reflection; similar spots are aiso to be seen on the sides of the preceding segment; the second segment is longer than the others; on the first segment is a pair of marginal macrochete, on the second a pair of discal and a pair of marginal macrochetz, on the third a pair of discal and a row of marginal macrocheta ; the anal segment bears many macrochete. Legs black, slender, the tarsi longer than the tibie outwardly with bristles of un- equal length; foot-claws and pulvilli elongate, the pulvilli yellowish. Tegulz pale yellow. Wings longer than the abdomen, grey at the base and along the costa yellowish ; apical cell opened just before the tip of the wing ; third vein nearly straight ; small cross-vein in the middle of the discal cell; curvation of the fourth vein rectangular ; apical cross-vein concave ; posterior cross-vein distinctly curved. A single male specimen, bred from a Lasiocampid caterpillar, which is destructive to paddy in Sambalpur. The generic characters of the Mexican genus Calodexia, V. d. W. (see Biologia Centr. Americana, Diptera, Volume H, p. 257) are in general applicable to this fly ; it differs only from the three described Mexican species, in having the second antennal joint longer and the third joint shorter. 18 Indian Museum Notes. [ Vol- III. NOTES ON A NEW PSYLLID.(') BY G. B. BUCKTON, F.R.S. Dr. Fraz Low in his Katalog der Psylloden, Wien., 1882, describes the European forms under four sub-families (v7z,), Liviine, Aphalarine, Psylline and Triozine. The Psylline are characterized by a distinct stigma on the costa of the hemelytron, witha straight cubitus and fureated sub-cubital and sub-marginal veins. The Triozing want the stigma and as a rule show the sub-cubital vein coterminous with the basal cubitus, The Psyllidz of Asia have as yet had but little attention bestowed upon them ; and I am not aware of the existence of any descriptive catalogue whieh can give much help as to identification of Eastern forms. Some twenty or more specimens taken at Poona in the Bombay Pre- sidency, India, have been submitted to me, on which I offer the following notes. The winged form only has come under my notice, but nevertheless sufficient variations from any of genera erected by Dr. Low seem to justify a new genus at least, and if future observation should bring to light other similar species, possibly it might be well to increase the num- ber of the sub-families, From the somewhat trivial characters of blotchings on the wing- membranes, and the stippled or spotted condition of the nervures, I pro- pose the names for this insect which provisionally may be accepted as typical, Phacopteron(*) lentiginosum, n. sp. (1) The specimens upon which this paper is founded were forwarded to the Museum in July 1863 from Poona, where they were found in galls on Garuga pinnata, Roxb.— Ed. (?) From gakos =spotted. No. 5] Notes on a New Psyllid. 19 General colour pale ochreous, Abdomen and legs piceous brown. Vertex much narrower than the pronotum. HKyes moderately large. An- tenna about equal in length to the head and pronotum together. Arti- culations nine (?), the two basal joints globose, the third the longest of all, the terminal joint nodular. Notum and pronotum separated by a suture, tumose, and much overhanging the abdomen. This last organ is fusiform, pointed, ter- minated in the male by a rounded pygofer without upright append- ages, and in the female by a linear ovipositor, Hemelytron with a nearly straight basal eubitus, which ends in a rounded stigma on the costa, the eubitus then passes by nearly a right angle towards the margin, but unlike Psylla proper, it furcates before it reaches the same. The sub-cubitus starts direct from the basal cubital vein and not from the marginal, It fureates and forms the sub-cubital cell. The sub-marginal vein and its cell is absent. The wings (lower) are very delicate and have three simple veins. The membranes of the elytra are pearly-white, ornamented with three larger and several smaller brown patches, through which the nervures (which are raised and marked with dark spots as we see in the cixiile Tettigidw) pass. Legs are hirsute stout, and furnished with two tarsal joints and two claws. Rostrum very short, pointed, and it appears to rise from between the second coxe. Tt will be seen that the above diagnosis does not well accord with any genus given by Dr. F. Low either in Beetrage Zur Kenntniss der Psylloden or in his Katalog, but future observation may make the above observations more complete, through a study of the immature larval forms. Expanse of wings 0°40 of inch. Length of body O16 ,, ,, The specimens at my disposal were mildewed from damp, but it is possible that when alive the insect may have shown a slight cotton-like investment, DESCRIPTION oF PLATE. Fie. 1.—The winged female. Fic. 2.—Insect seen in profile, showing the over-hanging pro- notum. Fic. 3.—Tarsal joints and claws. Fia, 4.—Antenna, » c 2 20 Indian Museum Notes. [ Vol, lil. THE BANDED MOSQUITO OF BENGAL. BY F, A. A. SKUSE, ENTOMOLOGIST TO THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM, SYDNEY. Culex albopictus, Skuse, Sp. nov. Femate,—-Length of antennz 1°50 mm.; expanse of wings 2°50 x 0°50 mm.; length of body 3-3°50 mm. Black with silvery-white markings, Antennz somewhat shorter than the proboscis, joints of the scapus with silvery scales. Head with silvery-white scales on the front and sides. Proboscis five times the length of the palpi, the latter tipped with silvery scales. Thorax traversed by a line of silvery scales for rather more than its anterior half; pleursee spotted with silvery white; scutellum with minute silvery hairs. Abdomen twice the length of the thorax, the segments bordered with a narrow band of silvery scales, and with lateral silvery spots. Legs: femora with a silvery line beneath and slightly tipped with silvery scales; tarsi, the first two joints in the fore and inter- mediate legs with a narrow silvery-white ring at the base; broad rings at the base of all the joints of the tarsi in the hind legs, the last joint entirely white. In the hiad-legs the tibia about one-third longer than the metatarsus. Wings the length of the abdomen, pellucid, irides- cent, the veins clothed with linear black scales. Auxiliary vein joining the costa at a point a little before the posterior branch of the fifth longitudinal vein; middle cross-vein indistinct, shorter than the posterior cross-vein, situated beyond it scarcely a distance equal to twice the length of the latter; first sub-marginal cell longer and narrower than the second posterior cell, their bases opposite or almost opposite ; anterior branch of the fifth longitudinal vein originating about midway between the origin of the second longitudinal vein and the tip of the sixth Jongitudinal. Hiab.—Benegal. Typein Australian Museum. Three specimens received from Mr, E. C. Cotes, who informs me that this insect is a great nuisance in Calcutta. ‘lhe species is ‘allied to C, nostoseriptus, Sk., from New South Wales, and C. éancroftz, Sk., from Queensland, but the silvery ornamentation of the thorax in these latter is of an elaborate pattern (Proc. Linn. Soc, N. 8. W., Vol. III (Sez. 2), 1688, pp. 1738, 1740). No. 5.] Scale Insects in Madras. 2] SCALE INSECTS IN MADRAS. BY R. NEWSTEAD, F.E.S,, CURATOR OF THE GROSVENOR MUSEUM, CHESTER, ENGLAND, (With two plates.) All the insects described in this paper were collected by Miss. L. FE. Tomlin, Chester, England, during her visit to Madras, 1892-93. At least two of the species are of economic importance, viz., Icerya a@egy/- tiacum, Doug., and Dactylopius certferus, n. sp., the rest do not appear to be injurious, but they may at any time present themselves as such, therefore it is as well to publish what is known of them at once. The discovery of the male of Ceroplastes certferus, Anderson, is of great interest and scientific value, and I have much pleasure in appending the description and figures. It must also be added that Miss Tomlin made careful coloured drawings from life of all the insects ; these have been very helpful to me in the preparation of my descriptions. Some of the figures have been reproduced on the plates, and are gratefully acknowledged. For the names of the food-plants, so far as it was possible to obtain them from the inadequate material available, I am considerably indebted to Prof, Oliver, Kew, England. “THE INDIAN WHITE WAX INSECT.” Ceroplastes ceriferus, Anderson.— Plate II, Fig, 1. In this publication (Volume II, pp. 91-97) Mr. E. C. Cotes has given a most interesting account of the female of this species, and the uses of its white wax. So far, however, no one has given any detailed description of the female and nothing has hitherto been ascertained as to the transformations of the insect. Miss Tomlin, however, was fortu- nate in obtaining many examples in various stages, from a low bushy shrub (Asclepiadrom), growing in sandy soil at seven Pagodas, Madras, in February 1893, which were carefully packed and forwarded to me. There were many examples of the adult female on the stems of the food- plant, with their thick, irregular coverings of white wax, but there were neither eggs nor larve in them ; judging from the colour and condition of the wax, I should say that the females had been dead some ‘time, and this is what one would expect as the young females were when taken at the period of fecundation. On the leaves, and more rarely on the stems, were numerous examples of the young females (second stage), and scales of the male, all of the latter were apparently empty. On looking carefully over the deéris at the bottom of the packet, I found 99 Indian Museum Notes. [ Vol. Iii. many examples of the perfect male which delighted me, for hitherto not a single male of any of the known species of the genus Ceroplastes has been discovered. Undoubtedly the males must have hatched during transit, and it is well that Miss Tomlin collected them when she did, or we should have had but their empty scales to tell that they had existed. Below I append a description of the different stages :— 9 Adult (fig. 1a), gives off a rich reddish-brown, or purple-brown stain in caustic potash; covered with a thick layer of dirty yellowish white wax, of a more or Jess hemispherical form, often cracked and irregular in outline, and apparently varying according to the age of the individual. Body (fig. 1b.) denuded of the wax, elongate ovate, shining reddish brown, with a blunt horn-like prominence at the abdominal extremity, at the apex of which are the true candal scales; surface with fine punctures arranged wide apart, Dermis when viewed from adove with a transmitted light, faintly tessellated in portions only (fig. 1¢.), in the centre of each tessellee an elongated pore, or spinneret of the shape shown at fig. ld. ; these latter are always present in all parts of the dorsal dermis, but to be seen as shown in the fig. ld., they must be viewed from above and they are not clearly defined in all cases. On the margins near the spiracles are numerous short conical spines, Antenne (fig. le.) of 6 joints, of which the 3rd is longest, and forms more than one-third of the antenna ; 4thas long as the 5th and 6th together ; 5th shortest ; three last with deeply gradated sides. Legs (fig. 1/) with the cox large, trochanter witb a long hair; tarsi a little shorter than the tibie, with two short slender digitules, those of the claw uneven, 7.¢., one much larger than the other: both dilated at base and extremity. Long with waxy covering 33-8 mm., wide 3-6 mm., high 2°5 mm. Long without waxy covering 5mm., wide 24 mm., high 24 mm. The latter is the measurement of a single @ only. In the Gardener’s Chronicle, 1853, page 484, Professor Westwood figures the adult female, and I may say that the illustrations agree with several specimens taken by Miss Tomlin. The description of the female, however, is very poor, and without the illustrations would be useless. Q@ Young (fig. ly.), dorsum evenly covered with a layer of pure white wax; margin all round with broad, lateral, projecting plates of the same material ; and there are two small ones _ placed close together over the anal orifice. In this stage the insect is very pretty, and forms a very interesting microscopic object. Long 4-1 mm. (Fig. 14.) Reddish brown (restored specimens), body rather short, wide; eyes black, large and prominent; the two ocelli beneath small; antenne of 10 joints (fig. 14.), 38rd longest, all with many long fine hairs, and deeply notched sides, Legs (fig. 1/.) ordinary. No. 5.) Seale Insects in Madras. 93 Wings rather short. Genital armature (fig. 1m.) somewhat triangular with a large, thin, projecting funnel-shaped organ, Anal lobes each with one very long hair, and one or more short ones; lobes with numerous circular dises. The long anal setee in life would no doubt be covered with white wax forming long white filaments, common in all the males belonging to this division of the Coccidy. In all the specimens examined the white covering was wanting and no doubt was broken away during transit, Scale of the g (fig. 1%.) opaque glassy white, with a broad central and three lateral carine, the central ones meeting form a complete loop. Long 2-24 mm. The form of the genital armature of the g is unique, and may be of generic importance. In other respects the g does not differ from the g of the genus Lecanium, and the scale of the g is also very like those of the latter, but there is no central “ coronet ” or ring. So far then we have the description of the species in nearly all stages: but there is yet muck to learn of its habits. I have no hesitation in saying that it would not be a difficult matter to work out the life-history, but rather a pleasant task for some resident Entomologist, and it would add much to our knowledge of these minute beings. P.§.—-Since completing the above description Mr. Maskell of New Zealand has sent me his paper on Coccide for 1892 (Trans. N. Z. Int., Vol, XXV) in which the author has described and figured the female of the above species. Mr. Maskell’s figure of the female of the second stage is, however, very different to mine, but this must be due to the age of the insects; probably his examples were much older than mine, which will account for the discrepancy as to the arrangement of the waxy covering. Pulvinarta obscura, 0. sp. Pl. II], Fig. 3. 9 At period of fecundation ( fig. 3a.) yellowish brown, short ovate, narrowed in front, with a central carina extending from the anal dorsal scales to anterior margin, or nearly so. Segmentation more or less dis- tinet; after egg-laying the body becomes tilted, and contorted, as is usual with the @ of this genus. Antenna (fig. 34.) of 8 joints, of which 2 and 3 are longest, and in length nearly equal; 4, 5, and 8 shorter, 6 and 7 shortest and equal. Could only find hairs on the fifth and eighth. Legs apparently ordinary, but could not be plainly traced. Rostral filaments unexpanded, about half the length of the antenna. Anal dorsal scales long, each with two small dentations on outer margin. Long 23-3 mm., wide 2 mm, 24, Indian Museum Notes. [ Vol. IIE, Ovisae long, narrow, composed of the ordinary close white cottony material. Long 5-7 mm., wide 2 mm. Larva normal, with 8rd joint of antenna longest; anal emargina- tion wide. All the females seen were located bebind the whorls of flowers of the food-plant; none were found in exposed situations; in order to see them it was necessary to remove the flowers, etc., from the stem, but on doing this the sacs were much broken, and it was difficult to obtain perfect examples. Hab.—On Hygrophila spinosa at Nungumbaukum, Madras, March 14th, 1893. - Described from several females and one perfect sac. § unknown, Dactylopius ceriferus, n. sp. DB WOE tes Be ¢ Adult immediately prior to gestation (fig. 2, a. & 4.), elongate ovate, narrowed behind from the thoracic segment; beneath olivaceous, above paler, with the black viscera, ete., showing through the dermis; there are two very long white filaments at the anal extremity, but marginal plates are entirely wanting ; radiating from all parts of the body above are numerous very long, delicate, waxy filaments; these latter in the more advanced stage, and when egg-laying has taken place, become very dense, and matted below, completely covering the insect; projecting from the thick matted mass, are very numerous, and exceedingly long, delicate filaments, varying in length from 5 to 10 mm.; these superfici- ally bave much the appearance of sponge spicules, as many are perfectly straight and cross each other in all direetions; all the specimens: received were aggregated together in masses completely covering the under sides of the leaves (fig, 2¢.).. Antenna (fig, 2d.) of 8 joints, of which 3 and 8 are equal and longest, 2 shorter, 4 to 7 shortest and equal: all with fine hairs. Legs long, hairy ; hairs atapex longest; tarsi a little less than one-third the length of the tibiz ; the latter with a short spine at apex; digitules of tarsi slender, those of the claw stouter and much dilated at extremity (fig, 2e.). Rostrum biarticulate with many long hairs; unexpanded filaments about three times the leneth of the rostrum, not quite reaching the insertion of the intermediate legs. Anal ring with 6 short hairs, intervening spaces with clear circular spaces, or slightly raised dises. Anal lobes normal, each witha very long hair, and two or three strong spines. Dermis: ventral! surface between antenne in front with numerous Jong hairs and clear circular spaces, or spinneretts, surrounded with from 3 to 5 hairs, these oceur No. 5-] Scale Insects in Madras. 25 again near the oval lobes ; the rest of the dermis with a few scattered hairs. Long 3-34 mm., wide 2-24 mm. 2 Second stage (described from Miss Tomlin’s coloured drawings) very elongate, ends equally rounded, ochreous, dorsum darker; legs reddish. Caudal filaments long, those of the body long, slender, and straight. Hab.—On croton at Nungumbaukum, Madras, Jan. 10th, 1893. This very interesting species is allied to the D. filamentosus of Cockerell, Jour, Inst., Jamaica, Vol. I, page 254, but this latter has a seven-jointed antenna. I know of no_ species of Dactylopius secreting such a qnantity of waxy material as this, and the species appear in other respects to be quite distinct and I venture to describe it as new. It is a most injurious species infesting crotonsin the compound. In her notes Miss Tomlin says:—“ Also found on leaves of trees, but not so plentiful there.”” Whether these are the same as those whien occur on the croton I am unable to state as the specimens were not forwarded for investigaticn, Dactylopius viridis, n. sp. Pirie tio 1 @ Adult prior to gestation (fig. 1a.) covered with white mealy wax, margin all round thickly set with narrow white waxy appendages, ex- cept at anal extremity where there is a slight division; in the more advanced stage the insect covers its body with a thick layer of white waxy felting which forms a complete oval sac in which the eggs are laid. When treated with potash it is of a beautiful emerald green, which is retained to a certain extent after mounting in Canada Balsam. Antenna (fig. 10.) short of 7 joints, last joint the longest, and in length equal to 2 and 8 together; the rest are of nearly equal length: all with very fine short hairs ; Legs (fig. 1c.) short, very little longer than antenna; tarsi much shorter than tibie; digitules of claw and tarsus slender: all are often wanting. Rostrum biarticulate, basal joint with two stiff hairs at apex, and two more on the middle of the apical joint. Anal ring with six hairs. Anal lobes obsolete with one long hair: often broken away, and two or three short spines. Dermis with a few short delicate spines, more numerous beneath in front near the antenne, 2 Long 2-3 mm., wide 1-14 mm., Sac long 33 mm. Larva, anal lobes nearly obsolete, each with one long and two or more short hairs. Antenna of 6 joints, 1 to 5 short and sub-equal, 6 about one-third the length of the whole. Anal ring with 6 hairs, Rostrum biarticulate, filaments very long. 96 Indian Museum Notes. [Vol. Ifl: Hab.—On Hygrophlia spinosa at Madras, collected March 14th, All the specimens received were located and partly hidden in the whorls of the spines, leaves, and flowers of the food-plant. Quite fifty pet cent. of the specimens were infested with a large dipteron, and some small Hymenopterous insects, In its green colour it is like Dactylopius virgatus, Cockerell, M. S., but this has an eight-jointed antenna, and the “tibia about three times as long as the tarsus ” (in lit.). Two specimens of what I take to be mere varietal forms of the above were found on Prthecolobium dulce. xternally they differ materially, as are shown at pl, iii, fig. 1d., female’s nat. size, and at fig. le., the same magnified ; structurally, however, they do not appreciably differ, and I hesitate in describing them as new with the limited material at hand, Aspidiotus ortentalis, n, sp. ah EU Ge, 4h @ Scale (figs. 4@., 40.) circular, or nearly so, but varying according to position on the food-plant ; brownish yellow, or straw colour, sometimes tinged with reddish-pink; exuviz a little to one side, covered with a nipple-like prominence which is darker than the rest ; following this are three concentric circular depressions: the first small and near the “nipple,” second well defined and about midway between the two, third often wanting, or but slightly indicated ; margin much interrupted and paler than the rest. Diam. 1-13 mm. @ Adult widely ovate (fig. 4c), almost circular; last segment (fig, 4d., 4¢.) with three pairs of well-defined lobes: 1st and 2nd each with a deep equal notch at apex on each side; 3rd smallest, narrow, and notched at apex on the anterior margin only: posterior margin straight ; between each lobe are two slender plates, and immediately preceding the 83rd lobe there are three; there is a single spine on the dorsal surface immediately over the 3rd plate, and one or more on the margin at the base, There are four groups of spinnerets: the anterior laterals consist of 5, the posterior laterals of from 3 to 5: usually 5; the anterior group is represented by a single spinneret: no trace of more in any of the many examples examined. There are also very numerous elongated and ovate pores arranged as shown in fig. 4d, The plates are very difficult to trace, but the lobes are very distinct. 4 Scale (fig. 42.) similar to that of the ¢ but smaller, é@ Unknown. No. 5.] Scale Insects in Madras. O47 Hab.—Seven Pagodas, Madras. Name of the food-plant unknown, but evidently a species of Panicum, or grass. The scales were frequent- ly aggregated together behind the leaf-sheaths, and could only be seen on removing the latter. THE “EGYPTIAN COTTONY CUSHION SCALE.” Icerya egyptiacum, Pl. II, fig. 2. Crossotosoma agyptiacum, Douglas. Ent. M.M.S.S., Vol. I, p. 79. Icerya agyptiacum, Riley. Insect Life, Vol. III, p, 97. Hitherto this most destructive pest was only known to occur at Alexandria, Egypt, where it has for the last eight years caused the great- est alarm. In a letter dated September 10th, 1892, Rear Admiral R. W. Blomfield, R. N., writes of this pest as “an eleventh Egyptian plague, which made its appearance at Alexandria in 1885, and has since proved most destructive to all kinds of vegetation, Origin unknown.” (In lit.) It was unknown to naturalists until the year 1890 when Mr. J. W. Douglas of Lewisham, England, described it for the first time as Crossotosoma, N. G., egyptiacum, n. sp, (I.¢.). The specimens from which Mr. Douglas made his descriptions, were “ received from Mr, D. Morris, Assistant Director of the Royal Gardens, Kew, to whom they had been sent from Alexandria, Egypt, where they were causing im- mense injury to fruit trees ” (Doug. |. c.). Later Dr. C. V. Riley (I. ¢.) refers the species to the genus Jcerya, to which it undoubtedly belongs. Several other interesting accounts of this pest are given by Dr, Riley in “ Insect Life,’ and as they may not be accessible to the general public, I venture to quote some of them. At Vol. II, p. 256, is the first record, as follows :—“ During the past four years the gardens in Alexandria have been infested by a coccus which destroys all of the trees, and is causing the greatest alarm. . +» « «+ Admiral Blomfield! noticed it in quantities on the under-side of the leaves of the Banyan tree, but it soon spread with extraordinary rapidity, and some of the most beautiful gardens of the city full of tropical trees and shrubs have been also destroyed. A breeze sends the cottony pest down in showers in all directions. It seems to attack almost any plant, but the leaves of Ficus ruginosa and one or two other kinds of fig seem too tough for it, and it will not touch them. He states that 1t seems 1 Spelt in error Bluntield. 98 Indian Museum Notes. i Vol. lke almost impossible for a few Horticulturists to try to eradicate the pest while their indifferent neighbours are harbouring hot beds of them, and there will have to be some strong measures taken by law to put it down.” Referring to the statement that “a breeze sends the cottony pest down in all directions,” it is evident that it is the white waxy appendages that are blown about, and not the insects themselves; so fragile are the former that it is difficult to obtain perfect examples of the insects. Again Dr, Riley writes (Vol. IIT. p. 423). Through the kindness of Mr. Louis B. Grant, Acting Consul-General at Cairo, and of the Depart- ment of State, this Department has received copies of publications from Alexandria and Cairo, from which it seems that the insect is even more injurious than our previous information, through Mr. D. Morris, led us to suppose. It is by no means confined to fig trees, but has attacked oranges and lemons. Dr. Riley then suggests the collecting of the white wax, which he says “is absolutely pure and, we should say, of equal quality with the white Chinese wax secreted by Hricerus Pé-da, having the advantage of not being mixed with the bodies of the insects.” Miss Tomlin found all her specimens on the under-sides of the leaves of a purple-leaved plant very like a coleus, in the compound at Nungum- baukum, Madras, December 13th, 1892, where it was very abundant but local. All the specimens Miss Tomlin forwarded to me were immature females, except two or three which had partly formed their ovisacs, but there were no eggs in them. lying alongside the females, were numerous examples of the male sacs, but I failed to find a trace of the perfect insect amongst them; all had undoubtedly hatched some time before the sacs were collected, which is unfortunate as the male of this species is unknown, and its discovery would be of great interest and value. Fortunately I had specimens of the females from Egypt in all stages, and was therefore able to compare them with the Indian specimens, which I did and found them to agree in every particular with the immature examples: both as to the arrangement of the waxy plates and structurally, Below I append a description of the second stage, female and male sae, which has not hitherto been described. 9 Second stage (fig. II, 2a.; 24. 2d.) bright orange, but only seen on the under-side, or in other parts when denuded of the waxy covering. Dorsum in perfeet specimens covered with pure white, conglomerate, waxen plates, irregular in shape; margin all round with long narrow curly plates. Fig. 2a. represents the insect’s natural size on leaves of the food-plant; fig. 2b., 2d. the same magnified. Dorsal and ventral view, with the appendages more or less imperfect ; fig. 2¢. dorsal view of perfect specimen; all of the same age. The antenne vary in the No, 5.] Scale Insects in Madras. zo number of joints according to the age of the individual; generally, however, there are eight joints, but some have seven and others nine joints; the rest of the characters do uot appreciably differ from the adult female. Long 3-7 mm., wide 24-6 mm. including fila- ments, g Sac elongate, composed of a rather close white waxy felting. Long 23-3 mm. Specimens much broken, therefore the measurements may not be quite correct. The adult female is very similar to that of the second stage, but is much larger, has the marginal appendages much longer, and a large projecting bag or sac attached to the abdominal segments in which the egos are laid, PARASITES, The first consignment of coccids reached me on February 20th; in the packet containing the Iceryas were a number of what I took to be chaleid parasites ; thinking that they might be of economic importance, I forwarded specimens to Dr. C. V. Riley of the United States Depart- ment of Agriculture, Washington, who very kindly replied as follows :— “©The fact of the occurrence of Icerya egyptiacum in India is very interesting and important, and the parasites were examined with bated breath. Most unfortunately, however, instead of being primary parasites, they are secondary, and the whole series belongs to an apparently un- described species of Tetrastichus, all of the species of which are hyper parasites so far as I know.” (In hit. Ap. 20, 93.) Miss Tomlin has now returned to England, and I fear there is little chance of obtaining the true parasite: unless some competent Entomolo- gist visited the locality early in December, when it ought not to be a difficult matter to work the whole subject out, and to breed out the true parasite. Judging from the number of sub-parasites, which undoubtedly hatched during transit, the true parasite must be very numerous. REMEDIES. I am not in position to judge what is best as an application to the Icerya should it be found injurious, but no doubt the same application recommended for Icerya purchasi, Mask., would be effectual in destroying this pest. (See Insect Life, Vol. XI.) The most successful remedy adopted in America against the Icerya purchast has been the introduction of an Australian “ Lady-bird ” beetle (Vedalia cardinalis), where it has cleared thousands of orange trees of the destructive coccids. This Vedalia has also been imported into Alexandria by Dr. Riley for the destruction of the Egyptian Jcerya, where they have done excellent work. Admiral Blomfield, who had 80 Indian Museum Notes. (Vol, ITI. the management of the Vedalcas, told me that it was wonderful to see how soon these small beetles cleared off the Jceryas, but I believe they are but a small colony at present. It is hoped, however, as they increase the Jceryas will diminish, The following are some interesting letters addressed to Mr. Coquillett at Los Angeles upon the subject of Vedalia beetles. They are quoted from Insect Life, Vol. EI, p. 190 :— “* * * The Vedalias that you brought to my place about the 20th of last Mareh, and which we colonized on four large orange trees that were covered with Fluted Scale, have spread in all directions, although to begin with they followed the direction of the wind most readily. From those four trees they have multiplied so rapidly that in my orchard of 3,000 trees it is seldom that we can now find a Fluted Scale ; I find a few of them on some weeds in spots, but I can also find the beetles. there. The trees have put on a new growth and look altogether different ; even the black fungus on the old leaves has loosened its hold and begins to fall to the ground. Besides having cleaned my orchard, they spread also to the orchard of my cousin and to my father’s orchard ; the latter was also re-enforced by colonies from Mr. J. W. Wolfskill and from Colonel J. R. Dobbins. As my father has some 10,000 trees, and mostly all were more or less infested, the Vedalias had a grand feast ahead of them, and they have done their work most wonderfully. What I have said of my orchard applies to my father’s also, and really to all our neighbours. When the- Vedalias first began to multiply we took colonies of fifty or more in the pupa state and placed them in different portions of the orchard, and even had we not done so. the Vedalia unaided would itself have reached there in almost the same time. “On the Chapman place the Vedalias have cleaned the Fluted Scales off of the 150 acres of Jand. They have taken more than an oppressive burden off of the orange grower’s hands, and I for one very much thank the Division of Entomology for the Vedalia cardinalis, the insect that has worked a miracle.—[ A. Scott Chapman, San Gabriel, Cal., October 18, 1889. ] ae * * The Vedalia had practically freed my orchard of Iceryas on the 31st of July. It was on that date that I was obliged to post a notice at the entrance to my place, saying that I had no more Vedalias for distribution. The scale and lady-bird had fought out the battle, and while the carcasses of the vanquished were everywhere present to tell of the slaughter, the victors had disappeared almost entirely from the field. I have 35 acres in orchard, some 3,200 trees in all. I never colonized any Vedalias in my grove, excepting the two consignments which you brought to me yourself, one box on February 22nd and two boxes March 20. I noticed the first increase from the lot No. 1 on the 15th April, and from lot No. 2 on the 24th of the same month. On the 25th of April I found larve upon several adjacent trees. These facts are from memoranda made at the time. I have a list of the names of fruit growers, 226 in number, to whom I personally distributed over 120,000 Vedalius in colonies of various sizes between May 31st and July 31st. * * # [ J. R. Dobbins, San Gabriel, Cal., October 22, 1889. ] “J am glad to report that the lady-birds you sent me are doing good work and increasing in this neighbourhood, and as soon as all are supplied, I will éstablish some on the mountain where the brush is full of them, also a small pateh near the Ocean, and hope the Cottony Cushion Scale will soon be a scarce article in this sec- tion.—[ Joseph Sexton, Goleta, Cal., August 12, 1889.]” No. 5.] Scale Insects in Madras. $1 As it is of the greatest importance that this pest should not spread to cultivated crops, I would recommend the destroying of all the infested plants by burning, From what I can gather the food-plant at present known is but a weed, so there need be no compunction about the matter. December would be the best month for destroying the pest, as they will not then have laid their eggs. Below is a list of other species sent :— Lecanium hemisphericum—On leaves and stems of a climbing rose, in the Nilgiri Hills. Lecanium sp.?—Sceales of the g, and perfect ¢ ; food-plant not identified. In absence of the ¢@ I do not think it wise to describe the species, which is probably new. ? Chionaspis—On rose leaves, Scales of the ¢ only. Nungum- baukum, Madras. Aleyrodes sp.—On a low creeping plant, very like our British “ Bindweed”’ (Convolvulus), Insects in all stages. The white wings of the imagines are spotted with black. Aleyrodes sp.—On same plant as Aspidiotus orientale, and same locality. The pupa is rather large and black; dorsum and margin with very long white waxy fringe; that on the dorsum erect, and matted together, forming a large mass, but does not completely cover it. DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES, Plate IT, fig. 1, Ceroplastes ceriferus ; (a) adult females, natural size, on food-plant ; (0) female with waxy covering removed ; (c) portion of dermis magnified ; (d) spinneret or gland magnified ; (e) antenna magni- fied; (f) leg magnified ; (9) young female magnified; (4) male magni- fied ; (4) antenna of male magnified; (/) leg of male magnified; (m) genitalia of male magnified ; (7) male scale magnified. Plate II, fig. 2, Icerya egyptiacum ; (a) young females, natural size on under-surface of leaf ; (4) and (c) the same, dorsal view, magnified ; (2) the same, ventral view, magnified. Plate III, fig. 1, Dactylopius viridis ; (a) adult females magnified ; (2) antenna of same magnified ; (c) leg of same magnified ; (d) females, natural size, on food-plant; (¢) the same magnified. Plate III, fig. 2, Dactylopius ceriferus ; (a) female, dorsal view magnified ; (6) the same, ventral view, magnified ; (c) the same, covered with filaments on a croton leaf, natural size; (¢d) antenna magnified ; (e) foot magnified, 39 Indian Museum Notes. [ Vol. III. Plate III, fig. 3, Pudeinaria obscura ; (a) adult female on portion of food-plant magnified ; (6) antenna of same still further enlarged. Plate III, fig. 4, Aspzdzotus orcentalis ; (a) female scales, natural size, on food-plant; (5) females and males, dorsal view, magnified ; (c) female, ventral view, magnified ; (¢7) posterior segment of same further magni- ficd ; (e) fringe of same yet more enlarged. No. 5, J Notes on the Oviposition of Helopeltis theivora. 33 NOTES ON THE OVIPOSITION OF HELOPELTIS THEIVORA (WATERHOUSE). (“MOSQUITO BLIGHT.’’) BY G. C. DUDGEON. In reading over the descriptions of the various stages of Helopeltis theivora (Waterhouse), published in the Judian Museum Notes and Notes on Economic Entomology, I can find no correct account of the oviposition of this insect ; I see also that a correspondent describes the eos as being laid on the lower leaves of the bushes. This is a most misleading statement and, doubtless, what he took to be eggs of this blight, were that of another insect or perhaps not even eggs at all. In some rough notes which I made on the insect in 1888, resulting from a rather imperfect examination of the same, I discovered that the eggs were laid in the interior of the green stems of tea, and that their shape was slightly bent, elongate ovals with the upper end truncate. I also noticed at that time that their presence was made manifest by four short and stiff threads on the outside of the stem. These threads can be seen with the naked eye. The eggs, I observed, were laid in pairs ; each ego bearing two threads on the outer and truncate end. I made known my discovery to several persons, but do not remember whether 1 published any account of it, I have since been assured, however, that this discovery was made before by some one else. This may be so, but I have not seen any publication announcing it.! Helopeltis theivora Waterhouse. — Egg just previous to hatching, also empty egg sheli from which the larva has emerged, magnified 58 diameters. Recently, having more opportunities for examining both the eggs and the insect itself, I have verified my previous results except in the 1 A description of the method of oviposition of Helopeltis theivora was first given by the late Mr. J. Wood-Mason in his Report on the Tea bug and tea mite of Assam. The eggs were subsequently described in Indian Museum Notes, Vol. Il, p. 48, from notes furnished by Mr, C. N. Harcourt.—E, C. C. D 84 Indian Museum Notes. . [ Viole ii cease of the so-called threads on the outside of the stem. Hitherto I had supposed that the thread-like protuberance was produced by the female insect depositing a drop of viscous fluid on the egg and raising the abdomen, so as to stretch the same into a thin thread which the action of the air would harden. This seemed the more probable, because I had often noticed the females excreting a drop of fluid, and it was moreover borne out by the likeness to the method by which Chrysopa vulgaris (a European insect of the group Neuroptera) deposits its eggs, except, that in the latter case, the ege is laid on the top of the thread on the outside of a plant stalk. The purpose of the threads was ostensibly to keep these aperture in the stem of the shoot from being closed up by the healing action of the plant, which would suffocate the insect, without some provision of this kind. The idea of the mode of making these threads was so plausible that I had small cause to think that I should gain any more knowledge by testing it more thoroughly. It was, however, exploded by a friend of mine, who accidentally discovered on crushing the body of afemale insect that each egg bore two thread- like protuberances at one end exactly similar to those of the deposited egg. This he pointed out to me, and the fact that two of those threads were attached to each egg before being laid was demonstrated In every case by microscopic examination. It might be supposed, as the threads are intended to keep open the aperture in the stalk, that the young larva would emerge between them ; by my magnified drawing fig. a, however, it will be seen that it does not do so, as one of the pair of eggs represented has only the upper shell left, showing that the larva emerged from the lower and interior end. Moreover, the stems in which empty egg shells are found willbe seen to be hollowed out and brownish in colour; the core of the stalk having been eaten away, a small amount of gelatinous-looking matter alone remaining, which probably represents the digested portions of the stalk excreted by the larve. The eggs are at first pure white, and are generally found in the green stems of tea which have been passed over by the ieaf pluckers as being too hard for manufacture. Did the insect content itself with laying in the soft green stems, doubtless it would soon be exterminated on tea gardens where the leaf is not allowed to run out much. But apparently nature has provided against man, and the eggs are laid in the unpicked slightly-hardened stems. Just previous to the larve emerging the eges become yellowish, the inner or more spherical end being streaked with orange red (representing the legs and antenne of the larvee), In the Indian Economie Entomology, Vol. I, No. 4, the female insect only is described ; presumably, therefore, the insect figured to illustrate the description is also a female ; the ovipositor is not shown, however, al- No. 5. ] Notes on the Oviposition of Helopeltrs theivora. 35 though it is more than half as long as the restrum. It is difficult to distinguish it on the underside of the abdomen, folded, as it is, close against the dark shiny surface with which it matches well in colour ; but, if the body be pressed, it rises from the surface and can be distinctly seen with the naked eye. It is in the form of a curved, corneous process rising from the centre of the sixth abdominal segment on the underside and reaching to the eighth segment. Its colour, like that of the posterior abdominal segments, is dark brown. Owing to the position of the egg when laid it will be seen that an ovipositor of this or similar form is necessary. I, however, do not think it probable that this instrument is ulso used for making the first puncture and cavity in the stalk wherein the egg is deposited. This is more likely performed by the rostrum or beak. Abdomen and hind leg of Helopeltis theivora 2 , Waterhouse, showing the oviposi- tor raised from the under surface. Nine or ten eggs are generally found in the body of a mature female, as, owing to their large size in comparison to the insect itself, there would scarcely be room for more. It is possible that more eggs are formed as they are laid. It will be seen by referring to Mr. Waterhouse’s description of the in- sect (Indian Economic Entomology, Vol. I, No. 4) that no mention is made of the colour or markings of the abdomen, although the latter are well shown in the plate given with it. I therefore conclude that the description was made from dried specimens from which the colour had gone, as soft-bodied insects do not preserve it long. The abdomen in fresh specimens of koth sexes is invariably bright emerald green by transparency, marked dorsally on the third to ninth segments with shiny dark brown, fig. 6. The extent of brown on the third segment is limited to a small dorsal patch or is altogether absent ; on the fourth it extends over the whole dorsal region; on the fifth partially lateral and wholly dorsal ; the remaining segments are all dark brown; the segmental divi- sions are greenish, The male differs from the female in having the prono- tum very slightly tinged with yellow; the abdomen more slender and the absence of the ovipositor. The larve are greenish with deep ochre- ous or orange legs and antenne; in some the abdomen is _ distinctly yellowish, although the same become green after having fed. D2 36. Indian Museum Notes. [ Vol. ITI. The stage in which the insect hybernates is still unknown, and although theories and explanations have been given by many on this point, I have never heard one which was not based on supposition, and oceasionally most absurd ones. One which is most generally believed is, that the insect retires to the jungles in the cold season to feed on other plants, when the pruners have removed from the tea bushes all the leaves and stalks that were soft, leaving it nothing there to subsist on. In this connection, I would point out that, it does not appear to have been noticed to what jungle plant or plants it directs its attention, and I myself have looked in vain for them. It may be noticed, however, that certain plants of the genus Mesa (kindly identified for me by Dr. King, C.I.E., etc., and Mr. G. Gammie, Officiating Curator of the Herbarium, Botanical Garden, Calcutta, as M. montana (D. C.), MU. ramentacea (A. D.C.) and UY, indica (Watt) occurring in the Darjeeling District from 1,500 feet to 5,000 feet, are blighted in much the same manner as tea, ‘The leaves of these plants will often be found covered with punctures resembling those made by JZ. thezvora, but generally larger. The insect which causes these is not of the same genus as H. theivora, although it apparently belongs to the same group and family. My description of it is given below, also a comparison of its generic characters with those of Helopeltis (Szgnoret). From this description it will be seen that it is easily distinguished from true Mosquito blight, although the action and metamorphoses of both are nearly similar. I simply mention this in order to check casual observers from hastily concluding that jungle-plants marked simi- lar to blighted-tea, are necessarily caused by Mosquito blight; whereas the insect causing these marks would likely be found innocuous to tea, as this one and many other allied species are. (gg of ‘ Mesa’ blight (capsidae) magnified 58 diameters.) My own theory regarding Mosquito blight in the cold weather is, that it hybernates in a semi-dormant state near the root of the tea plant, either in the larval or imaginal stage, and, that, as in the case of many other insects, it does not require nourishment during this period. As soon as the weather commenees to get warm, its vigour returns, and it com- No. 5. ] Notes on the Oviposition of Melopeltis thecvora. B7 mences feeding on the young shoots, and is propagated throughout the year, being observed in Darjeeling to be worst about September and October. This seems natural, as, during each successive brood, the in- dividuals multiply until the cold weather comes, which, without doubt, kills off many, and others, in their supposed dormant state, fall easy vic- tims to their persecutors, leaving a scattered minority to reproduce their species in the spring. Tnese conjectures 1 have not however been able to verify yet. I am not able to reeommend any exterminator for the pest. Expense of picking off the insects makes it prohibitive to do so. Syringing with some sticky substance such as a cheap preparation made from the gums of some jungle trees might be tried after a flush had been taken off, Iam, however, of opinion that nothing tbat has as yet been suggested can be looked upon as an exterminator. Mr, Playfair’s recent experiments with sulphur tend to verify what Mr. Christison and his employer long have known, v2z., that red spzder blight is prevented for at least two seasons by the proper application of it; but that, however disinclined mosquito blight may be to feed on the sulphured leaves, they are not killed by it, and will simply fly off to “ fresh fields and pastures new” until the sulphur has been washed away. Mr. Playfair shows the effect of strong heat or sunshine on a sulphured mosquito blight insect, but he is appa- rently oblivicus of the fact that it avoids sunshine as much as possible, and therefore would be protected to a great extent from the action of the Genus ? differs from Helopeltis (Signoret) in having the first joint of the anten- ne short, not so long as the head and pronotum ; second and third joints moderately long; second longest ; fourth joint short: scutellum without spine. spP g: Orange red; abdomen broad and concave on the upper side, un- marked; head transverse, short: eyes black and prominent: rostrum paler orange, thickened for the basal third of its length, rather short, reaching just beyond the coxe of the anterior legs when folded beneath : antenne almost the same length asthe whole body ; first joint thickened, short, reddish ; second long ; third shorter than second ; fourth short, all three black: pronotum and scutellum unmarked, orange red, the for- mer lengthened, forming a rather long neck, the latter triangulate: legs pale, semi- hyaline yellow, barred with orange red on the femora; the bases of the tibia also reddish: hemelytra with the basal two-thirds cerneous and orange red, with a triangular black spot on the costa; the apical third fuscous, hyaline with a discal nervure orange; wings fuscous with the bases transparent, costal and discocellular nervures reddish. The hemelytra project far beyond the abdomen longitudinally. Total length of insect ¢ ;% of an inch. The female only differs from the male in being slightly paler in colour and in the underside of the abdomen having a curved, cerneous, black, shiny ovipositor rising, as in H. theivora (Waterhouse) from the centre of the sixth segment and reaching to the eighth. The fertilised ? is streaked with whitish on the under side of the abde- men. Total length, ? 5% to $3 of an inch. 38 Indian Vuseum Notes. L Wolk IL sulphurous fumes. It is seen most on cloudy days and in the morning and evening when the sun is off the bushes, hiding itself in the shade in the heat of the day. It would also be found that a sulphured insect in the open air would easily rid itself of the objectionable powder before the fumes of the same could affect it sufficiently to render it incapable of doing so. The larva is wholly bright vermillion, with the exception of the eyes which are black. The hemelytra become semi-developed in the penultimate stage. The ova are deposited in the same manner as those of H. theivora, viz., in the interior of the slightly hardened stems of the food plant. I have always found them singly, in which way they differ from those of that species. ‘They are white and shaped the same, viz., elongate-ovals, slightly eurved with the upper end truncate and produced at both angles into white hair-like processes which project through the green bark and are visible from the outside; these hairs are of the same length as the egg. The eges become orange yellow before hatching, and the young larve feed on the interior of the stem on their first appearance. Hab., Sikkim and Bhutan Himalayas from 1,500 feet to 5,000 feet (G. C. Dudgeon). Food plant, the young leaves of Mesa montana (D.C.), Mesa ramentaces (A. D.C.) and Mesa indica (Watt). Some species of Convolvulus is also attacked by this or an allied form. No. 5. ] Miscellaneous Notes. 39 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. FROM THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION. BY BH. C. COTES, DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT, INDIAN MUSEUM, In July 1898 specimens of the Potad fly collected in the previous May by Mr, C. G. Rogers, at an elevation of about 3,500 feet in the Tons valley of the North-West Himalayas, were forwarded by the Director of the Imperial Forest School, Dehra. Careful co mparison of the specimens with the late Dr. Becher’s figures and description of his Simulium indicum from Assam shows them to be identical with this species. The Pott fly. | The insect is noticeable on account of its relationship to the notorious ** black fly ” (Simulcum molestum) of the North American continent, It is said to be very troublesome in the North-West Himalayas but Jittle beyond the bare technical description of the species has hitherto been recorded. A series of questions were therefore submitted to the Director of the Forest School with a view to eliciting such information as might be forthcoming from the forest officers stationed in the School circle. From the replies kindly furnished by Messrs. Gamble, Rogers, Moir, and Smythies the following points seem to be established. The Pott is so similar both in its bite and superficial appearance to the pipsa of Sikkim, as to make it likely thatit is either identical with or very closely allied to this form. In view therefore of the fact that the specimens from the North-West Himalayas agree exactly with Becher’s figure of a specimen from Assam, the conclusion seems to be a 40 Indian Museum Notes. [ Vol. ITT. justifiable one that Scmulium indicum occurs in the intermediate ranges of the Himalayas. Both in the North-West Himalayas and in Sikkim the insect chiefly frequents elevations ranging from 3,000 to about 10,000 feet. It has been noticed as specially common in Chir (P2nus longifolia) and Deodar (Cedrus Deodara) forest, over newly disturbed soil, and where sheep and buffaloes have been camping, but is by no means confined to such localities. In the North-West Provinces it is said sometimes to occur in such numbers that the air seems to be full of the flies, but it is less abundant in Sikkim where the climate is moister. The worst months are April, May, and June, z.e.,the hot season, but the flies are not uncommon in the low valleys in February and March. When the rainy season sets in tuey usually disappear, and are not seen again until the following spring. The insect flies noiselessly and its bite in the first instance is so painless that the creature is seldom noticed at work until its yellow and black body is to some extent coloured with the blood it has absorbed. It is then too late to do much good by brushing it away. It leaves a characteristic mark due to the presence of a little globule of blood, about the size of a pin’s head, beneath the skin. The bite soon becomes irritable, but the effects vary in different individuals. Gener- ally speaking the irritation passes off in a few days, but in the case of new comers and persons in bad health it often causes troublesome sores and ulcers. Mr. G. C. Rogers writes: ‘This year my cook was so badly bitten at Saia that his whole face swelled up and he was in great pain. Another of my servants was very badly bitten in the Upper Tons valley and got his legs so sore that he could hardly walk.” The common method of treatment is to squeeze the blood out of the wound immediately, as this allays the intolerable itching, though even then some swelling is usually produced. Deodar and Eucalyptus oil also are freely used for rubbing over the hands and face to keep off the insects which are most annoying where they occur. Dogs are sometimes bitten upon the nose by the insect so as to draw blood. Cattle and sheep also are thoucht to be attacked, but no definite information is available upon this point. Nothing has been observed of the life history of the insect, and, although the localities where it occurs are never very far from hill streams, it has not been specially noticed as prevalent near to water. From what is known of the habits of European and American species of the same genus it is to be expected that the female lays her eggs in quick flowing hill streams, the larval and pupal stages being passed in the water. The specimens forwarded to the Indian Museum proved to be all No. 5. J Miscellaneous Notes. 41 females with mouth parts developed for blood sucking. The male is likely to be a harmless insect with rudimentary mouth parts. The figures are after Becher. The natural size of the insect is indicated by a hair line. A point which has been brought forcibly to notice in prosecuting the investigation of the Economic Entomology of India has been the extent to which defoliating caterpillars in this country are kept down by the attack of parasitic Diptera,” Again and again caterpillars sent to the Museum as occasionine damage toagricultural and forest plants have been found to harbour these parasites in such numbers as seriously to interfere with the rearing of imagos for identification. And there is little doubt that the sudden disappearance of destructive caterpillars, which is so -characteristic a feature of this form of attack in India, is very frequently due to this cause. ‘The loss and inconvenience caused by the Bengal silk- worm fly (Lricholyga bombycis, Becher) to rearers both of the various mulberry feeding varieties and also of the castor oil feeding Eri (Attacus rictut) is well known, but the question of the identity of the parasites of the various defoliating species has not hitherto been satisfac- torily determined, The question is obviously one of very considerable importance, in view of the extent to which these parasites act as a natural check upon the multiplication of destructive caterpillars. The possibility, however, of propagating them artificially depends very largely upon the extent to which different species of Lepidoptera are capable of harbouring the same species of parasite. The number of species of caterpillars which are liable at different times to cause injury as defoliators in this country is enormous. Indeed it is hardly too much to say that almost every plant has its own special enemies amongst the Lepidoptera. It is only occasionally however that any particular species of caterpillar multiplies sufficiently to cause serious injury. If therefore each caterpillar had special parasites to itself the difficulty of keeping up a supply of these beneficent creatures, in years when the caterpillar was scarce, in order that they might be available for distribution when the caterpillar was actively injurious, would be almost insurmountable. If, on the other hand, if should prove that numerous species of caterpillars are subject to the attack of one species of Diptera the difficulty of keeping up the supply would be very much lessened. In particular it was desirable to ascertain the extent to which the species Zricolyga bombycis attacks caterpillars other than the silk producing Bombyx and rz, for an unfailing supply of this parasite is always available in the silk rearing districts of Bengal. Identification of Dip- terous parasites. 42 Indian Maseum Notes. [ Vol. III. With this object parasites from a number of different caterpillars have been reared in the Indian Museum, and a representative series of them has recently been examined by Herr F. M. Van der Wulp of La Hague, who has made this interesting group of insects his especial study. The result of his examination, so far as the new species are concerned, is given on pages 9—17 of this volume, and it here remains to record the details of the caterpillars from which they were reared, The most noticeable features are, firstly, that the Bengal silk worm fly (Zricholyga bombycis, Becher) also attacks the two destructive defoliating caterpillars Dasychira thwaitesiz, Moore, and Olene mendosa, Hubn., and secondly, that in no less than three instances the same species of caterpillar has been simultaneously attacked by more than one species of Dipterous parasite. Number. History of the Parasite. Determination. 1653 pa ee : - z 8 Bred from Attacus ricini, Boisd .| L'richolyga bombycis, Becher. = Bred from Bombyx mort, Var .| Lricholyga bombycis, Becher. ae Bred from Antherea mylitta, Drury . ° . . -| Crossocosmia sertcaviea, Rond, 4597 m Masicera grandis, Bigot Bred from Olene mendosa, Hibn.| Masicera subnigra, Wulp.y n. sp. 12 6526 | Bred from Olene mendosa, Hiib 12 red Irom Oden osa, ne| Tricholyga bombycis, Becher. a Bred from Canodomus hockingii, Walsingham . : - | Crossocosmia biseriata, Wulp, n. sp. 7 Bred from Leucania extranea, Guen . 0 i : . | Masicera castanea, Wulp., n. sp. = Bred from Dasychira thwattesii, Moore . : ° ° .| Masicera dasychire, Wulp., n. sp. 850 Bred from Dasychira thwaitesit, 8 Moore . : : é .| Lricholyga Bombycis, Becher. _6573 | Bred from a hair covered (P) Lasio- 12 campid caterpillar destructive to rice in the Central Provinces .| Demoticus strigipennis, Wulp., n.sp. Bred from a hair covered (?) Lasio- campid caterpillar destructive to rice in the Central Provinces .| Calodexia lasiocampe, Wulp., n. sp. 13 Believed to be the imago of the Dipterous parasite which is known to attack the locust Acri- dium peregrinum, Oliv., but the specimen is doubtful as it was not actually reared in the Museum 6 5 ; . | Miltogramma, 12 punctata, Wulp., Nn. Sp. No. 5, 1 Miscellaneous Notes. 43 Extensive injury to mangoes by a maggot which is likely to be the larva of the Dipterous insect Dacus ferrugeneus Fabr. referred to in these Motes, Vol. II, p. 165, is reported from Berhampore. Baboo N, G. Mukarji writes :— “They annually visit one of the famous orchards of this district the Katgola garden—and spoil almost every fruit of the Maldah varieties which ripen later than those of the country varieties.’? The observation is of interest as some doubt has elsewhere been expressed as to whether really sound fruit is attacked by this insect. Mango Maggots, Specimens of a Chrysomelid beetle found by Mr. C. G. Rogers in Deoban, North-West Himalayas, also a Tachinid fly parasitic on it, were forwarded in July 1893 by the Director of the Imperial Forest School, Dehra Dun, The Chrysomelid proved to be unnamed in the Indian Museum eollection, but a careful comparison of it with Olivier’s description of Melasoma populi, Linn; which has been reeorded as feeding. upon willow trees in Europe, did not disclose any appreciable difference between the two forms. It may be looked on, therefore, as belonging to this species, The parasite is a Dip- terous insect which seems to be most nearly related to the genus Masi- cera, as represented in the Museum coliection ; the specimen, however, is in too poor a state of preservation for satisfactory identification. The following information is taken from a series of rough, but most interesting notes made by Mr. Rogers. The larve of the beetle were first noticed on 9th June 18938 in Deoban, 9,000 feet above sea level, in the North-West Himalayas. They ranged from 0:10 inch to 0°51 inch in length. The head was black, the body yellowish white with black markings. On the back were numerous paired glands from which little transparent globules of strong pungent smelling fluid were extruded when the insect was touched. After a while the globules were drawn in again into the glands, but could be again extruded two or three times over, before the insect became exhausted. The odour, which is compared to that of prussic acid, scented the whole bush where they were feeding, and- was a very characteristic feature of the insect. The larve which were kept in captivity moulted but once before pupating. Pupze were formed between 14th and 21st June. The chrysalis had much the same general markings as the larve. It remained partially enclosed in the larval skin. In nature the pupe were found suspended from the under- surface of leaves and branches of the food plant. Beetles began to emerge on 22nd June and continued to appear in the rearing box until a7th June, They afterwards lived for about a week in confinement, but, Melasoma populz, Linn, 44 Iudian Museum Noles. [ Vol. IIT. as in this period they were carried down to Dehra Dun, elevation 2,100 feet above sea level, their ordinary period of existence in this stage is likely to be longer. Out of fifty-one larve and pups six were found to harbour grubs of the Dipterous parasite noticed above. The grub pupated inside the body of the beetle larva, flies emerging on 30th June. In a report, dated 23th December 1893, forwarded by the Sub-divi- sional Officer, Golaghat, the mustard crop in part of the sub-division was referred to as infested with an insect known as Sorohapot. Specimens were forwarded to the Museum in the early part of February, at the instance of the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Assam. They proved to belong to a species of Chrysomelide, genus Phedon, not previously reported in connection with crops in India, but closely related to the species Phadon betula, Viinn., which attacks the mustard plant in England. The speci- mens were, therefore, sent to London to Mr, Martin Jacoby, who has made a special study of Phytophagous Coleoptera. Mr, Jacoby has since very kindly examined them and reports that they belong to the species Phadon brassice, Baly, also found in China and Japan. Phedon brassicae, Baly. In November 1898 Chrysomelide of the sub-family Hispine were forwarded by the Assistant Superintendent, Poona DSRS ETE NP Farm, Kirkee, with the information that they attacked the developing leaf of sugar-cane checking the growth and even- tually killing the plant. The species proved to be new to the Indian Museum collection, so specimens were forwarded to Mr. Martin Jacoby in England who has made a special study of Phytophagous Coleoptera, This gentleman has kindly examined the specimens and identified them as belonging to the species Leptispa pygmeaa described by Baly in his Cat. Hispid. 1858, from Ceylon. From some excellent material furnished by Mr. J. Cleghorn the identity of the eggs described in these Notes, Vol. Ill, p. 6, as believed to belong to the de- struetive cheroot borer Lasioderma testaceum, Redt., has been ascertained - beyond doubt, By jarring infested cheroots over black paper Mr, Cleghorn was able to secure large quantities of eggs. Numbers of these hatched out in the Museum on various dates in January, producing the characteristic larva of the beetle. Mr. Cleghorn also observed the act Cheroot borer. No. 5. ] Miscellaneous Notes. 45 of oviposition and writes that eggs laid on the 10th January hatched out on the 22nd and 23rd of the same month, while others laid on the 15th and 16th hatched between the 26th and 28th, the temperature at the time ranging from 74° F, to 78° F. JI A number of live beetles furnished by Mr. Cleghorn have since been shut up in a bottle of cheroots which had previously been sterilized by baking(!), The insects were received on the 17th January 1894 and several of them almost immediately made their way into the cheroots between the layers of tobacco at the ends. Their dead bodies were found lying about three or four days later, so the life of the insect in this stage must be short. The conclusions to be deduced from the above, when taken in conjunction with what has previously been ascer- tained, are as follows.—The eggs of the cheroot borer are liable in Caleutta to be laid in made cheroots at such different seasons of the year as August and January. Oviposition therefore may be expected to go on all the year round. In the eold season in Caleutta the eggs are able, under favourable circumstances, to hatch in less than a fortnight, and as warmth and moisture usually accelerate development amongst insects the period of incubation is likely to be even shorter in the rainy (?) These cheroots were an old set which have been for more than two years in the Entomology room. They were baked for twelve consecutive hours on 16th and again on the 17th June 1891, the water oven on both occasions being kept at a uniform temperature of about 180° F. They have since been kept in a bottle in the Entomology room corked in such a manner as to admit air without leaving space for the beetles to ent2:, They have been periodically damped with water so as to create the conditions most favourable to the development of the insect, and as no signs of attack have appeared after an interval of two years and seven months, it may be taken as certain that they have been efficiently sterilized. Indian Museum Notes. fb Viola uilie season, ‘the figure shows the egg and newly hatched larva dorsal view both magnified about fifty diameters. Postscript, 15th April 1894, —Two lively beetles have to-day emerged, characteristic holes being apparent in the sides of two of the cheroots. On cutting open these two cheroots another beetle just ready to emerge was found inside, also several nearly full-grown larve. It should be observed that the cheroots have been periodically moistened during the past few months, so development is likely to have been somewhat quicker than it would otherwise have been. In January 1894 a specimen was forwarded by Mr. J. Mollison of a grub which had been doing a great deal of damage to Brinjal (Salanum melongena) in Surat. In some fields every second plant was attacked, the loss oceasioned being estimated at notless than from R50 to R100 per acre. Writing on 16th January Mr, Mollison remarked that the grubs were then deep down in the ground, but that the cultivators said they had previously found them near to the surface, the insect being specially prevalent after a heavy dressing of manure. The specimen forwarded to the Museum unfortunately died upon the journey across India, so could not be reared for specific determination. The remains however ‘were identified as belonging to the larva of one of the Lamellicorn beetles, probably one of the Melolonthini and therefore allied to the ‘* white grubs ” which occasionally prove destructive on Tea and Coffee Estates. Both in Sikkim, where Melolonthini larve did much damage some ten years ago, and also in Ceylon where they at one {ime seriously threatened the Coffee industry, the only measure that seems to have been adopted upon any considerable scale was that of digging out the grubs by hand. ‘This process, laborious as it no doubt is, was found worth adopting in these cases and is likely at present to be the only one that will find favour in the Surat brinjal fields. Other methods of dealing with Melolonthini larve are described in these Noées, Vol. 111, pp. 4 and 102. White grub in Surat. In January 1893 asmall piece of Boswellia serrata wood (salai) was forwarded to the Museum by the Director of the se oswellia serrata bor- Povest School. It was perforated in all directions with small round holes ranging from less than a millimetre to more than four millimetres in diameter. The holes were No: 5. ] ; Miscellaneous Notes. , 47 largely stopped up with fungoid growth but in them were found live Coleopterous and Lepidopterous larvae. The Coleopterous larvae were insufficient for precise identification but a moth was reared in the Museum from one of the Lepidopterous larve. It proved to be a Microlepidopterous species new to the Indian Museum collection. It has since been examined by Lord Walsingham who considers it econgeneric with the species figured by Snellen (Tijd. Voor, Ent. XX VIII, Pl. II, figs. 1-4, 1884) under the name of Hapsifera rugosella, n. sp. The insect is not unlikely to be a representative of a new species but further specimens are required to enable it to be described. The figure shows the moth dorsal view enlarged. The natural size is indicated by hair lines, In July 1893 specimens were forwarded through the Imperial Forest School, Dehra, of an insect found tunnelling into the sapwood of Acacia catechu. It proves to bea beetle of the family Ptinidze which has previously been sent to the Indian Museum as attacking Zerminalia belerica timber. Its precise identification has not yet been ascertained but the insect at present stands under the genus Sznoxvylow in the collection, Along with the Ptinide beetle was a Hymenopterous insect which is likely to be parasitic upon the borer. It has not yet been identified. Acacia catechu borer. In September 1893 a Cerambycid Leetle identical with specimens in the Museum collection whichstand under the aS GS name of Xylorrhiza adusta, Wiedm. was forwarded through the Dehra Forest School from the Con- servator of Forests, Southern Circle, Madras. The insect was reported as ringing the branches of Wrightia tinctoria, a habit which does not appear to have previously been noticed in connection with this species. 48 Indian Museum Noées. [ Vol. III. A Curculionid beetle found upon Egyptian cotton, m the Agri- — horticultural Gardens in Lahore, was forwarded to Boren weevil in the Museum in July 1893 through the office of the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Punjab. The insect proved to be unnamed in the Indian Museum collection. It hassince been examined by Mons, Desbrochers des Loges, who identifies it as a new species of Myllocerus. The material however is insufficient to enable the species to be satisfactorily described. One of the most interesting accessions to the Museum collection during the past year has been the Coccid IJcerya (Crossotosoma) a@gyptiacum, Douglas, which has acquired considerable notoriety in Egypt on account of the damage done by it to fruit trees in that country, The species was first reported from India in March 1893 by Mr. R. Newstead, Curator of the Grosvenor Museum, Chester, Englaud, who forwarded to the Indian Museum some specimens he had received from the Madras Presidency. Mr. Newstead found that the Madras specimens were associated with a minute Hymenopterous insect which has been identified by the United States Entomologist asa species of Zetrastichus. Mr. Newstead has written an interesting paper upon the subject which appears on pages 27—31 of these Notes. In view of the great damage occasioned in Egypt’ by the Coecid and its close relationship to the disastrous fluted scale (Lcerya purchasi, Maskell), the matter was thought of sufficient importance to make it the subject of a letter of inquiry from the United States Entomologist for whose examination the Tetrastichus had been submitted, In this communication attention was specially drawn by Dr. Riley to the desirability of ascertaining the primary host of the Zeétrastzchus, for as the latter belongs to a genus the members of which have hitherto proved to be invariably parasitic upon Hymenoptera, the relationship to be ex. pected between it and the Coccid is that of a secondary nature only. In the latter part of May 1893 the Coccid was recognized in Calcutta on some ornamental bushes in the Indian Museum compound, and an attempt was made to rear the insect in the Entomological Section. Icerya egy ptiacum. The form found was the wingless female, which itself is bright red in eolour but so covered with the white flakes of feathery wax which it secretes as to appear like alittle lump of cotton wool upon the leaf. The insect was attended by numerous ants of the species Cremastogaster No. 5. } Miscellaneous Notes. 4.9 Walsht, Forel, which were to be seen busily prodding the scale inseets [with their antennz, no doubt in order to extract honey dew. The stationary character of the insect made it somewhat difficult to transfer from one twig to another, but it was found that by keeping the twigs in tightly closed glass stoppered bottles they remained fresh enough for the insect to feed upon them for several days. After being shut up fora short time by themselves drops of colourless fluil accumulated upon the bodies of the Jcerya. To the taste this tuid has a faintly sweet flavour and is no doubt the sceretion for the sake of which the insect is attended by the Cremastogaster. Numbers of this ant therefore were caught and shut up with the Coccids, but they did vot thrive in conlinement and spent most of their time eudeavouriny to escape. After a few days numerous specimens of the Tetrastichus appeared in one of the bottles, Careful examination was immediately made of tbe Coceid-covered sprig, and after a good deal of searching, what seem- ed like a tiny cocoon was found amongst the waxy debris. On micros- copic examination the cocoon was found to consist of the shrivelled skin of the Icerya. A similar skin was subsequently found containing several specimens of the Zetrastichus nearly ready to emerge, but the most careful examination was not rewarded with the discovery of any remains which could have belonged to a primary Hymenopterous host upon which the Zetrastichus could have been directly parasitic. In view of the num- bers in which the Tetrastechus appeared, and of the fact that the glass stopper with which the bottle was closed precluded the possibility of the escape of any other insect, the conclusion seemed at first to be a justi- fiable one that the Tetrastichus was directly parasitic upon the Jcerya. A cocoon was subsequently forwarded to Dr. Riley, who most kindly ex- amined it and was able to confirm the observation that it merely consisted of the dried skin of the Jcerya. He also succeeded in extracting from it an adult Tetrastichus and the exuvie of two or three more, but in view of the uniformity of habit hitherto found in the genus Zetrastichus he still considers it most probable that further research will yet reveal some intermediate Hymenopterous host. Subsequent absence from Calcutta, from the early part of August until the beginning of November, has put a temporary stop to the inves- tigation, for although the /cerya was common enough in the beginning of August it was found to have almost completely disappeared from the compound in November. A further attempt will be made when the insect again appears. Tn the course of the attempt to rear the insect a few points were made out which are of sufficient interest to be worth recording. ‘lhe E B() Ludian Museum Notes. [Volssiihte eges of the Coccid are elongated and rounded in shape, somewhat less than a millimetre in length by about half this measure in diameter. Two forms of larva were observed, the one as described and figured by Douglas (Ent. M. M. March 1890, p. 79), which is somewhat rounded in outline and characterised by the possession of six well marked poste- rior bristles, the other more elongated in outline and characterised by the possession of but two well marked posterior bristles which gradually develope into rope like appendages as the creature advances in growth. So far as was made out the form with six bristles develops eventual! into the wingless female. The development of the form with two appen- dages was not completely traced and it is possible it may belong to some other species. In close attendance upon the Icerya were found two species of Coccinellida. These were submitted to Mr. L. O. Howard, Acting United States Entomologist, through whose kindness they have been identified as Platynaspis villosa, Mulsant, and Scymuus sp. respectively. The larva of the Platynaspis isa brownish grub which moves openly about amongst the Jceryas, and eventually transforms into a pupa upon the same twig. The immature form of the Scymnus was not traced, but a solitary larva was found, which may possibly have belonged to this species. It was covered all over with white cottony appendages so as very closely to mimic the Icerya, and its habit of keeping very still in the corner of a leaf when disturbed further enhances the likelihood of its being mistaken for this insect. It was unfortunately lost before it had developed sufficiently for determination. Neither of the Coccinellids were noticed as particularly active in feeding upon the Icerya. They seemed also far too few in numbers to have much effect in keeping down the insect. The Scymnus indeed was so scarce that less than half a dozen specimens in all were discovered. The Platynaspis on the other hand, which was slightly more common, is a native of Europe and therefore likely to occur in Egypt, for it is not probabie that an insect which occurs both in Calcutta and in Europe and is able to withstand the enormous range of climate which this difference in habitat involves would have failed to make its way into Egypt which lies geographically between these two extremes. Some other agent would therefore seem to be required to account for the failure of the Icerya to multiply sufficiently te become destructive in India, The primary host of the Letrastichus, if such exist, may no doubt be the cause, but in this ease the prospect is not reassuring, for even if the primary host of the Vetrastichus is not exterminated by its minute enemy, a contingency which would seem by no means impossible in view of the numbers in which the Zetrastichus has apyeared, it is likely to lead far too hunted No. 5. ] Miscellaneous Notes. 51 an existence to have much chance of continuing the good work of keep- ing down the Jcerya effectively. Specimens have been forwarded to the Museum by Baboo N. G. Mukharji of a Coccid which has been reported as injuring mulberry bushes in Berhampore. ‘The insect has the peculiar effect of causing the mulberry leaves to wilt up and become puckered. Baboo N. G. Mukharji reports that he has found Kerosine emulsion of use against the insect. Writing in July 1893 he remarks—‘“ the tield treated last November is almost unaffected while all the other fields are just as bad this year asin previous years.”’ he insect proved to be new to the Indian Museum collection, so was submit- ted to Mr. W. M. Maskell, who kindly examined the specimens and was able to identify them with some doubt as belonging to the species Daetylopius bromelia, Bonché, for although anatomically similar to this species the representatives that were forwarded differed in not possessing a covering of cottony matter. The absence of the cottony covering was no doubt merely due to the action of the alcohol in which the insect was preserved, for specimens subsequently obtained proved to be covered with a considerable amount of white cottony secretion. ‘The figure is from a specimen from Berhampore, Dactylopius bromelia. 52 Indian Museum Notes. f Viel. Ute Mr. Maskell furnishes the following note upon the subject of the _ insect :— Dactylopius bromelia, Bouche. Bonché, Naturgesicht, 1834, p. 20, 2. Signoret, Annales de la Soe. Entom, de France, December 1874, p- 810. Adult female pale reddish brown, or yellowish-brown : form convex, sub-elliptical, rounded in front and rather acuminate posteriorly : length averaging about ;4, inch. Antenne cf eight joints (rarely seven) : joints sub-equal except the last which is longer than any two others together: the pubescence of the antennz is not close or long. Feet moderately long: the tibia and tarsus rather strongly haired on the inner margin, with two spines at the extremity of the tibia: the four digituler are rather long and strong: the tarsus is more than half as long as the tibia. Anal tubercles somewhat prominent, each bearing a long seta : anal ring with six hairs. On each seement of the body is a row of shortish hairs, mingled with cireular spinnerets: and on the head, between the antenne, the hairs form a rather thick tuft, Larva yellow or brownish: form elliptical, tapering somewhat poste- riorly : anal tubercles prominent: antenne of probably six sub-equal joints, Length of larva about 5 inch. Male unknown. Habitat—on Bromelia, Hibiscus, Canna, Zanzibar, and probably _ South America: on Mulberry, Bengal. The presence of the ecoccid Asprdiotus transparens, Green, was noticed upon some tea branches, forwarded to Calcutta in January 1894 from Jalpaiguri. The insect was only represented by a few scattered females upon one of the leaves, but its occurrence in this locality is of interest as it does not appear to have been previously recorded from india. It was originally described by Mr. HE. E. Green, who found it upon the tea plant in Ceylon. Aspidiotus transpa- rens,, Green. A coceid, forwarded by Mr. E. E. Green, as found attacking cultivated ferns in Ceylon in September 1892, has been identified by Mr. W. M. Maskell as Chionaspis drastivensis, Signoret. Mr. Maskell notes that the original species was trom Bahia and as it has since been noticed on an orchid from New South Wales, it is likely to have a wide tropical and sub-tropical range. Chionaspis brasiliensis. No, 5: | Miscellaneous Notes. 53 In September 1893, specimens were forwarded from Baroda, by Mr. T. Li. Middleton, of a scale insect which attacks suvarcane leayes, and is known locally as Masv. The insect proved new to the Indian Museum collection, so was sent to New Zealand for examination by Mr. W.M. Maskell, who has since kindly examined it and reports that it represents the pup of a species of dleuiodes not yet precisely identified. Sugureane scale in- sect. In January 1893, a aumber of blighted orange leaves were forwarded to the Museum by the Revd. Mr. Carleton, of Kotgarh, near Simla. ‘The leaves were found to be eovered with vast numbers of little scale-like insects. Mr. Carleton reported that the blight had appeared upon one tree about two years previously, and the following year had spread to all the orange trees in the orchard. Its effect was to stop both growth and fruiting. The insect proved to be new to the Indian Museum collection, but as it was obviously allied to the coccidw, attention was directed to the system of kerosine spraying and gas treatment, described in previous numbers of these Notes, which have been employed with much success against this class of insects in the United States. In the mean time the specimens were submitted to Mr. W. M. Maskell, the specialist on coccidaw, for further examination. Mr. Maskell has since been so kind as to examine the specimens, and reports that they are the larve and pupz of a species of Alewrodes. The material was insufficient for precise identification, but the species is likely to be allied to Aleurodes quercus, Signoret, though the dorsal punctuation is scattered instead of being in radiating lines as in this form. Mr. Maskell notices that the adults are likely to be small four-winged flies, probably yellow- ish in colour, with wings covered with white powder or slightly spotted. The remedies he recommends are similar to those used against coccid.e. Orange blight. < In September 1892, leaves covered with the remains of white cottony looking blight were forwarded by Mr. C. F. Elliott, who wrote that rose bushes in Quetta were much affected in this way. ‘The insect has been kindly examined by Mr. W. M. Maskell, who identifies it as an Aleurodid possibly allied to the European form Alewrodes protelia, Linn. The material, however, which consists chiefly of empty pupal cases covered with white cottony secretion is insufficient for precise identification, A Quetta rose blight. 5 4, Indian Museum Notes. [ Vol. III. Specimens of an insect which forms galls upon the spruce fir (Adzes Smithiana) in the No:th-Western Himalayas were forwarded to the Museum in July 1893 by Mr. A. Smythies. The gall consists of an abnormal growth of the terminal shoot which becomes superficially much like a small fir cone. The insect is either identical with, or very closely allied to, the Aphid Cher- mes coccineus, Ratz., which attacks fir trees in a very similar manner in Europe. Specimens have been forwarded to Europe for comparison with this form. At Deoban (9,200 feet above sea-level) Mr. Smythies observed the mergence of the winged imago on the 2lst July. In the months of May and June immature specimens only were to be found. Postscript.—The specimens have since been examined by Mr, G. B, Buckton, F.R.S., who identifies them as belonging to the species Chermes abietis of Linneus and Kaltenbach. A full account of the habits of this insect may be found in Mr. Buckton’s masterly work upon British Aphides, Vol, IV, pp. 24-33. The species is new to the Fauna of India. Spruce fir Chermes. Some Aphids found upon the under surface of tea shoots were for- Ten Aphid. warded in March 1898 through the Chemical Adviser to the Indian Tea Association from a tea garden in Assam. ‘The specimens arrived in too poor a state of preser- vation for precise identification, but are likely to belong to the species Ceylonia theaecola, Buckton, described and figured in these Notes, Vol. II, pp. 34 and 35. Similar specimens were received in August 1893 from Cachar, through the Editor of the Asean. In this case the insect was described as found only on the young shoots of indigenous tea, its effect being to cause the leaf to shrivel up and turn black, In December 1893 a good deal of damage was occasioned in the compound of the Presidency Jail, Calcutta, by Aphid, which attacked cabbage, radish, and other cold weather vegetables, killing off the seedlings and threatening the supply for the convicts. Specimens furnished by Mr. P. Donaldson were found to be either identical with or very closely allied to the com- mon European form Aphis brassica, Linn., which has been referred to in these Notes as attacking the mustard plant in Bengal. Aphide in Calcutta. No. 5.3 Miscellaneons Notes. 5b In January 1893 specimens were forwarded by the Assistant Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Bengal, of an insect thought to be responsible for the curling and twisting of the leaves of tobacco plants grown on the Sibpore Experimental Farm, Tobacco Homoptera. Five varieties of tobacco had been grown side by side, and it was found that the milder and more succulent tobaccos suffered to a very much greater extent than the stronger and more pungent kinds. The insect proved to be new to the Museum collection. It has been kindly exae mined by Mr. G, B. Buckton, F.RS., who considers it to be related to the Teltigide. The species, however, is an obscure one and would seem to have been hitherto undescribed. The figure shows the larva in two stages of growth ; also the imago with much enlarged diagrams of its antenue and legs. The natural sizes of the insects are indicated by hair hines. Postscript.—In February 1894 injury was again reported to tobacco plants in the Sibpore Experimental Farm, In this case the enemy proved to bea species of Aphide, which has been identified through the kindness of Mr. G. B. Buckton, F.R.S., as belonging to the species Siphonophora scabiose, Schrank. Associated with the Aphid were numerous Cocci- nellidx larve. Some of these transformed into beetles in the Museum between the 17th and 19th February 1894. They proved to belong to the species Chilomenes sexmaculata, Fabr. as determined in the Museum collection. 56 Indian Museum Notes. { Vol. IIT. Since the publication of the last number of these Votes, specimens of the rice sapper Leptocorisa acuta, Thunb, have been forwarded both from the Officiating Collector of the Balasore District, through the Director of Land Records, and also from the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India, but nothing further of importance has been ascertained about the habits of this species. | Some interest attaches to a consignment of paddy forwarded by Mr. W. R, Lawrence, Settlement Officer, Kashmir, as suffering from a disease known as Rai Rai. This disease is said to occur in hot still weather and results in a withered ear with shrivelled unformed grain. It is so prevalent in Kashmir as to occasion very serious damage. No insects were found in connection with the paddy forwarded, but the appearance of the ears, with their empty husks, was so similar to that of paddy attacked by the rice sapper that it is possible the mjury may have been due to this cause. The matter would seem to be of sufficient’ interest to be worthy of further investigation. Leptocorisa acuta. Interesting confirmation of the habit of the Pentatomid Canthecona JSurcellata, Wolff, noticed in Vol. II, p. 165 of GRE Cae yareel. these Nofes, has been received from the Rev. A. Campbell, who has forwarded specimens from Manbhoom. Writing in November 1892, Mr. Campbell observes that its method of procedure is to alight at a short distance from the cater- pillar. It then inserts its long proboscis into the body of its victim, and sucks. It takes a considerable time for it to kill the caterpillar. Specimens of the Lygexid O.ycarenus lugubris, Motsch., were forwarded in October 1893 by the Director of mg mHcarenus egubrisy — Tand Records and Agriculture, Punjab, as infest- ing Egyptian eotton plants in the Lahore Agri- Horticultural Gerdens. The insect bas been figured in these Notes, Vol. II, p. 82. It has previously been reported both from the Madras Presidency and Ceylon in connection with cotton, so is likely to occur throughout India. — An insect, called in Tamil Naval puchi, has been reported by the Geena ee Deputy Director of Land Records and Agriculture, ym Madras, as attacking ground nuts when lying in the pod in store. The result of its attack is to render the seeds light No. 5. | Miscellaneous Notes. Bil and poor in oil, The same insect is also said to attack gzngelly when the plants are stacked prior to thrashing. Specimens were forwarded to the Museum in August 1893, They proved to belong toa species cf Lygzide as yet unnamed in the collection, and have been forwarded to Europe for identification. Postscript.—Tbey have since been examined by Dr. E. Bergroth, who identifies the species as Beosus pallens, Dall. Specimens of the Lygwid Dysdercus cingulatus, Fabr., as determined in the Indian Museum collection, were for-. aetna! cingulatus, warded from Kirkee on 7th December 1893 by Mr. J. Mollison, with the information that they were damaging cotton upon the Government farm. ‘The plants attacked were of the Khandesh varadi variety which ripens its bolls in November and December. The insects were found in large numbers upon almost every plant and appeared to feed upon the immature seed contained in the bolls. Representatives of the same species were forwarded about the same date by the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Punjab, as found upon Egyptian cotton. The insect undoubtedly does a con- siderable amount of damage by tapping the bolls and drawing up the sap, much the way that the mosquito sucks up blood. Further refer- ences to it may be found in these Nofes, Vol. II, pp. 33, 44, and 166, The figure shows the insect natural size. In January 1893, Mr. T. H. Middleton forwarded from Baroda a moth reared from a eaterpillar which is known locally as hatra. It proved to be an Arctiid belonging to the species Aloa lactinea, Cramer, as determined in ths Aloa lactinea, Cramer. 58 Indian Musenm Notes. — f Volt iis Indian Museum collection. Together with it were the remains of a Tachinid said to be parasitic on the caterpillar, The materialin this case. however, was in too poor a state of preservation for specific identification. According to an interesting account furnished by Mr. Middleton in July 1892 the fatra imsect has been known near Baroda for ten years, and it is said that villages to the north suffered before those near the city. The insect seems to be common in the light soil tract lying between Baroda and Ahmedabad, but the cultivators say the caterpillar is not known to the South where black soil exists. The caterpillar appears about a fortnight after the first fall of rain when the crops are beginning to grow. It attacks cotton, sesamum, pulses of all kinds, brinjal and other plants. It often makes a clean sweep of a field beginning on one side and finishing on the other. If the weather is dry, its ravages may continue for three weeks or more, but if heavy rain falls it rapidly dis- appears. Mz. Middleton is of opinion that in fields where the ground ~ is smooth and not too hard, rolling frequently with a heavy roller would kill a great many of the caterpillars, but he adds that it is diflicult to have the fields in this condition at the time of attack, and that his own efforts to reduce the numbers of the pest in this way have not been very successful. For a reference to damage done by the same species in the Central Provinces, see Vol. I, p. 55 of these Notes, The woodcut shows the moth natural size. In January 1893 some caterpillars were forwarded to the Museum by Messrs. Jardine Skinner and Co. with the inform- ee trilochoides ation that they had been doing a good deal of damage to tea in Cachar. 1t was said that in former years these caterpillars were cnly noticed in the rainy season, but now they remain all the year round with the result that coolies have to be kept on at considerable expense to pick them off the bushes. No. 5. J Miscellaneous Notes. 59 The first set of caterpillars that were forwarded to the Museum were insufficient for precise determination, but from specimens of the imago afterwards reared from caterpillars from Cachar, received on the 28rd February, the insect was identified as belonging to the species Andraca érzlochoidles, Moore (=A. bipunctata, Walker) as given by Hampson. The pupa was found to be enclosed in a rough hairy cocoon attached to the twigs. The bushes attacked were not situated in blocks, but were scattered about amongst the tea; they were often completely denuded of leaves. The extent of the damage may be judged from the fact that upon one garden alone, during the six months ending May 1893, it was found worth while to spend some fifteen hundred rupees in picking the insects off the bushes. ‘ke result in this case was the destruction of no less than sixty-nine and a half maunds weight of caterpillars, Chrysalids of the same species were- afterwards forwarded to the Museum in September 1893 through the office of the Assistant Commis- sioner of Jorhat, from one of the tea gardens in that district. A moth emerged in the following month in the Museum, showing that the development of the insect goes on at such different seasons of the year as the rains and the cold weather. A specimen of this cosmopolitan species was forwarded to the Museum in November 1893 through Mr. L. de pnneden'a Uittoralis, Niceville from Herr Hofrath, Dr. L. Martin of Sumatra, The insect was said to have proved ter- ribly destructive to young tobacco plants in the nurseries of North-East Sumatra. The species has been previously reported as injuring mulberry bushes in India. See these Notes, Vol. II, p. 160. The woodcut shows larva, pupa, and imago, all natural ize of a variety of the same species reared in the Museum from caterpillars found tunnelling into the developing shoot of a large lily plant in Calcutta. 60 Indian Museum Notes. Viole iat In January 1894 live chrysalids of an insect found feeding on ¢ur (Hai pions (Cajanus indicus) were forwarded to the Indian ree : Museum by the Settlement Officer, Chhindwara. Two moths emerged in the Museum and proved to belong to the destructive Noctuid Heliothis armgera, Hiibn., which has been referred to in numerous places in these Notes. One of the chrysalids was found to be parasitized by a Tachinid related to the species T'rycolyga bombycis, Becher, but differing from this species both in the arrangement of the frontal bristles and also in wing veining. The following is a report subsequently forwarded by the Settlement Officer upon the subject :— “The eggs are, I believe, laid on the under-side of the Jeaf, for one batch of eggs of some sort was so found, and close to them a young caterpillar, which seemed to be of the same kind as the other carterpillars infesting the plant. «The caterpillar is smooth, soft, and either green or brown in colour. It feeds by day. It eats chiefly the pea. First it gnaws through the outer yod—a process which takes a good deal of time, about an hour. Then it inserts part of its body and eats the pea. To get into the next compartment it does not gnaw through the parti- tion, but works from the outside again. Sometimes only one compirtment of a pod is eaten into. Occasionally the leafis eaten. The caterpillar is unusually common this year. It has been known for a long time. The cultivators are not aware of its transformations. They have observed that the appearance of the caterpillar in numbers coincides with cloudy weather. The only attempt to get rid of the caterpillars is, when the cultivator has spare time, to shake the bushes and collect the fallen caterpil- lars ina basket ; the caterpillars are not killed but turned out into the ground some little way from the field, so that many probably find their way to another ¢wr field. The cultivators think that the caterpillars die when they disappear from the tur plants. ‘¢ The specimens sent are from caterpillars kept until by leaving the branches and wandering rapidly off they seemed ready to burrow. They were then allowed to bur- row in earth kept in an earthen pot. Owing to the jolting of the earth in the pot and to clumsy handling the specimens may, I fear, be imperfect. The caterpillar on burrowing turns round and round, dog-fashion, until its chamber is made. The man who removed the chrysalides from the earth says that their chambers were not lined in any way.” In December 1892 some caterpillars were forwarded to the Museum by the Deputy Commissioner, Betul, Central Pro- vinces, who wrote: “They appeared in this district about a month ago and are doing enormous damage to the young wheat. ’? The specimens proved to be Noctues larve, but the material was insufficient for the identification of the species. Similar specimens were forwarded in January 1893 by the Deputy Commissioner, Chhindwara, and from these a single moth emerged in the Museum on the 27th February. The species proved to be new to the Wheat caterpillars. No. 5.) Miscellaneous Notes. 61 Indian Museum collection, so was sent to London, where it has been examined by Mr. G, F, Hampson, who identifies it as Leucania fragilis, butler, The following is the report furnished by the Deputy Commis sioner of Chhindwara :— Note on the Sawardehi caterpillar—‘ This caterpillar has appeared in the Chhindwara District in increasing numbers for thelast three years. It is said that it had not been seen before for 30 or 40 years, and the country people suppose its appearance to be connected in some way with the flights of locusts that have passed over the district in recent years. It appeared this year in large numbers in the adjoining district ef Betul, but apparently nowhere else in the provinces. “Tt begins operations as soon as the young wheat is out of the ground, and always attacks fields lying on the edge of jungle or waste Jand. Two or three, or sometimes ten or a dozen, rows of wheat are eaten clean away, but the caterpillar seldom penetrates to the middle of fields of any size. In the day time they may be found huddled together under stones and clods of earth along the edge of the field. “ Asa tule they attack nothing but wheat and that only before it is in ear. I have peen told of damage done by them to kutki (Panicum psilopodium), but have never seen a field showing signs of it. “The damage threatened this year to be serious and the cultivators began taking defensive measures,—irrigating the edges of exposed fields, and digging pits for collecting and burning the caterpillars. But this was resented by the ‘garpagaris’ (professional hail averters and general medicine-men), and the damage was allowed to go on unchecked until the caterpillars were destroyed or driven back to the jungle by a heavy fall of rain in January. “‘ Unfortunately as soon as they disappeared the people lost all interest in them, and I have not been able to trace their further development, nor can I give any explanation ot the origin of their name.” In response to further inquiries instituted through the kindness of the Commissioner of Settlements and Agriculture in the Central Pro- vinces the following additional report, dated 18th March 1893, was furnished by the Settlement Officer, Chhindwara :— ‘* With reference to your letter No. a dated 14th instant, forwarding a copy of a letter from Mr. Cotes, I regret to say that it seems to be impossible to obtain chry- salides. The brood has hatched out, and I can only find the cases. One specimen was found but seems to be dead. “The scanty information gathered is as follows :— “The caterpillar was only found on the edge of fields where the soil is shallow and comparatively dry. The chief damage was to wheat fields which adjoin a plot of steny shallow land. The caterpillar began at the edge and worked towards the centre of the field, The crop was cleared almost entirely off the ground, only a few scattered stalks remaining ; the caterpillar worked by night and lay up by day in the crevices of the light soil. On the point to which Mr. Cotes attaches importance, wz., whether the caterpillar is a “cut worm’ or not, I regret that I can give no information of value. Neither the cultivators nor I noticed in hunting out the caterpillars any traces of fodder carried off by them to their lurking places, but the fact that untrained observers did nct notice the fact does not go far to disprove the fact. 62 Indian Museum Notes. [ Vol, IUI. “The area cleared by the caterpillars was not as a rule large, rarely extending so much as 30 feet from the edge of the field inwards. “The colour varied considerably, brown, green and a sort of yellow all being found The shape was the same, soft and smooth skinned. ‘In most villages the pest was looked on as quite a new one, but in one or two places it was said to have occurred about three years ago. ‘The natives were not aware that the caterpillar eventually became a moth. They said the caterpillar could not exist in moist ground and were confident that rain would stop the plague. They firmly believe that the rain which actually fell heavily (at the beginning of January) killed off the caterpillars, and the sight of the empty pupa cases does not persuade them that the insect has flown. The pupa cases are found at the edge of the growing wheat, where the caterpillars were last at work, embedded a couple of inches or so in the soil. The cases are of a transparent brown....0.0. ” Preserved specimens of what appeared to be the same species of caterpillar were subsequently forwarded by Mr. J. 8. Gamble, Conser- vator of Forests, Dehra Dun, who had found the wheat fields in the Upper Valley of the Tons badly attacked by it. The caterpillars were noticed to feed upon the young unripe ears, and the villagers complained much of the pest, but_ the inaccessibility of the locality rendered the forwarding of living specimens impracticable. As in most species of Noctues, the caterpillars possessed few dis- tinguishing characters, but, so far as could be made out from comparison of specimens preserved in the Museum, they would seem to be identical with what were forwarded to the Museum from Tipperah, Bengal, in November 1888 under the Native name Jeda pola, also with specimens forwarded about the same date as attacking Horra (Indian Millet) in the Madras Presidency. In the absence, however, of the adult specimens these identifications must necessarily be somewhat uncertain. Pupze, said to belong to the notorious Leda poka caterpillar which us attacks paddy, were forwarded to the Museum in Leda poka insects. : a : : Febraary 1894 from Backerganj, at the instance of the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Bengal. They arrived on 22nd February and it was found that three specimens belonging to two species of Noctues moths of the genus Lewcania, as determined in the Museum collection, had emerged on the journey, One of these belongs to the species Lewcania extranta, Guen., already recorded in these Notes in connection with injury to paddy. The second species is not unlike Leucania extranta in general outline, but differs markedly in its considerably smaller size, its white hind wings and in the peculiar strip- ed marking on the front wings. It is at present unnamed in the Museum collection. No. 5.] Miscelluneous Notes. 63 Caterpillars identical with the species referred to in previous numbers of these Notes as the “ Sorghum borer ” (Diatraea sp.) were forwarded to the Museum in December 1893 through the Deputy Commissioner of the Gurgaon District, Punjab, with the information that the insect had done a good deal of damage to Sorghum (jowar) during the autumn in certain circles of the district: The following is taken from the note accompany- ing the specimen :— Sorghum borer in Gurgaon, “The species appears to be identical with that which forms the subject of note No. 3, Series No. I of vol. I of the Indian Museum Notes, or closely allied to that. I regret that I have been unable so far to obtain any specimens of the extra-larval stage of this pest, but will endeavour to secure the chrysalis or possibly the imago. ‘With regard to the life history of this insect, I would add, as regards local observations, the following notes which I have personally verified, viz. :— (a) The grub normally if not invariably enters the top joint of the millet stalks just above that leaf which constitutes a spathe for the developing inflorescence. In other words the plant_is attacked when the flowering shoots are between bud and blossoms and the head of grain is consequently more or less arrested. (4) The larva feeds upon the medullary portion of the stalk ; its proper food being evidently the sugary sap which ascends within the stem of this saccharrid millet, just before flowering. The tunnelled portion of the infested stalk contains a fluffy substance which is probably composed of the rejected fibre. This and the interior surface of the tunnel in almost every stalk examined were found to be strongly tinged with red purple colouring matter which looks as if it might be derived from the action of the larval juices upon matter taken up from the substance of the plant and subsequently dejected. There is a normal tendency, however, in the upper joints especially of the jowar stalks, to take on this tinge, and it is very possible that the tinge which is conspicuous and characteristic of the infested stalks internally may be due to the admission of air as the larva burrows, and the effect of this upon the acids of the eroded vegetable tissues. Whatever may be the cause, the appearances are characteristic and unmistakeable. (c) The pest attacks those local varieties of the bush millet which are most rich in saccharine elements; particularly what is known as the “ green” millet (voli jowari) from the midrib of the leaves being of the same colour as the blade or slightly glareous. “This pest has no specific local vernacular name. It is known by the generic appei- lation of “ Bhaonri” and “Gindar’”’ indifferently. The former is a misnomer based on a theory of the farmers that the larvae are deposited by flying insects of the cock- chafers’ type (Bhaonri). The latter is of course the general name for all sorts of grubs and caterpillars.” Writing from Baroda in July 1892, Mr. T. H. Middleton refers to the great damage done to cave in Gujarat in the preceding season as in every dry year. He recom- mends cutting off the affected stalks as close to Sugarcane borer in Gujarat. G4 | Indian Musenm Notes, (Vol. iL the ground as possible and then destroying them. “If this were done,” he adds, “‘as soon as the pest appeared, I think the damage done in any season would be materially lessened, for it is successive crops of larve rather than numbers at one attack that are to be dreaded. The two moths I kept in captivity appeared to be very sluggish, and incapable of travelling any distance. If they really are so, in districts where much cane is not grown, attacks from without would be uncommon and care on the part of the individual cultivator should do much.” In August 1893 damage was again occasioned in the teak forests of x Gantt otataien Berar by eaterpillars, Jhe species most nu- merously represented in a somewhat hetero- geneous set of caterpillars forwarded to the Museum through the Forest Department from Ellichpur, was Hyblea puera, Cramer, which would seem to be a serious defoliator of teak. ‘Ihe caterpillars were first noticed on 7th June or nearly a month earlier than in the preceding year. They attacked the young leaves which were then just beginning to appear, but the extent of the damage does not seem to have been recorded. A moth reared from a caterpillar found boring into brinjal fruit in . : Raroda was forwarded to the Museum by Lewoimodes orbonalis, Guen. ay H, Middleton in January 1893, It proved to belone to the species Leucinodes orbonalis, Guen., which has previously been recorded in a similar connection in Bengal, see these* Notes, Vol. ILI, p. 99. Together with the moth Mr. Middleton for- warded a small Ichneumonid parasite which had emerged from the pupa of the same species. Jt proved to be unnamed in the Museum collec- tion, In July 1893 specimens were forwarded through the Director of the i ‘ Imperial Forest School, Dehra Dun, of in- Set eoeespilees sects reported to have attacked sal forest in the Pilibhit Division. According to a report furnished by the local forest officer the caterpillars were first noticed in the end of April over an area which had been recently burnt. Later on they spread through- out the entire area of the Pilibhit forests and stripped a large number of trees of their entire foliage. ‘They seemed to be almost entirely con- lined to sal trees, Amongst a somewhat miscellaneous set of insects forwarded to the Museum were found numerous Noctuid like caterpillars which are likely No. 5.1 Miscellaneous Notes. 65 to have been responsible for most of the injury, The material, however, Was insufficient for the identification of the species. ——S——e Two sets of caterpillars of this destructive species were forwarded in October 1893 through the Director of the Palyga damastesalis, Walker. Imperial Forest School, Dehra, from the Ellichpur Division, Berar. From the local report forwarded it seems that the insect has been noticed as attacking teak in Ellichpur Division for the last three years. It appears in Sep- tember and October and is specially severe in pure teak forest. The forest ranger in charge of fellings Shembadole writes :— “There was a very severe attack last year. This year the caterpillars appeared in less numbers either owing to heavy rains after the eggs were laid or to the hailstorm while the caterpillars were undergoing their third or pupal stage last year.”’ Caterpillars reared by the same officer are reported to have trans- formed into pupe in the early part of October, the larval stage lasting for about a fortnight. In May 1893 specimens of a minute grain moth were forwarded by the Director of Land Records and Agricul- ture, Lahore, with the information that they had emerged from rice of the preceding autumn crop. The pupa was noticed to be formed within the grain. The insect proved to be indis- tinguishable from specimens in the Museum collection, which had been reared from soft white wheat received from the North-West Provinces- On comparison with the authenticated specimens of the species Gelechia (Sttotroga) cerealelia, Oliv., reared from maize grown in Kulu (see these Notes, Vol. II, p. 4.), it was found to be very considerably smaller but not otherwise distinguishable, and Mr. J. H. Durrant, to whom the insect has since been submitted, confirms the supposition that the two forms are not specifically distinct. It may be concluded that the species Gelechia (Sitotroga) cerealella, Oliv., attacks alike stored wheat, rice and maize in this country. And as it is able to exist in Lahore in May it follows that the temperature of 104° F. which has been claimed by some investigators as sufficient, when continued for two days, to destroy it, can scarcely be effectual under all circumstances. Gelechia cerealeila, Oliv. Caterpillars of this Pyralid were received in July 1893 through Mr. R. Chapman with the information that they had been brought to him as attacking the F Nausinoe neptis, Cramer. 66 Indian Museum Notes. [Vol. II, Belphul (Jasminum sambae, Ait.) in the neighbourhood of Calcutta. The moth emerged on 27th July. wesepmiece es SES The figure shows the moth and its ebrysalis both natural size. This destructive clothes moth has been reared in the Museum from the woollen lining of a saddle, Its identity with the European form has been ascertained through the kindness of Mr. J. Durrant, who has examined the specimens Tinea tapetzella, Linn. in England. The woodcut shows the moth and its pupa the natural size being indicated ky hair lines. In June 1893 a mass of matted silk containing numerous cocoons was received through the Provincial Museum, Lucknow, from the Principal, Thomason College, Roorkee, who wrote that every toon tree in the station was covered with it from base to top. The insect was reared in the Museum and proved to be the common toon borer Magiria robusta, Moore, which is figured in these Wofes, Vol. I, Plate III. The caterpillar of this species tunnels the terminal shoots of toon trees and in this way does a very large amount of damage. It habitually spins a cocoon, but the formation of a regular web would seem to be unusual. Magiria robusta, Moore. No. 5.] Miscellaneous Notes. 67 In August 1892 specimens were forwarded to the Museum by the Manager of the Hutwa Raj, Saran, through the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Bengal, of a caterpillar known locally as chhupta which had proved injurious to paddy. The specimens arrived in too poor a state of preservation for precise determination, but they were either identical with, or very closely allied to, the paddy stalk borer ( Cizlo sp.) referred to in these Votes, Vol. II, p. 19. Similar specimens were forwarded about the same date, by the Acting Deputy Superintendent, Konkan Revenue Survey, through the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Bombay. In this case the insect was said to have appeared in the month of July and to have been specially injurious in the neighbourhood of the coast. Paddy stalk borer. In September 1693 similar specimens were forwarded by the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Bengal, from the Orissa Division with the information that they were known as Gundira and had been causing damage to the standing paddy crops in the Tributary State of Killa Nursinghpur. In the early part of October 1893 again, similar stem borers were forwarded through the same channel from the Dacca District. In this case the insect was said to have been damaging the Aman crops in parts of the Munshigunj sub-division where some three or four hundred bighas of land were affected. To enable the imago to be reared for specific identification a good Jarge supply of affected paddy stalks should be carefully cut and forwarded to the Indian Museum by mail direct so that the insect may arrive alive. j Moths reared from caterpillars found feeding upon Teak and Euealyptus trees in Dehra Dun were furnish- ed by the Director of the Imperial Forest School in October 1892. One of the specimens was found to be identical with a moth in the Indian Museum collection determined by Colonel Swinhe as Boarmia trispinaria, Walker. It may be noticed that the series presented so large a range of individual variation as to include forms hitherto looked upon as distinct species in the same genus. These will no doubt eventually have to be brought together as varieties of some central type. Boarmia sp. F2 68 Indian Museum Notes. [Vol lit: In September 1893 some Lepidopterous larvae were forwarded by the Assistant Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Cawnpore, with the information that they had proved very destructive to Egyptian cotton on the Experi- mental Farm. It appears that the insect attacked the leaves causing them to curl and dry up, the result being that the plants entirely refused to flower. The specimens proved insufficient for precise deter- mination but are likely to have belonged to the group Noctues, Cotton caterpillars. Noctues caterpillars insufficient for precise identification, but likely to have the habits of cut worms were for- warded to the Museum in March 1893 through the office of the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Bengal, with the information that they had proved injurious to mustard plants in Berhampore. No further particulars could be obtained. Mustard caterpillars. In November 1898 caterpillars were forwarded by the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Assam, with the information that they had been reported as having done considerable damage to the paddy crop in the Kamrup district. The specimens proved to be Lepidopterous larve probably belonging to the group Noctues, but the material was insufficient for precise identification. Paddy caterpillars in Assam. Cones of Deodar (Cedrus Deodara) attacked by caterpillars were forwarded through the Imperial Forest School, Dehra, from the Kulu division, in July 1892. The material proved insufficient for specific identification, but the insect is likely to be one of the Microlepidoptera. Deodar cone moth. In connection with injury to potato plants from cut worms, a chrysalis was forwarded to the Museum in the early part of 1893 by Babu N. G. Mukharji from Berhampore. The specimen arrived on the 19th Feb- ruary. The moth emerged eight days afterwards and was found to belong to the species Prodenia littoralis, Boisd., which has previously been reported in connection with injury to mulberry bushes in Balasore. Potato cut worm. No. 5,1] Miscellaneous Notes. 69 In December 1892 caterpillars were forwarded to the Museum from ’ the Superintendent, Government Farms, Nagpur, with the information that they had to a large extent spoilt the safflower crop. The specimens were insuffi- cient for the precise determination of the species but are likely to be the larvee of one of the Noctues moths related to, but distinct from the species Heliothis urmigera, Hiibn. Safflower caterpillars. Tenthredinide larvee were forwarded in January 1893 by Mr. Cabbage Tenthredinid in . H. Middleton with the information that Baroda. they do great damage to cabbage seedlings and other Crucifere cultivated in Baroda. The insects arrived alive but the attempt that was made to rear them upon cabbage leaves in Calcutta proved unsuccessful, so the identity of the species could not be ascertained, The account given in these Notes, Vol. III, pp. 77 to 86, of the locust Acridium peregrinum, Iwvasion of 1889—92 brings the history of the Oliv. locust Acridiwm peregrinwm in India up to the early spring of 1892. Since then the insect has been present in small numbers but no appreciable damage seems to have been occasioned by it. The following is the information which has reached the Indian Museum, In a report, forwarded by the Director of Land Records and Agri- culture, Bombay, from the Upper Sind Frontier District the presence of locusts is recorded on the 26th May 1892 in the Shahdadpur Taluka, The specimens which accompanied the report were adults of the species Acridium peregrinum, Oliv,, in poor preservation. Similar specimens were forwarded in November 1892 by the Deputy Commissioner, Shahpur, with the information that they had appeared in the September previous. The following is a report, dated 6th October 1892, by the Deputy Collector, Upper Sind Frontier, forwarded by the Direetor of Land Records and Agriculture, Bombay. It was accompanied by adult specimens in poor preservation of the species Acridinm peregrinum, Oliv. :— “T have the honor to submit herewith report No. A., dated the 5th instant, to- gether with specimens cf locusts enclosed in a bottle received from the Mukhtiarkar of Kashmor. “It would appear from the report that a Jarge swarm of locusts has appeared in the North-Western part of Taluka Kashmor is doing damage to the Kharif crops in Dehs» 70 Indian Museum Notes. — fVol. Ill. Labri, Dambki, Alamabad, Chil-Rahamatabad and Jagirabad. From report No. 26651, dated the 2nd instant, sent by the Mukhtiarkar of Tliul direct to your office, also, it appears that a small swarm of locusts appeared in his taluka, on the Ist instant, and did some damage to the crops on the northern side of the Desert Canal fer about two hours and then went away into the Kelat territory.” Further specimens of the same species were forwarded to the Museum in October 1892 by the Deputy Commissioner of Rawalpindi who referred to them in his letter, dated 22nd October 1892, as having “ now” visited the district. The next reference to the insect was in the form of specimens fore warded to the Museum from an Amballa Tahsildar with the information that they had passed through five or six villages in that neighbourhood on the 24th November 1892 but had done no damage, Similar speci- mens were also forwarded hy the Deputy Commissioner of Amballa on the 12th January 1893. From Jhang also specimens were forwarded by the Deputy Com- missioner on the 28rd January 1893 with the information that they had « been lately visiting Tahsil Shorkot in this district.” Specimens have also been forwarded to the Museum by the Deputy Commissioner, Amritsar (forwarding letter dated 19th October 1892), by the Deputy Commissioner, Dera Ghazi Khan (forwarding letter dated 2nd November 1892), by the Deputy Commissioner, Gurgaon (forwarding letter dated 28th November 1892), and by the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Punjab, from the Dera Ismail Khan district (forward- ing letter dated 26th June 1893). In these cases, however, the dates of appearance have not been furnished. In the autumn of 1892 the Acridid Hieroglyphus furcifer, Sauss., as Hieroglyphus furci- determined in the Indian Museum collection, was Fer, Sauss. prevalent in both the Bombay, Deccan and in the Madras Presidency. It seems to have occasioned a good deal of damage of a local nature to crops. In the Poona district the insect was first noticed on the 23rd August about which time the larve are said to have hatched out from eggs laid in the fields.) The damage to jowarz in one village is reported to have been considerable, but information has not been received as to the extent of the area affected. The only measure attempted for dealing with the pest seems to have been that of catching and killing the insects No. 5.) Miscellaneous Notes. 71 by hand. The identity of the species was ascertained from specimens forwarded to the Indian Museum in September 1892 through the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Bombay. In Belgaum district the insect appears to have attacked paddy. Its identity was ascertained from specimens forwarded in October 1892 through the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Bombay. The following is an extract from a report, dated 31st October 1892, furnished by the Collector of Beleaum :— “ An account of their production is given thus as stated by villagers. As soon as rice crops are cut, the insects each lay in the cracks of the field six or seven eggs at a time resembling in shape the seeds of cucumber and then die. They breed only once a year. About six months afterwards, each ege hatches out about 40 or 50 young about the size of poppy seeds. “Owing to such a rapid production the number of these insects is increasing every year, and crops are becoming affected to a certain extent. The ryots are unable to suggest any remedy.” . In the Kurnool district the insects were reported as ‘‘ locusts” in August 1892. The identity of the species was ascertained from larve forwarded through the Central Museum, Madras. The following is an extract froma report, dated 8th September, by the Collector of Kurnool: furnished by the Board of Revenue, Madras :— “I have the honor to state that the Tahsildar of Markapur reports that a swarm of locusts appeared in the week ending 20th ultimo, in the fields of Satakodu and its hamlet Akkupalem in the Markapur Taluk and ate away the leaves of Jonna, Korra and Sajja crops over an extent of about 60 or 70 acres, that no damage has resulted, and that the subsequent rains must haye mostly destroyed the insects.” Writing on the 20th October the Collector added that the plants had recovered and that no trace of the attack was visible. In the Chingleput district, as appears from reports forwarded by the Board of Revenue, Madras, the Sub-Collector reported the foe. by locusts of some four hundred acres cf crops. This occurred in the early part of October 1892. From the description given of the gradual growth of the insects from the time when they were “ very small in size like flies” it would seem that they had developed from eggs laid upon the spot. Subsequent reports were afterwards forwarded from other parts of the district showing that the insects were somewhat widely prevalent though no very striking damage was brought to light. The identity of the species was ascertained from specimens forwarded to the Central Museum, Madras, which were found to comprise both larve and adults of the Acridid. 72 Indian Museum Notes. [Vol. III. In December 1893 specimens were forwarded by the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Bombay, of an irsect reported to have done injury to young bajri (Pennesetum typhoidewm) crops in the Nasik district, The Cdalus marmoratus, Linn. insects proved to belong to the species Gdalus marmoratus, Linn., as determined in the Indian Museum collection. Specimens of the Acridid Pwcilocera picta, Fabr., as determined in the Indian Museum collection, were forward- ed in July 1893 by the Deputy Commission- er of Shahpur. According to the report furnished, the insect was Pecilocera picta, Fabr. sluggish and non-migratory: it was found only on the Ass plant (Calotropis procera) which the migratory locust rarely touches; in life No. 5.] Miscellaneous Notes. 13 its colours were brilliant blue, green and yellow. Similar specimens were forwarded in the same month by the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Bombay, from the Assistant Political Agent, Sorath Prant. The insect has previously been sent to the Indian Museum as injuring young crops in Kathiawar but little is known about it. The woodcut shows the insect natural size. In October 1893 specimens of the Acridid Oxya velox, Burm., as Oaya phe Bach determined in the Indian Museum collec- tion, were forwarded by the Deputy Commis- sioner, Peshawar, with the information that the insect had been preva- lent both in the Peshawar District and also in the neighbouring bill tracts. It was reported as having done extensive damage to crops, and especially to young cotton and maize as they appeared above the ground, Specimens of insects reported as locusts in the Dera Ismail Khan District, Punjab, were forwarded in October 1892 by the Deputy Commissioner, They proved to belong to the species Epacromia dorsalis, Thunb,, as determined in the Indian Museum collection. The species has previously been reported as attacking crops both inthe Upper Sind Frentier District and in Ganjam,so no doubt eccurs throughout India. Epacromia dorsalis, Thunb. The figure shows the insect natural size. 74, Indian Museum ‘Notes. Vols We In July 1892 some damage from Acridide was reported in the Tinnevelli district. In a report received through the Board of Revenue, Madras, the Collector of Tinnevelli writes :— | “T have the honor to forward a bottle received from the Tahsildar of Serivilli- putur containing specimens of a species of grasshopper. He reports that these insects have appeared in certain villages of his taluk, where in several places they have been found to injure the young ragi crops. The damage is as yet but slight.” Aeridides in Tinnevelli. Specimens were afterwards received through the Government Cen- tral Museum, Madras. They were found to comprise the following species, as determined in the Indian Museum collection :— (2) Acridium eruginosum, Burm., thirteen specimens. (0) Crotogonus trachypterus, Blanch., three specimens, (c) @dalus marmoratus, Linn., two specimens. (d) Catantops tndicus, Sauss., two specimens, According to a subsequent report by the Collector, furnished by the Board of Revenue, Madras, the insects made their first appearance about the 20th May, and a week later were found in twelve villages. They disappeared before the end of July. Writing on the 2nd July the Collector observes:—‘‘ They occur as ova, wingless larve and fully developed insects, The damage to the crops is said to be as yet but slight, but cannot, the tahsildar reports, be estimated before the harvest,”” The specimens furnished through the Madras Museum in connection with this report comprised the following species as determined iu the Indian Museum collection :— (a2) @dalus marmoratus, Linn., eighteen adults. (0) Oxya velox, Burm., fifteen adults. (ce) Pachytylus cinerascens, Fab., one adult. (2d) Crotogonus trackypterus, Blanch., one adult. (e) Tryxalis turrita, Linn., twenty-seven specimens including both adults and larvae. Under these circumstances it would appear that the damage was due rather to multiplication of numerous local forms than to special incursion by migratory locusts. Injury from Acridide was reported in the Madura District in August 1892. The following is an extract from a local report upon the subject forward- ed by the Collector of Madura, and dated 26th August 1892, It has been furnished by the Board of Revenue, Madras :— “The Deputy Collector, Madura Division, reports that locusts appeared in several villages in his division and have already committed mischief to ragi and Acridide in Madura, No. 5.] Miscellaneous Notes. aw Qu cumbre crops sown, though the same would be appreciable if they increase in numbers and continue. In Imimangalum Taluk, the locusts that appeared are said to be ordinary ones, about an inch in length and to have sprung up all at once in swarms in some of the villages and commenced to damage the crops by devouring the tender green leaves. They gradually disappeared with subsequent rain and wind and no material damage has been done to the crops. From the report of the Deputy Col- lector, Melur, it appears that the locusts had hidden themselves in the clefts or open- ings in the fields, during the late rain and wind, and to have re-appeared afterwards, and that the crops damaged by them have survived after their gradual disappearance. In Pemjakulam Taluk the locusts are reported to have appeared in some villages and damaged cholum and ragi crops on dry lands and to be gradually disappearing. In Manamadura Taluk of the Sivagunga Zemindari, the insects are said to have destroy- ed about 150 (illegible ?) of land cultivated with ragi crops and to have disappeared with the rains. One particular feature is, that these locusts do not commit any damage to the crops that have once escaped their attack. The insects have not appeared in any other parts of the district. These locusts are probably only grasshoppers; they rise under your horse’s feet by hundreds in grass of tank beds.” — The first set of specimens, forwarded through the Central Museum, Medras, in September from the Madura District, in connection with the above, comprised only larve in poor preservation of a species of Acrididz thought to belong to the genus Hpacromia. Subsequent consignment comprised the following as determined in the Indian Museum collection. From the Periakulam Taluk, Madura District :— (2) Acrida turrita, Linn., large variety, thirty specimens. (0) Acrida turrita, Linn., small variety, ten specimens. (c) Oxya velox, Burm., twenty-three specimens. (d) Atractomorpha crenulata, Fabr., fourteen specimens, (e) Huprepocnemss, sp., thirteen specimens. (f) Epacromia ? tricoloripes, Burm., five specimens. (g) Pachytylus cinerascens, Faby., two specimens. (4) Catantops indicus, Sauss., two specimens, (4) Acridium aruginosum, Burm., one specimen, From the Tirumungalum Taluk, Madura District :— (a) Crotogonus trachypterus, Blanch., one hundred and six spe- cimens. (6) Gdalus marmoratus, Linn., four specimens. (c) Catantops indicus, Sauss., four specimens. In August 1893 the following Acridide were forwarded from Kirkee, Poona, by Mr. J. Mollison with the inform- ation that they had been doing a good deal of damage in a plot of wal (Dolichos lablab). The names of the Species are given as determined in the Indian Museum collection :— Acrididz in Poona. (a) Huprepocnemis, sp., five specimens. (0) Tryvalis turrita, Linn., one specimen. (ec) Acridium aruginosum, Burm., one specimen. 76 Indian Museum Notes. [Vol, II, (d) Pachytylus cinerascens, Fabr., one specimen. (e) Gdalus marmoratus, Linn., one specimen. (7) Three larve not determined. In August 1893 the following Acridide were forwarded to the OE Indian Museum through the Central ES un nthe g Metres Museum, Madras. Details of the damage occasioned by them were not furnished but a reference was given to the Proceedings of the Board of Revenue, Madras, No. 4223 Mis., dated 15th July 1893. The names are given as determined in the Indian Museum collection :— (a) Acridium aruginosum, Burm., eight specimens. (6) Catantops indicus, Sauss., three specimens. (¢) Acrida turrita, Linn., one specimen. In September 1893 two sets of Acrididz comprising the species — LEpacromia dorsalis, Thunb,., Gdalus marmora- tus, Linn., and Crotogonus, sp., all collected by the Tahsildar of Bellary were forwarded to the Indian Museum through the Government Central Museum, Madras. The insects had been obtain- ed at the instance of the Board of Revenue, Madras, through the Col- lector. No special injury by them seems to have been noticed, but the matter is recorded as showing the specific identity of the grasshoppers at that time prevalent in Bellary. The names are given as determined in the Indian Museum collection, the species being all such as are occasionally destructive to crops in India. | Acridide in Bellary. In September 1893 a number of Acridide were forwarded through the Imperial Forest School, Dehra, from the Chenab division in the Punjab, with the information that they destroyed young seedlings of Robinia by nipping them off at the base. The specimens were found to comprise five species of Acridide of which the following have been identified :— Lipacromia dorsalis, Thunb., Crotogonus trachypterus, Blanch,, Gdalus marmoratus, Linn., and (?) Acrotylus, sp. The names are quoted as determined in the Indian Museum collection. Acrididz in the Punjab. In June 1893 reports were forwarded to the Museum by the Com- missioners of Settlements and Agriculture, pas insthe Central Central Provinces, from the Balaghat, Chhindwara and Chanda districts which were visited by flights of locusts in the latter part of May 1893. ‘The No. 5.] Miscellaneous Notes. 77 insects passed over Chhindwara on 24th May. ‘They appeared to be coming from the north-east, and going towards the south-west. They were reported at Lalbarra in the Balaghat District on the 25th May, and were then said to have come from the Seoni District. They were seen at Armori in the Chanda District on the 29th May, and are referred to as again passing over Chhindwara on the 30th May. No special damage was reported, so the flights were probably small ones. No speci- mens were forwarded, so the identity of the insect could not be ascer- tained. From specimens forwarded by the Commissioner of the Patna Division in August 1892 the identity of eee a lus monstruosuss theicricket Schizodactylus monstruosus, Drury, as determined in the Indian Museum collec- tion, with the insect known as Bherwa in the Indigo planting districts, has at last been definitely ascertained. According to the local reports the insect occasions much damage to young crops and especially to indigo by biting through the roots. The only remedy attempted seems to be that of flooding the crop and even this is said to be only temporari- ly effective. Damage to young juar crops by insects was reported in July 1892 by the Deputy Commissioner, Upper Sind ey ae MeUHOCEPEGHUSS. Won tior: Specimens of the insect were for- warded through the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Bombay. They prove to belong to the species Gryllodes melanocephalus, Serv., as determined in the Indian Museum collec- tion, Through the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Assam, were Gricket Diteious to Ten: forwarded to the Museum in July 1893 ae some larve of a cricket said to have proved injurious to tea plants in the Jorhat District. The specimens had been furnished by Mr. H. Morison, who wrote that the insect did much damage in nurseries at night by cutting the young plants off level with the ground. The creature was observed to be specially abundant on sandy soil. It makes burrows from nine to eighteen inches deep in the ground, where it conceals itself during the day time. In the evening it sits at the mouth of the hole and may be recognized by its shrill piping. The species appears to be Brachytrypes achatinus, Stoll., as determined in the Indian Museum collection by Dr. Henri de Saussure, 78 Indian Museum Notes. [Vol. II. In June 1893 specimens were forwarded to the Museum through the d ‘ ; Caleutta Agricultural and Horticultural Piaget Society of a cricket reported as causing serious damage to jute and rice crops in Comilla. The specimens forward- ed were found to be immature, but they are likely to belong to the species Brachytrypes achatinus, Stoll, (Family Gryllide), as determined in the Indian Museum collection. A mole cricket of the genus Gryllotaipa was forwarded to the Museum Pee St in September 1893 by Major G. Gaisford Molo cricket, in Gogtta, with the information cies it had proved destructive in potato fields in Quetta. In one case it was said that a plot of potatoes had been systematically sprayed every week from the time the plants were six inches high until they came into flower with London purple, but the crop was destroyed all the same by the insect. In June 1892 a number of Orthoptera were forwarded to the Museum by the Director of Land Records and Agri- ere opts ae Upper culture, Bombay, from the Upper Sind Fron- tier District. The insects were reported to have been damaging young crops of juar (great millet) in the Jacobabad and Shahdadpur taluks. The specimens comprised the following species as determined in the Indian Museum collection. (a) Chrotogonus trachypterus, Blanch., three larva. (0) Gryllodes melanocephalus, Serv., eight adults and one larva. (c) Epacromia, sp., eleven adults comprising two allied forms, one of which is probably #. dorsalis, Thunb. ~ The cricket referred to in these Notes, Vol. III, p. 100, as attack- rete ing bajra, jowar, cotton, and other crops DE oe eee ee agin Shahpur, where it is known locally as Toka has been kindly examined in Switzerland by Dr. Henry de Saussure, who identifies it as belonging to the species Gryllodes melanocephalus, Serv. The Acridid referred to on the same page as known in Shahpur ‘No. 5.1] Miscellaneous Notes. 79 as Tiridda has also been identified by the same Entomologist as Chroto- gouus trachypterus, Blanch. Further information of an interesting nature has been furnished by the District Forest Officer Buldana, Hy- Hed relzetyy mites, derabad Assigned Districts, in connection with the medical virtues, noticed on page 26 of the first number of this 80 Indian Museum Notes. Dall, INU volume, as ascribed to the large red velvety mite (Tetranychus sp.) It seems that this mite is known locally in the Hyderabad Assigned Dis- triets as Deogar. It appears about the commencement of the monsoon in June and is said to be used in cases of cold and cough, “ for adminis- tering internally to children, with one or two betel leaves to keep them warm.’ The specimens that were forwarded to the Museum were pre- served in a curious red powder known as kupu formed of a compound of turmeric, lime juice, and borax, which is used by the people for this purpose. In September 1893 specimens of the following insects were fore warded by Mr. F. Gleadow from Poona. (1) A Pyralid moth which frequents Bambusa vulgaris, Dendrocalamus strictus, etc., but has not been noticed as occasioning any great damage. The species proved to be unnamed in the Indian Museum collection, so was forwarded to England for exam- ination by Mr. G. F. Hampson, the able author of the first volume upon Moths, in the series of the Yawna of British India. Mr, Hampson has since identified the insectas Botys celesalis, Wik.=vinoralis, Wlk.= itemalesalis, Wik.=strenualis, Wik.=cnterpesalis=, Wik. (2) A Chrysomelid beetle belonging to the species Calopepla leayana, Latr., as determined in the Indian Museum collection. The insect was reported as cutting unsightly holes in the leaves of the Shivan tree (Gmelina arbona) but was not noticed as doing any great damage. It was said to be black in colour with red markings, Poona forest insects. In November 1892 the Officiating Conservator of Forests, Hydera- bad Assigned Districts, reported that con- siderable damage had been done in the Melghat Forest by a boring insect which destroyed the tops of bamboo ( Dend rocalamus) shoots, thereby arresting their growth. Specimens were forwarded to the Indian Museum through the Director of the Imperial Forest School, Dehra Dun. They comprised the following insects as determined in the Museum collection :— Bamboo insects. (1) Estigmena chinensis, Hope (Chrysomelids), two adults. (2) Coleopterous larve, two specimens, likely to be the immature form of No. (1). (3) Indeterminable Microlepidopterous larvz, two specimens. Injured bamboo shoots were afterwards forwarded. The thicker portion of the stems had been tunnelled by some insect which may not improbably have been the Microlepidopterous larve noticed above. ‘The No. 5.] Miscellaneous Notes. 8] tunnels however seemed insufficient to account for the death of the shoots. From a report subsequently furnished by the forest ranger the damage would seem to have been chiefly due to the eating away of the leaves at the top of the shoots by the Chrysomelid. In May 1893 specimens of the fruit of Garruga pinnata, Roxb., attacked by insects were forwarded to the Museum from Poona by Mr. Marshall Woodrow. The fruit was found to be tupnelled by numerous small Microlepidopterous caterpillars. Galls also were furnished which con- tained the remains of a species of Psyllide. The caterpillars were reared in the Museum, the moth emerging on 26th May. It proved to belong to the species Conogethes punctiferalis Guén (Pyrales) as deter- mined in the Indian Museum collection. The Psyllid proved to be new to the Museum collection so was submitted to Mr. G. B. Buckton, in England, who describes it on pp. 18 and 19 of these Motes as a new species of Phacopteron which he names P. leutiginoswm, Garruga pinnata pests. ‘In March 1893 the Assistant Collector, Shahbander Division, Karachi District, Sind, reported injury by insects to experimental plots of potatoes. Specimens of the suspected insects reached the Museum through the Department of Land Records and Agriculture, Bombay, after they had been submitted to the Superintendent of Farms, Bombay, who was able to confirm the fact from his own observations elsewhere in the Bombay Presidency, that both species are destructive to potatoes. The most in- jurious form was a eaterpillar which cuts the stalks close to the ground at night so that they are found drooping in the morning. ‘The pupa fur- nished was insufficient for the precise identification of the species but no doubt belongs to one of the Noctues moths. The second insect was re- presented by immature specimens insufficient for absolute certainty in specific identification, but likely to belong to the species Ldogryllus bi maculatus, De Geer as determined in the Indian Museum collection. Potato pests in Sind. The following insects, as determined in the Indian Museum collec- Notes! from the NeW: tion, were forwarded in July 1893 by the Himalayas. Director of the Imperial Forest School, Dehra Dun, from the forests of the North-West Himalayas :— (1) Specimens of the Cantharid beetle Cantharis antennailzs, Marseul, found eating the leaves of Lonicera angustifolia * 89 Indian Muscum Notes. [Vol. III. and LD. quinquelocularis. The insects were taken on 16th June at Deoban, N.-W. Himalayas. (2) Specimens of the Scutellerid Seutellara nobilis, Fabr., found feeding on the leaves of Casearta tomentosa at Kalsi on the Chakrata Road, Dehra Dun. In compliance with a request made to the Trustees of the Indian Museum by the Government of India assist- ance has been given in an attempt to fur- nish the Government of Queensland with live stock for the introduction of the various semi-domesticated silk insects cultivated in India. In the case of the tusser (Antherea mylitta, Drury) live cocoons were furnished through the kindness of Mr, E, F. Keighly of Ghatal and forwarded in some excellent cases designed for the purpose by Mr. R. Chapman who was at the time in charge of the current work of the Entomological Section. ‘The first set proved a failure, but subsequent consignments arrived in better condition, and on 5th May 1893 the Under-Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Bris- bane, wrote that the moths were cutting out well, and that a fair supply of impregnated eggs had been secured. In the case of the Hri (Attacus ricinit, Boisd.) and the Muga (Antheraa assama, Westw.) the furnishing of specimens was under- taken in consultation with the Indian Museam by the Department of Land Records and Agriculture, Assam. Several consignments of newly formed, Eri cocoons were forwarded through the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup, and after some failures, the insect being an extremely difficult one to send alive owing to the shortness of the period it passes In the pupal stage, success seems to have been obtained. Under the date 1st July 1893 the Under-Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Brisbane, Queensland, wrote :— “ T have the honor to advise the receipt of one case containing ‘Eri’ cocoons, which came to hand in apparently good condition. None of the moths had cut out in transit and I hope we shall be able to conduct a successful experiment.” Indian silk insects for Queensland. In the case of the Muga, which is equally difficult to forward, notice has been received from the Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup of the despatch of three sets of live cocoons (the third being forwarded 8rd November 18938), but intimation has not yet reached the Museum of their arrival in Australia. The following report, dated 9th December 1892, by the Acting Principal, Madras College of Agriculture, to the Board of Revenue, Madras, has been re- ceived through the Government Central An experiment with Lendon Purple. No. 5.| Miscellaneous Notes. 83 Museum, Madras. The London Purple and force pumps experimented with are those referred to in these Wofes, Vol. III, p. 50. “* With reference to Board’s Memo. (KR. S. L. R.and A.) No.1271, dated 4th August 1892, I have the honor to herewith subrzit a report on an experiment with London Purple which was conducted on the Farm at the end of October last, and to request that you will be so good as to transfer the same to the Board. “On October 21st the paddy (Sirumani and Chinna Samba) growing in the fields near the Huzur Cutcherry was found to have been attacked by an insect known in Tamil as‘ Urupuchi.’ This insect, which is apparently the grub of a small butter- fly, is of a whitish color, from ? to 1 inch long, about § inch in diameter and is provided with strong mandibles. It doubles the blade on itself by means of a web and thus forms a sort of nest. The grub is said to be unable to bear the heat of the sun and consequently during the day time lies idle in its nest, but at other times it feeds on the neighbouring blades. “All the affected fields, except one, were treated according to the native methed (hereafter described) of dealing with this particular insect and ina very short time the grubs were got rid of without much damage—if any at ail—to the paddy. “The application of London Purpie was tried on a field (area—857 acres) situated to the east of the road leading from the Government Slaughter-House to the Huzur Cutcherry. The paddy here had been transplanted on September 27th and was about 20 inches in height. On October 26th, the crops were sprayed with a solution of 1ib. of purple in 48 gallons of water, this being done according to the instructions (copy. enclosed)! given on the tins of purple supplied to me. One tin (1b) was thus used, the spraying being done with a force pump. The solution seemed to be sufti- ciently and evenly distributed over the crop. The insects, however, were not in any way affected by the application, for the spray did not reach the lower portions of the plants, which alone were attacked by the grub. On October 29th another spraying (1ib in 48 gallons) was given with an ordinary watering can, but with no better results than before. On October 30th it was feared that the crop would be lost. I therefore ordered the native method to be tried, and in a few days the insects were exterminated. The rainfall (collected at 8 a.m.) between October 26th and October 31st, was as follows :— October 26 . ‘ ‘ 6 3 e 0°38 inches. he Ours i 5 F ‘ Se OLS4 ue Bere OR Me icy nora cat eit Mige reel co by anire eth oir ise ear c oe oe ALT naa PA Hee ReLa Uae Sh Ce Sear nO Odie Rae Stone a ici) 0k yc nee Nae It will be noticed that, though the first spraying may have been washed off by rain, the second one was followed by dry weather. “The native method referred to above is as follows: The bunds are thoroughly repaired and the field flooded. Cycas branches and milkhedge are dragged across the ——— a Sa aT SLE i SLIT SESE ECPI DUET TENGE TT TLSUIn ID GLSED TT aay EE en me es 1 London Purple ; directions for use. The best method is with water. Mix the ‘6 London Purple ” into a smooth paste, then add water in the proportion of 3 gallons to 1 ounce or 48 gallons to Ib of ‘‘London Purple.’’ Stir well and apply by sprinkling with a whisk or fine watering pot, taking care not to deluge the plants but only to cover them with a fine spray. * * * * These proportions are the strongest that should be used, and care is taken, a much dilute mixture may be used with equal advantage. Rae 84 Indian Museum Notes. [Vol. LIL, field, so as to cause the plants to lie at an angle of about 45° with the horizon, thus enabling the water to cover about half the plant including the nest beforealludedto. I am informed that during the process of dragging the milkhedge some of the juice of this plant dissolves in the water and affects the insects in some way, but as far as I could see, the insects were regularly drowned, and the addition of a little milkhedge juice to the water would not, I think, make much difference. The water is allowed to remain in the field for a whole day and is then drained off. Large Cycas branches are planted in the field, but the reason for doing this does seem clear. The native method of dealing with the insect in question appears to me to be quite efficacious and it has the further advantage of not requiring the purchase of London purple, pump, ete. = Pee “The application of London purple in the present case seemed to do no harm whatsoever to the insect, for the spray never reached either the nest or those parts of the plant eaten by the insect, and I fail to see that any system of spraying could distribute the solution low enough to affect the grub.” In these Notes, Vol, III, p. 25, line 34, for “ Mr. J. Sinclair,” read | «Mr. Wo Easinclair:45 In yVol. ii oaaite BIrraba line 15, for ‘‘ Solanum Melongena”’ read Solanum tuberosum.” G.I. C. P. O.—No 218 D.R. & A.—14-11 94 —1,025, CPanel: | — Speterertese turestetrsssstersti titre { | i 1 CROSSOCOSMIA BISERIATA 4. MASICERA DASYCHIRAE iH 2. DEMOTICUS STRIGIPENNIS 5. MASICERA SUBNIGRA. 3. MASICERA CASTANEA. 6. MILTOGRAMMA 12-PUNCTATA, 7. CALODEXIA LASIOCAMPAE Photo-etching from drawings by F. M. Vander Wulp-— Survey of India Offices, Calcutta, July, 1894 = ie USE SER FIG: 1. CEROPLAST#ES CERIFERUS. FIG: 2. ICERYA ABGYPTIACUM. Photo-etching from the Original Drawings—Survey of India Offices, Calcutta, uly, 1894 oh Data BN cs) A) 4 i FIG: 1. DACTYLOPIUS VIRIDIS. FIG; 3. PULVINARIA OBSCURA. IG: 2. DACTYLOPIUS CERIFERUS. FIG: 4. ASPIDIOTUS ORIENTALIS Photo-etching from the Original Drawimés—Survey of India Offices, Calcutta, July, 1694. ste WN oa er sY bales tea % INDIAN MUSEUM NOTES. ISSUED BY THE TRUSTEES. Votume IIl.—No. 6. Published bp authority of the Government ot Endin, Hevenue and Agricultural Department, 4 CALCUTTA: - PRINTED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF GOVERNMENT PRINTING, INDIA. : 1896. Price As. Six. ee Cah eo ae NOV 2g 1897 Vol, HI.) [No. 6. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES FROM THE ENTOMO- LOGICAL SECTION. BY E. C. COTES, Deputy SUPERINTENDENT, INDIAN Museum. The following figures have been prepared from time to time in the Entomological Seetion of the Indian Museum in illustration of insects of economic importance in India. Most of the species concerned have already been more or less completely discussed in the pages of these Notes, and, innow publishing figures, the intention is merely to facilitate their identification. It has been thought necessary therefore to give little more than references to the pages where further particulars will be found. With a few exceptions, which are noted in each ease, the fieures have been drawn from specimens in the Museum collection. When not otherwise acknowledged the drawings are the work of Baboo G., C. Chuckarbutty and other native artists from time to time employed in the Entomological Section. The wood-cuts have been prepared in the Government School of Art, while the photo-blocks come from the Photo-lithographic Office of the Survey Department of India. The writer would take this opportunity to acknowledge the great assistance which has been uniformly afforded to him, in the preparation of the numerous numbers of Indian Museum Notes, Notes on Heonomic Entomology, and other official publications, both by Colonel J. Water- _ house, to whom the Museum is chiefly indebted for some exquisite pho- to-etchings, and also to Messrs. Dean and Ross, who have successively been in charge of the Government Press where the reports have been printed. The above shows the species Lemotmetus insignis, Grouville, referred A D) Indian Museum Notes. [Vol. III. to in these Notes, Vol. III, p. 22, as one of the insects infesting the timber of the tree Terminalia belerica in the Bombay Presidency. The natural size of the insect is indicated by hair lines. The above shows a beetle belonging to the species Hectarthrum brevi- fossum, Newm., as determined in the Indian Museum collection. It emerged in the Museum from a block of Shorea assamica wood received through the Forest School from the Deputy Conservator of Forests, -Lakhimpur, Assam, August 1891. The wood was badly tunnelled by the larvee of a large species of Cerambycide upon which the Hectarthrum is possibly parasitic. The above shows the female of the species Lucanus lunifer, Hope, referred te in these Notes, Vol. II, p. 148, in connecticn with in- No. 6.] Miscellancous Notes from the Hutomological Section. 3 jury to oak trees in Naini Tal, The figure is natural size after Thomp- son, The above shows an insect belonging to the species Sertcea pruinosa, Burm., as determined in the Indian Museum collection. It has been sent to the Museum as injuring the foliage of the coffee tree in Travano- core, The above shows the species Belionota scutedlarts, Fabr., natural size, The insect is referred to in these Noées, Vol. Il, p. 149, in connection with injury to Acacta catechu timber. | The above shows the Buprestid Psiloptera fasiuosa, Wabr., natural Ad 4 Indian Museum Notes. [Vol. IU, size. It is referred to in these Notes, Vol. II, p. 45, in connee- tion with injury to teak trees in the Madras Presidency. — The above figure is taken from specimens of the common Calcutta book-worm (? Sitodrepa panicea, Linn.). It shows the beetle dorsal and ventral view with details of the appendages, also a full-grown larva. The natural size is indicated by hair lines. The above shows the insect referred to in these Notes, Voi. 1, p. 106, under the name of Gibbium scotias, Fabr. It was sent to the Museum in cornection with injury to opium cakes in Behar. The natural size is indicated by a hair line. The above shows the insect referred te in these Noles, Vol. II, No. 6.) Miscellaneous Notes Trom the Entomological Section. 5 p: 150, under the name of Opatrum depressum, Fabr. It was sent to the Museum in connection with injury to linseed and wheat crops. ‘The natural size is indicated by a hair line, The above shows the Curculionid Lpisomus ecrenatus, Dej., referred to in these Notes, Vol. III, p.117. The figure is enlarged, the natural size being indicated by hair lines. The above, which is taken from a photograph one-sixth natural size, shows a block of date palm from Lucknow tunnelled by the larvae 6 Indian Museum Notes. Vol. III. of the palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, An account of the insect is given in these Notes, Vol. I], p. 8. The above shows the Cureulionid Desmdophorus hebes, Fabr., referred to in these Motes, Vol. I, p. 58. The insect is reproduced natural size, with enlarged diagram of an antenna and hind leg, The above figure is copied from a photograph by the writer, of a piece of stem of a young teak tree from the Kulsi plantation, Assam, No. 6.] Miscellaneous Notes from the EHutomological Section. 7 to show the swelling caused by the attack of Cerambycide larva. The figure is about one-eighth natural size. The above shows the Cerambycid Sthenias grisator, Fabr., referred to in these Notes, Vol. III, p. 110. The figure, which is natural size, shows the mature beetle which is said to have a pernicious habit of girdling the stems of rose bushes. : The above shows the species ?Celosterna spinator, Fabr., referred to in these Notes, Vol. Il], p. 114, in connection with injury to Babul trees in Dehra Dun. The figure is natural size. 8 Indian Museum Notes. {Vol. ITI. The above shows the Cerambycid “yosoma lacertosum, Pascoe, refer- red to in these Nofes, Vol. II, pp. 12 and 154, in connection with injury to teak trees in the Kulsi teak plantation, Assam. The figure shows the mature insect, natural size, The above shows the paddy defoliator Chetocnema basalis, Baly, alter Shipley’s figure (Proc. Cambridge, Phil. Soc., Vol. VI, pt. 6). The natural size of the insect is indicated by a hair line, No. 6.] Miscellaneous Notes from the Entomological Section. 9 The above shows the Coccinellid Hpilachna 28-punctata, Fabr., referred to in these Notes, Vol. I, p. 58, also Vol. II, p. 45, in connec- tion with injury to Brinjal and other plants. ' The above shows the ant Cremastogaster dohrni, Mey?., referted to in these Notes, Vol. III, No. 3, p. 117, as a troublesome pest on cin- chona and coffee bushes in Ceylon, The forms figured are (1) the female as she appears after dropping her wings, and (2) the worker major, 10 Indian Museum Notes. [Vol. TIT, The above illustrates an interesting case of mimicry discovered by Major C. T. Bingham in Moulmein, Burma. The figures ave taken from specimens presented to the Indian Museum by Major Bingham. The lower figure shows the bee 7rigona vidua, St. Farg. The upper shows an Asilid fly which mimics it so closely in size and coloration, as to be almost indistinguishable when upon the wing, in spite of its great structural diversity. The Asilid figured was taken in the act of de- vouring the bee. The above shows the Ichneumonid Pimpla punctator, Linn., male No 6.) AMZiscellaneous Notes from the Entomological Section. 11 and female, natural size, as determined in the Indian Museum collection. The species has been reared in the Museum from several species of Sa- turniide upon which it is parasitic, In these Wofes, Vol. II, pt. IX, is figured a parasitized cocoon of Autherea roylet, Moore, cut across to show the cells formed by the larvee of the Pimpdla. The above figure was drawn from typical specimens of the species described by Cameron under the name Pteromalus oryze. The insect was taken by the writer in Calcutta, in February 1888, in close associa~ tion with the weevil Calandra oryzae, Linn., upon which it is likely to be parasitic. The natural size is indicated by a hair line. The above shows the Chaleid referred to in these Motes, Vol. I, p. 29, as an important agent in keeping down the number of the Sor- ghum borer (? Diatrea sp.). The species has since been described by Cameron (Proe. Man. Lit. and Phil. Soc., 1890-91) under the name Cote- sia flavipes. The figure which shows the insect enormously enlarged is after Cameron. 12 Indian Museum Notes. (Vol. III. The above shows the Pierid Mancipium nepalensis, Grey, male and female, as determined in the Museum collection. The caterpillar of this species is referred to in these Notes, Vol. II, p. 46, as attacking various garden and field crop plants in Umballa, The species may be looked upon as little more than the Indian form of the destructive Huro- pean species Péeris (Mancipcum) brassece, Linn. The above shows the Hesperid Gangara thyrsis, Fabr., reared from the No. 6.] Wiscellaneous Notes from the Entomological Section. 13 caterpillars referred to in these Notes, Vol. I, p. 204, as-defoliating young cocoanut palms in Malabar. The insect is shown natural size. The above shows the Hesperid reared from the caterpillar referred to in these Notes, Vol. III, p. 113, under the name Parnara colaca, Moore, as attacking young paddy in Saran. ‘The figure is natural size, The above shows the Travancore teak borer in various stages of devel- opment, natural size, from specimens furnished to the Museum by Mr: J. F., Bourdillon. The insect is referred to in these Noles, Vol. I, p- 198, also Vol. IIT, p. 118. It has been determined by Mr. F. Moore as allied to the species Cossus caiambe, Moore, The above shows the moth #enied from the caterpillars referred to iit these Notes, Vol. 11, p. 88, as attacking young mango tices in Pootia. The insect has been determined as belonging to the species Artaza limbata, Butler. The figure is natural size. 14. Indian Museum Notes. ‘Vol. III. VAN, Joy The above shows various stages in the development of the species which attacks the foliage of the peepul tree in Bengal. It has been determined as belonging to the species Hnome ampla, Walker, The above shows the caterpillar, natural size, of the species Alope ricint, Fabr, This insect occurs throughout India, where it is a general defoliator. ee pets a The above shows the female, natural size, of the wild silk moth Ar7s- No. 6.) Iscellancous Noles from the Entomological Section. 15 thala stkkima, Moore, forwarded to the Museum from Cachar, The male moth, also the cocoon, of this species are figured in these Notes, Vol. ITT, p. 135. 3 3 } i 2 : 4 II ET Pea Papen es SERRE SOIR at es i ap 5 ; Fs ee pe PLease Ny OG NCH ata arsT ced Ae pe esah dt ACV save CLIN 2 Ri iene The above shows the imago of a wild species of silk-producing Bom- bycide (probably Gunda javanica, Moore,) forwarded to the Museum in August 1891 from Cachar where the caterpillar is said to feed upon the leaves of a species of rubber tree. The above shows the moth, natural size, of a species whose caterpillar has been forwarded to the Museum as defoliating the lentil plant in Patna, The insect is referred to in these Notes, Vol. II, p. 10, under the name Laphygma exigua, Guer. The above shows the imago of a caterpillar which has been reported as execedingly destructive to paddy in the Central Provinces. The insect is referred to in these Notes under the name Leucania loreyz, Dup. 16 Indian Museum Notes. [Vol. III. The above shows the moth of the destructive cut worm Ochropleura flammatra, Linn., referred to in these Notes, Vol. II, p. 6, in connection with injury to poppy plants. The figure is natural size. The above shows the imago, natural size, of the cosmopolitan species Agrotis segetum, Schiff. It is referred to in these Notes, Vol. II, pp. 7 and 161, in connection with injury to young coffee plants. The above shows the moth, also the chrysalis lying in its earthet ell, veared from caterpillars destiuctive to garden plants both in Calcutta and in Dehra Dun. The insect is referred to in these Noles; Vol. II, p. 160, under the name Polyteda gloriosa, Fabr. No. 6.) AMliscellaneous Notes from the Eutomological Section. AL7/ The above shows various stages in the development of the species, Conogethes punctiferalis, Guen., referred toin these Motes, Vol. If, No. 5, p. $1, as attacking the fruit of Garaya pinuata, Roxb., in Poona, The above shows the male of the brown mosquito of Bengal (Culex pipiens, Linn,), The natural size is indicated by a hair line. The female of this species, also its larva and pupa, are figured in these Noles, Vol. III, pp. 136 and 137. The above shows various stages in the development of the Baluchistan melon fly Carpomyia pardalina, Bigot, The natural size in cach case is indicated by a hair line. . 18 Indian Museum Notes. CVol. III. The above is reproduced from some excellent drawings furnished by Mr. E. E. Green, in illustration of the life history of the scale insect Lecanium viride, Green, referred to in these Notes, Vol. I, pp. 49 and 115. _ The following is an explanation of the letters used :— a. Portion of coffee leaf, with scale insects, enlarged. b. Adult ¢, dorsal aspect, magnified 10 diameters, ce. Ditto, ventral ditto ditto. d. Ano-genital aperture of ¢, enlarged (from above). e. Young larva, just hatched from egg, highly magnified. jy. Antenna of adult ¢, enlarged. g. Leg (left third) of adult @, enlarged. 4. Margin of scale, enlarged, showing marginal hairs. 2. Leg (right second) of adult ¢, enlarged. j. Adult ¢, enlarged, viewed with transmitted light showing oval within the body. hk. Adult ¥, side view, enlarged. No. 6.] Miscellaneous Notes from the Entomological Section. 19 The above shows the Lygasid Lohita grandis, Grey, referred to in these Noles, Vol. If, p. 166, as attacking the cotton plant. The figure is natural size, The above shows the remains of a beam of wood from the neighbour- hood of Calcutta, which had been attacked by white ants. The species responsible is likely to have been the Zefmes faprobanes, Walker, referred to in these Notes, Vol. III, p. 140. he figure, which is about one-seventh natural size, shows the supports left by the insects to bear the weight of the earth and rubbish that lay above the beam. Most of these supports, but not all of them, consist of a knob in the centre strengthened by a little of the surrotinding wood-tissue. 20) Indiax Museum Notes. Set Violeta: The above shows the Acridid Luprepoenemis bramina, Sauss, referred to in numerous places in these Noles as attacking Various standing crops in India, The figure is natural size. a ~ ra NS OVA WY AX The above shows the Acridid Tryralis turrita, Liun., referred to in a —— No. 6.) Aliscellancous Notes from the Entomological Section. 21 these Notes, Vol. II, pp. 27, 103, 104, 171, ete., in connection with injury to various standing crops in different parts of India. The figure is natural size. The above shows the Aeridid Acridium acruginosum, Burm., referred to in various places in these Notes, in connection with so-called “ locust invasions,” especially in the Madras Presidency. The figure, which is natural size, is taken from specimens received from Madras, Consider- able individual variation is exhibited in the arrangement of the wing markings, even in specimens forwarded together from the same locality, The above shows the Acridid Atvuctomorpha crenulata, Babr., ree ferred to in various places in these Nodes, in connection with damage by so-called “ locusts ” to standing crops. ‘The figures are natural size. 22 Indian Museum Notes. [Vol, III. The above shows the species Acridium melanocorne, Serv., refetred to in these Ne¢es, in connection with injury to standing crops by so-called “locusts.” The figures are natural size, ‘The above shews the species Catautops axit/aris, Sauss., referred to in these Noées, Vol, III, No. 1, p. 80, in connection with injury to puddy in Bengal, a a a i a i No, 6.) Aliscellancous Notes from the Entomological Section. 23 AEE Raiee eS ‘at 4 ye\ataty The above shows the Indian form of the well-known palzaretie locust Pachytylus cinerascens, Fabr. ‘he species has been sent to the Indian Museum, in connection both with the Madras locust invasion of 1878 and also with more localized injury to standing crops in Ganjam in 1890. It would seem, however, to be a far less serious enemy to standing crops in India than such species as Acridium peregrinum, Oliv., and Acridium succinctum, Linn, G.1. ©. P, O.=No, 229 Re & A.—6-5-96,—1,090, INDIAN MUSEUM NOTES. ISSUED BY THE TRUSTEES. VOLUME III.—NO. 7. NOV 28 1897 [3,896 CONTAINING TITLE PAGE, LIST OF CONTENTS, AND INDEX TO VOLUME If CALCUTTA: OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF GOVERNMENT PRINTING, INDIA. 1896. . Price Four Annas, Abies smithiana Acacia avabica Acacia catechu Acacia catechu Borer Acanthacee . Acanthopsyche mooret Acarina (Mites) . Acarus coffee ° Acarus translucens .« Achea melicerte Acrida turrita Acridid 6 6 Acrididze e 5 Acrididz in Bellary NOV 2% 18 7 INDEX TO VOLUME IIl. PAGE 96, 54(5) 3 114 - 24, 3(6) 47(5) A 5 103 18(4) 48(4) - 48(4) © 56(4)—58(+) 50, 112, 26(4) 29, 75(5), 76(5) e ; 27 i 6 Ae) . - 76(5) 5p in the Madras Presidency 76 (5) Ss in Madura me in Tinnevelli 3 in Poona 399 Acridium eruginosum » flavicorne Be melanocorne > migratorium a4 peregrinum inthe Punjab . ° 6 VAS) ° - 74(5) » 75(5) 76(5) « 28—30, 74(5) 75(5), 76(5), 21(6) C 28, 44(4) 30, 22(6) ° 39 17, 28—30, 33—40) 42, 44, 45, 77, 43(4), 11(5), 16(5), 42(5), 69(5)> 23(6). Ss succinctum Aculeata Aegeriid moth ° 4Egosoma lacertosum Ztolesthes holosericeus Zithriostoma undulata Agromyza(?)sp. . Agrotis segetum ° 32, 23(6) ° ° 4(5) ° ° 133 fs 6 8(6) 6 18 23, 119 ; « '28(4) : 21, 16(6) Agrotis suffusa c Akk plant. ° Aleurodes - ‘ ” protella . BS quercus Aleyrodes sp. Aloa lactinea ° Alope ricini Aman crops 5 Amatissa consorta Andraca bipunctata - 16, 98, 24(4), 25(4) ~ 72(5) e —53(5) ° © 53(5) 53(5) ads SE (5) 116, 57(5) . 6 14(6) ° 7- = 67(5) III, 16(4), 17(4) 22(4), 59(5) » trilochoides 22(4), 58(5), 59(5) Andropogon sorghus , ° 31 Anona squamosa 5 : 106 An enemy of the rice-sapper . 17 A new wood-borer 6 é 74 Anoneaestis bengalella 106, 107 Anthomyia angustifrons ° 34. an peshawarensis 34—36 Antherea assama ° - ~° 82(5) >» Sfrithar : ° 22 es mylitia a voylet Anthrenus vorax , Aphalarinz : _Aphelinus thee Aphids) 340); ° Aphidz a ° Aphindinz 6 AVES Bi A 6 Aphis brassice . Apion strobilantht Apis dorsata e Arachis hypogaea Arhar pulse ‘ 0 16, 275 9(5). 42(5), 82(5) ; ° 22, 11(6) ° 118,120 i i 18(5) * 24, 132 : 139 - 38(4), 54(5) 4 ° qt Ono GIy) ° 97; 54(5) 6 : 125 ° 25, 131 et) ° Tt 16 ° ° 25 Vill Avisthala stkkima ‘ Arsenical insecticides . Artaxalimbata . . Asclepiadrom . : Aspidiotus destructor» Bp en/LODESCOUS Emits 33 orientale BS orientalis 3 thee a. ° O09 transpavens . Aspidomorpha militarts Astycus chrysochlorus » Jtlatevalis . : Atractomorpha crenulata Attacus vicing Aulacophora abdominalis Babula grote: : 5 de So ° . Babul-borer . : Bag-worms bajra . 5 ° . Bamboo Aphid . : SINISE CES iy ke ° Bambusa arundinacea . » vulgaris 5 Belionota scutellaris Belphul . . : Beosus pallens . ° Bhaonri 5 : 6 Bherwa 0 . ° Birbhoti black fly : e : 3) etude. . : - Blattide : : : Blissus leucopterus ‘ blister blight 5 . Boarmia trispinaria . Bolrytis tenella . A Bombax malabaricum Bombyces : . Bombyx ° : 135, 15(6) ee 024) : 13(6) - 21(5) - 7, 66, 67 - 41(4) ES} 6) 26(5), 32(5) - 25, 41(4) 41(4), 52(5) . 24 99, 126, 8(4) 23, 126 » 29, 21(6), 75(5) 11(5), 41(5) 42 (5); 82(5) 5. A » 25, 18(4) - —-17(4) 114 » —-13(4) 2 100 ° e 21 80(5) 5 Pils 37) 80(5) 5 3(6) 65(5) 57(5) 63(5) 46(4), 77(5) 0 . 206 39(5) 24(4) 4(5) ° © 54 e ° 9 + 67(5) e 102 . 68 18(4) - 16, 41(5) INDEX TO VOLUME III. Bombyx mori ° book-worm 5 Boring insects Bostrychidz ° ° Bostrychus sp. . : Boswellia seyvata borers Botvs celesalis Brachytrypes achatinus Brassica » compestis ° Brinjal-borer Bromelia Gruchus chinensis : 90 emarginatus . sy (PRBS ‘ 5 Bunt ° 6 5 Buprestidz ° Butea frondosa . F PAGE ~ —-42(5) . 4(0) e reves | e 23 e - 23 - 46(5) : 80(5) 45(4) 77(5), 78(5) : - 96 os) ie 97 e e 99 - —-52(5) e 255 1290 e 129 ° e 15 ‘ OZ 4(5) ° 127 Cabbage Tenthredinid in Baroda 69(5) Cacecia sp. « 6 Cenophrada anobioides . Cajanus indicus . 6 Calandra oryz@ . ° Calocoris angustatus ° Calodexia ° ° 5 és lasiocampe Calopepla leayana . . Caloptenus sp. . oD spretus Calosoma orientale 5 Calotropis procera Camellia theifera - 28(4) e 23 25, 60(5) 24, 11(6) 27, 90 « 17(5) 16(5) » 80(5) e 19 0 34 « I7;, 35 « 72(5) I, 2, 3, 22, 28, 22(4) = thee ' 25 Canna . ° ° . © 52(5) Cantharide . ° ° . 23 Cantharis antennalis . - 81(5) Canthecona furcellata e 56(5) Capside ‘ 5 - 28(4) Carpomyia pardalin 3 - 17(6) Caryoborus (Bruchus) gonagra 14 Casearia tomentosa an O2(5) Cask borers . C ° 4 INDEX TO VOLUME III. 1X PAGE Cassta fistula 15, 10(4) Castor-oil seed caterpillar ° 98 Catantops axillaris . 30, 22(6) = indicus 19, 28, 20, 44(4), 74(5)—76(5) Cecidomyiaoryse . ° : 23 Cedrus deodara : « 40(5), 68(5) Cephaleta brunneiventris 42(4) » Susciventris Q « 42(4) a purpuretventris ~ 42(4) Celosterna scabrator 5 e 114 Re (sic) spinator . 5 II4 Cerambycidze 114, 4(5), 7(6) Ceroplastes . ° 5 22(5) ” ceriferus 99, 21(5), 3'(5) Cerrhospilus coccivorus « 42(4) Cetonini . . ° 6 4(5) Ceylonia theecola 38(4), 39(4), 60(4), 54(5 Chetocnema basalis 5 ‘. 8(6) Chaitophorus 5 A ° 88 Chalcis eupleea : 19—21(4) Chambu : ° ‘ : 26 Chermes abietis : ° e 54(5) BS coccineus ° 96, 54(5) Cheroot borer ° ° 5, 44(3) Chilo. eo BSN B53, 67(s) »» tnfuscatellus : . 52 » plejadellus . ° ° 52 Chilomenes sexmaculata . e 55(5) Chionaspis . : : « 305) ss brasiliensis. ee 265) » thee 24, 25, 39(4), 60(4) Chir pests . ° ° : 19 Chlorita flavescens 9, 140, 34(4), 36(4) Cholum ° ° 5 ° 26 Chrotogonus . . e 19, 100, 117 i trachypterus 29, 74(5), 75(5), 76(5), 78(5), 79(5) Chrysididz . . ° e 4(5) Chrysobothris sexnotata . A 122 Chrysomelide =. —7(4), 4(5), 44(5) Chrysops dispar. ° 9 138 PAGE Chrysopa vulgaris . 34(5) Cihpta . ° ~ 67(5) Cicer arietinum , . . 113 Cicindelide . ° . 4{5) Cicindela sexpunctata , - 17, 118 Clinteria confinis . . 5 118 Clytridze ° A 4(5) Coal-tar - ° 5 ° 70(4) Coccid . : C . 103 Coccidz : 30(4) Coccinellidze . ° 55(s) Coccus . e : : : 103 LaCCaE ° - + 42(4) Cocoanut blight . e 7 Cocos nucifera 6 ° 7) Celosterna ; C 141 » Spinator . 4 7(6) Ceenodomus hockingii . 10(5), 42(5) Coffea arabica . ° I, 21 » vinger 6 $ 21 Coleoptera ‘ 0 A 5(4) Collembola ., 6 ° 5 8 Conogethes punchiferalis 98, 81 (5), 17(6) Contagious disease germs vs. insects 54 Convolulaceze : 9 0 24 Convolvulus . ° © 38(5) Coprini é 6 4(5) Cossidz . 8(4) Cossuscadambe , 113 13(6) » ligniperda . : - 10(4) Cotesia flavipes 6 : e 24,51 Cotton caterpillars ° e 68(5) » weevil in Lahore . « 48(5) Crambidoides 6 4 5 51 Cremastogaster 6 . « 409(5) Cremastogaster dohrnit . 117, 9(6) s walsht 48(5) Cricket injuring potato plants . 07 » injurious to Tea . > 77(5) » in Comilla - «@ 78(5) Cricula trifenestrata . 22 Crocus caterpillar . . ° 20 x INDEX TO VOLUME III. PAGE Crossandra : ; : 103 Crossocosmia bisertata . 9(5), 11(5)? 42(5) a curvipalpis 11(5) sericarie 8(5), 9(5)s 42(5) Crossotosoma egyptiacum 27(5) Crotalaria juncea caterpillar . 98 Cryptogamic disease ° : 54 Cucujid ° ° ° 120 Cucujidze . ° ° 4(5) Cucurbitacez ° ° ° 19 Culex albopictus 112, 20(5) »» bancroftt 5 ° >» 20(5) » mostoscriptus : 20(5) » pipiens r12, me 1375 17(6) Curculionid . ° e 118 Curculionide . ~ 23, 8(4), 4(5) Cut-worms . : 5 16, 25(4) Cycas . 7 . 83(5) Dactylopius .« : . . 66 adonidum . 6 117 99 aS bromeli@ +» 51(5), 52(5) » ceriferus 21(5); ee, 9 cocotis 7, 66 fe filamentosus - 25(5) % wirgatus 26(5) CD aridis | « #256) Dacus ferrugineus . 18, 23, 43(5) a o var mangifere 18 Dain 0 0 ° ° 114 Daryaie £ - 43, 44 Dasychira mendosa ° 21(4) 39 sp. 18 (4), 22(4) thwaitesit 17(4),18(4), 11(5), 14(5), 42(5). Delphax psylloides « : 3 105 Demoticus strigipennis . 11(5); 42(5) Dendrocalamus’ - : « 80(5) Deodar 40(5) Deodar cone moth . 6 - 68(5) Deogai ° ° ° » 80(5) Dermestid ° ° e 119 Dermestidze » P) ° e 23 PAG? Desmidophorus hebes . 23, 6(6) Diapromorpha melanopus . 14) Diapus impressus . ° ° 74 s9 molossus . . 75 95 guingue-spinosus . 75 Diatrea ; + 24, 52, 63(5), 11(6) » saccharalis 26, 50, 52 Dinoderus sp. 6 . ° 123 Diptera : ° oe 120(4) Dorylus longicornis 6 « 96, 118 Dynastini . 3 - (5) Dysdercus cingulatus 5 © 57(5) Dytiside =. . . « 46) Eccoptopterus sex-spinosus 64, 65 Egyptian cottony cushion scale 27(5) Eleodendron rvosburghit ‘ 37(4) Elapucht ., . ° ° 117 Elateridz . 08, 99, 4(5) Empusa 9 0 ° e 57—59 Encyrtus nietners 5 9 42(4) - paradisicus . ; 42(4) Enomeampla. 5 6 14(6) Entomophthora . ; O 57 Epacromia . Epacromia dorsalis 75(5), 78(5) 275 29, 30, 73(5)s 76(5), 78(5) » ‘tricolovipes . . 75(5) Ephemeridze 4(5) Epicauta rouxt . ° . 23 a tenuicollt ; 23 Epilachna 28-punctata .« 5 9(6) Episomus . ° e ° 117 35 crenatus - 117, 5(6) ae Saye ae 41(5), 82(5) Evicerus Pé-la . 28(5) Estigmena chinensis . ° 80(5) Eucalyptus oil . . ° 40(5) Eudioptes indica 5 5 136 Eumetacramert - 133, 14(4) Eumeta sikkima . e ITI, 15(4) Eumolpidze 6 ° e 4(5) Euprepocnemis .« : ° 30, 75(5) a bramina 29, 30, 20(6) INDEX TO VOLUME III. XI PAGE PAGE Farash : : . 114 | Hectarthrum brevifossum . 18, 2(6) Fertilizers vs. insects. e 59 | Heliothis armigera 14, 21, 113, 60(5) Ficus religiosa . : : 135 69(5) » ruginosa .« : : 27(5) | Helopeltisantonii . 32(4), 33(4) Flata conspersa .« : 36(4) of theivora 46, 28(4), 30(4) M limbata os 8 39) 32—34(4)) 33(5), 35—38(5) Formicide . . : : 4(5) | Hesperid . 5 3 . 22,113 Fulgoride . ; : 105, 30(4) | Heterographis . eee 106 Fungoid locust disease. : 360 | Hibiscus. : : : §2(5) Gallemaking Aphid . ° 71 | Hteroglyphus furcifer . « 29, 70(5) Gallenut tree defoliator 5 25 | Hispa enescens : 5 26 Galls on spruce fir : : 96 | Histeride . Bales : 4(5) Gangara thyrsis .« : 12(6) | Hopperdozers . : : 68(4) Garpagaris ‘ owas 61(5) | Horra. : Bae : 62(5) Garuga pinnata . _—_—18(5), 81(5), 1716) | Auile lourde ; 40 Gelechia cerealella ‘ : 65(5) | Hyblea puera —-94, 95, 111, 112, 64(s) » (Stitotroga) cerealella 65(5) | Hybleeidze yas 93 Geometres . j : ° 23(4) | Hydrocyanic gas . i : 65(4) Geometrid caterpillar on tea. 22 | Hygrophila spinosa . 24(5), 26(5) Gibbium scotias . « 4(6) | hyper parasites Hh 2B S230 (6) gingelly . : ° ° 57(5) | Icerya so on NE BRE VAIO FIZIG(G) Girdler longicorn. ° : 110 As egyptiacum 21(5), 27(5), 29 (5) Gmelinaarbona . «+ 80(5) 31(3), 48(5) Gossypium herbaceum . : 100 » purchast © —-29(5), 48(5) Govisana bipars . e ° 17(4) | Ichneumonid 3 A - 22 Goyaeries psidium : ‘ 67 | Ichneumonide . : F 28(4) Gracilaria theivora : 27(4) | Ichneumonid parasite . —_17(4), 64(s) Grain storage to exclude weevil 52 | Identification of Dipterous Gram caterpillar . 9 ° 113 parasites . 41(5) » weevil ; ; o 25 | Idiocerus niveosparsus . 5 9 Green fly blight . ° 139, 34(4) | Indian Aphides é Z 5 87 » » tea blight ° ° 9 » silk insects for Queens- Ground nut Lygzid . ° 56(5) lande vie ‘ A - 82(5) = pests e ° 116 se wheat «. ° e $ 20 Gryllide . ° ° ° 45(4) | Indigofera tinetoria . 5 oo S1OT Gryllodes . 6 . ° 100 | ztnterpesalis 5 5 6 e 80(5) Gryllodes melanocephalus 77(5), 78(5) | Jsarza ° ) 3 ‘ 57 Gryllotalpa 6 . : 78(5) | Isaviadensa . . ° » 102 Gundajavanica . ° ° 15(6) | ztemalesalis . 2 ° » 80(5) Gundira . . ° ° 67(5) | Fasminumsambac . ° e 65(5) Gyre... 4(5) | Jasside . - 5 6 — « 34(4) Hadenide . ° ° ° 68 | Jonna ° : ° ° 71(5) Hapsifera rugosella Fowar . ° ° : 100, 63(5) ¢ e ass N “nN un —— Xil INDEX TO VOLUME III. PAGE Fowart . 5 : 2738705) ay lsthstel = 5 . 5 . 30 Kainit . q 3 2 , 97 kalippucht . ° 2 116 kambilipuchts . ° LO kangiva . ° . . ° 32 kapra . ° ° 6 UNG) kat foring ° ° 3 . 30 katra 26, 57(5)s 58(5) Kerosine Emulsion - 60(4) khapedi . ° . ° 4 27 kikar . C ; . - 4 korra see ities ° 71(5) kupa : . ° 80(5) kutki : ° 61(5) Lachnidium acridiovum . 36, 54 Lachnosterna impressa « 3, 122, 5/4) Lachnus . : : ° ° 88 Lemolphleus pusillus . 2525120 Lemotmetus insignis . 22, 1(6) Lagerstreemia indica 18(4) Lasiocampid caterpillar 20, 17(5), 42(5) Laphygma exigua 0 sO) Lasioderma testaceum 5, 44(5) Lathyrus sativus. ° HES Lecanium 6 0 » 23(5), 31(5) ns coffee + 117,41(4), 42(4) ss hemisphericum , e 31(5) “ viride « . . 18(6) leda poka 62(5) Lepidoptera ° 8(4) Leptispa pygm@a é - 44(5) - 17, 99, 119, 56(5) 135) 13(5), 42(5), Leptocorisa acuta Leucania extranea . 62(5) » fragilis 61(5) SI NLOueye e A 15(6) Leucinodes orbonalis » 100, 64(5) Limacodes graciosa 12(4) Limacodidze {1(4) Linseed caterpillars . 5 6 14 _ Linum usitatissimum - 14, 23 Liogryllus bimaculatus . 97,81(5) PAGE Liviince opty) co ee eV on pen BG) Lobster caterpillars . : + to(4) locust-eater é 0 : 31 » €2g parasite . : 5 34 Locusts in the Central Provinces 76(5) Locust invasion ‘ 4 CS 17 Lohita grandis A 19(6) London purple 59, 36(4), 62(4), 64(4), 82(5) Longicorn-borers . : - 114 Lonicera angustifolia < 81(5) » quinquelocularis . 82(5) Lucanus lunsfer . 121, 2(6) Macrodactylus subspinosus 6(4) Magiria robusta 66(5) Makai . . : : 5 18 Malacodermidz 3 5 - 4(5) Mancipium nepalensts 12(6) Mangiferaindica . -Q, 13, 17, QI Mango maggots : oad NAS (5) » Psylla . . ° . 13 » shoot Psylla . ‘ 5 9! Marietta leopardina ° » 42(4) Masi : 6 ° 5 53(5) Masicera. é : : « 43(5) a castanea . 12(5), 42(5) > cilipes 4 8(5) » a@asychire a3 grandis 19(4). 13(5)s 42(5) 17, 8(5), 9(5), 42(5) » subnigra 14(5), 42(5) Measures adopted against the locusts ° ° : 5 82 Mecapoda . . . ° 30 Melasoma populi .. ° « 43(5) Mellia Zinckenella . ° ° 98 Melolontha vulgaris ° e 6(4) Melolonthid . : ° ° £22 Melolonthide , . . ° 54 Melolonthini 102, 5(4), 4(5), 46(5) Melon seed moth s : ° 19 Mesri 6 . C ° 43—45 Micrococcus . : 0 ° 57 5 tnsectorum : : 552 59 INDEX TO VOLUME III. PAGE Microlepidoptera . 27(4) Miltogramma duodecimpunctata 15(5), 42(5) Mites . . ° . » 50(4) Mesa . < 2 36(5) » tndica 31 (4), 36(5), 38(5) 5» montana. - 360(5), 38(5) 5 vanentacea . 36(5), 38(5) Mole cricket in Quetta 78(5) Monomorium basale 118 Mosquito blight ; ° 46, 20(4) Mudaria cornifrons 3 . 69 Mudupucht . . ° 116 Muga . : : ° 82(5) Mulberry . . 52(s) u bird . ° 31 Mustard aphid 96 5 caterpillars . €8(5) Myllocerus . 9 < e485) Myrmecidz . 9 ° 118 Mysore coffee ringer ° , 21 Mytilaspis pomorum . : 96 Narkote : 0 ° 26 Nausinoe neptis : : . 655) Naval pucht . 5 56(5) Nemorea tropidobothra . « (5) Neocerambyx holosericeus srNOsnlirs: Nettle grubs . . : 11(4) Neuroptera. : : 34(5) Nezavaviridula . 26 Noctues ° ° 24(4) ee moth ° : 03 Notodontidz 10(4) Obliteratellus : ° : 51 Ochropleura flammatra . 16, 16(6) Odonata . : ° : 4(5) Gdalussp. . ° . 19 » marmoratus 72(5), 74(5) —76(5) Olene mendosa 21(4), 11(5), 15(5), 42(5) Opatrum depressum 7 23, 5(6) a micans e ° C 23 Opium weevil : ° ° 12 Opuntia engelmanni 2 - 65(4) Orange beetle » blight + tree defoliator Oregma bambuse Orthegta insignis .» nacrea ° Orthoptera . e 3 in the Upper Sin Frontier District . Orthosia bicornis . Oryctes rhinoceros Oryza sativa Oscinis thee Oxya velox Oxycarenus lugubris Pachaipulu Pachytylus cinerascens Paddy caterpillarsin Assam , stalk borer Pagaungde . . Palyga damastesalis a (Scopula) damastesalis , Pandemis(? Capua) menciana . Panicum psilopodium Papaver somniferum Papilio erithonius , » polytes “ Parasa lepida : Parasites Paris-green a Parnara colaca Passalini $ Pastor voseus 6 Pemphigus cornicularius ”9 edificator . Penctllavia spicata Pennisetum typhoideum Perilampus sp. ° Periplaneta americana Peronospora . ° Phacopteron lentiginosum Phaedon betule - 74(5)—76(5), Xlil PAGE 7(4) - 53(5) . 114 . 87, 108 104 e I 03 43(4) » 78(5) O 21 - 128 + 23, 26, 30, 64, 119 138, 28(4) 29, 73 (5) —75(5) 56(5) 116 23(6) 68(5) + 67(5) 21 III, 65(5) 94 28(4) 61(5) 3 12 i14 114 12(4) 20(5) 62{4)—64(4) 113, 13(6) - 2(5) 39 33» 79 en hs 72 : 20 100, 72(5) » 19(4) ° 115 : 62 18(5), 81(5) ° 44(5) XIV INDEX TO VOLUME III. PAGE Phaedon brassice : 44(5) Phromnia marginella. 36(4), 37(4) Phycis sinckenella « ° 0 98 Phycitidze 2 ° ° + 106 Phylloxera : , ° of ON Pieris (Mancipium) brassice 12(6) Pimpla . . 5 : 11(6) » cvricule o F > | BB » punctator ° 22, 10(6) m BOOB 6 . ; 3 29 Pinus excelsa 0 6 18, 128 » khasya 6 5 ; 63 » longifolia 0 10,405) pipsa : > 3015) Pistacta terebinthus . 0 : 71 Pisum sativum 0 ° mel29 Pithecolobiumdulce . : » 26(5) Pitta ° : ° : ° 05 Pityogenes > e ° ° ° 63 chalcographus . ° 64 99 a scitus 9 3 0 63 Platydactylus : $ 64, 65 99 gracilipes . Os yy Sexespinosus « 5 64 Platygaster oryz@ 5 23,132 Platynaspis villosa « ° 50(s) Platypides 0 5 : 74 Plocederus obesus ‘ 6 - 130 pedestris . . 9 LBL 39 Pecilocera picta . 5 Bis Op 72(5) Polygvaphus pubescens . 19, 128 Polytela gloviose . 20, 16(6) Poona forest insects . 80(5) Poplar Aégeriid . . 5 panic Potato cut worm . : . 68(5) Potato pests 98, 81(5) Pott fly 39(5) Prachycera . 4 : : 4(5) Preservation of books from insects 115 Prevention of insect ravages in England . 9 6 : » 60 Prodenia littoralis « 509(5), 68(5) Psidium guava. ‘ . « 23 FAGE Psiloptera fastuosa ° : 3(6) Psorosa 6 ; 5 A » 100 Psychid : ° ° 2 e 110 » moth : 5 5 2S Psychide . ‘ 13(4) Psyllabuxi ‘ : ° 13 Psylla cistellata ° ° - OI Psyllidze : ; - 13, 18(5) Psyllinze ° 5 18(5) Ptinidz ° 123 Pteromalue oryz@ « 24, 11(6) Pulvinaria obscura 232(5), 32(5) Pyralis : : bf OAS OS Pyrethrum cinevariefolium . 64(4) quercus : : . Bran v7 Quetta rose blight ° 2 53(5) Raniah : ° ° . 114 Red borer . . 8(4) »» Spider 26, 47, 48(4), 37(5) »» velvety mites 79(5) Remedies . . 32(4), 29(5) Rhisopertha pusilla » 124 Rhynchophorus ferrugineus . 128, 6(6) Rhynchota . . 28(4), 4(5) ricessapper ° « 17,99 Ricinus communts ° . 98 Rivellia persice . . ° - 133 rolijowari . ° 63(5) Rosy pastor ° ° BO Rugaungde ° ° ° 6 ei Saccharum officinarum e 26,51 Safflower caterpillars ° 60(5) Sajja crops . . ° 71(5) Sal caterpillars ° 64(5) Saltatoria wr in A(5) Sanch . . . : . 30 Santalum album . ° . seve Sapium sebiferum 112, 26(4) Sapta . : ° 5 ° 113 Sarin. : ° ° ° 114 Sawardehi caterpillar O 61(5) Scale insects on tea ° . @ 25 Scarabzide . ° . ° 117 ee eee a ea a es i a INDEX TO VOLUME [II. Xv PAGE Schigodactylus monstruosus 46(4),77(5) Schisoneura lanigera . C 139 Schizoneurine ° C ¢ 108 Scolytide . ° 63, 74 Scutellava nobilis « : “2 282(5) Scutellista cyanea . A 42(4) Scymnus sp. . C ° 6 50(5) Serica pruinosa 117, 3(6) Shorea assamica 18, 63, 2(6) Shovea assamica borers . . 18 signatum ° 5 dl Silk-cotton pod mot - 68 Silphidze ; 4 4(5) Silvanus suvinamensis .» - 120 Simulium indicum « 309(5), 40(5) op molestum 9 ° 39(5) Sinapis arvensis ° . 2107 Sinoxylon . een 2 25235823547 (5) Stphonophora scabiose .« © = 55(5) Sipalus granulatus A : 127 Sivokka ° a Se) Sitodrepa panicea » 115, 4(6) Sitones 5 : : 0 6 12 smut . 0 0 ° 0 . 62 Solanum melongena 16, 99, 46 (5), 84(5) » tuberosum 27, 96, 84(5) Sorghum borer in Gurgaon 63(5) ae vulgare 23, 20, 27, 51, 90, 100 Sovohapok . 5 : 44(5) Spalyria minor . 5. Bhiy teloy Ugyl Sphecia ommatieformis . COs h 33 Sphingonotus sp. . : : « 30 Sporstrichum : ° 5 O59 Spruce fir chermes 54(5) Staphylinidz : . ° 4(5) Stauropus alterynus . 10(4) Sthentas grisator . ° 110, 7(6) Stored pulse pest . 6 ° 5 AS Strawsonizer 6 6 ° . 62 Strenualis « 5 4 80(5) Strobilanthus pectinatus ° 125 Stromatium barbatum . . 24, 131 Sugar-cane borer . ° 50, 63(5) PAGE Sugar-cane scale insect . 53(5) Sulphur 5 ° 52(4); 59(4) Sulphur vs. red spider 2 40 Tabernemontana olba c e« 110 Tachina cilipes j 8(5), 9(5) » grandis ° 17, 9(5) Tachinid fly » Ir, 8(4) us locust parasite . Gt ie 3 parasite : ° 17(4) Tachinze : 4(5) Tamarind Bruchid 5 Tamarindus indica . > 2d Tamarix articulata . - - Il4 Tanko . ° 43, 44 Tanymecus indicus , ° » 118 Tea Aphid 6 9 ° 54(5) 9 bug © bs © 33(5) » defoliator 6 d 2 1» mite : 51(4) Teak-defoliator , ; » ITI, 64(5) Tectonz (?) : ; A oO? Telegonus thrax . 6 ° 5 Teltigidz , ° . : 55(5) Teminalia chebula . é she Tenebrionide . ° a3 Termes sp. e . e 45 » taprobanes 23, 141, 46(4), 19(6) Tervminalia belerica 123, 47(5) 2(6) dp belevica pests , aye Termitidz : ° 5 46(4) Tetranychus sp. « : 26, 80(5) “ bioculatus 46, 49, 48(4), 51(4), 56(4) 55 telavius : 50(4) Tetrastichus 29(5), 48(5), 49(5) The tea bark-louse . : 30(4) Thosea (Miresa) cotest 11(4) Thrips sp.(?) °. 4 6 43(4) Thysanoptera . 4 - 43(4) Thysanura 6 . 5 . 8 Tilia : ° : ° 130 Tilliars a ° ° 5 eesr Tinea tapetsella ° ° 60(5) XvI INDEX TO PAGE Tippling Tommy 6 . 10t Tipulide . : ° . 5, © Tiridda i . 100, 79(5) Tobacco homoptera 55(5) Toka 5 . 100, 78(5) ‘Tomato aciontian for tea spider . 49 Tomicus . 101 50 restos sh ©8 Tortvix 6 : 93 » murinana 6 = OF Travancore teak-borer 113 CT ted Trichoderma - 57 Tricholyga bombycts, Fal 33> Hoenn 8(5), 11(5), 15(5)> 41(5)» 42(5), 60(5) Trigona vidua 10(6) Trilopidia annulata .« . 29 ‘Yripodendron . ° ° 5 Tripsacum ductyloides ‘ 51 Triozin@ « 18(5) Triticum sativum sO, 20st23 Trogosita mauritanica ° = 20 Trogositid ° ° ° 6) 0 Trypodendron domesticum . : 4 Es quercus 5 Psi ay » stpnatum 0 4 Tryxalis turrita 74(5), 75(5), 20(6) tur. : ° ° 6 60(5) tusser ° e . . 82(5) VOLUME III. PAGE Tusser Tachinid ; 5 - 16 Typhlodromus carinatus 56—58(4) 60 Udschimyia sericarie . 2 Ugimyia sevicarie , : - 8(5) Uji fly ° : : : me Urupuchi . ° A 4 83(5) varadt . ° 0 0 Vedalia 3 : p18; aa beetles . ‘ . ; 8 3 cavdinalis 4 - 29(5) Verpucht . 116 vinoralis . A eh meee 80(5) Wheat caterpillers ° - 60(5) », Stalk borer 5 e ° 8 Wire worms 5 . ° - 60 White-ants 5 » 23, 46(4) cy) grub ° 3; 102, 5(4); 46(5 » insect wax 0 e .99 Wrightia tinctortia aivales - 47(5) Ayleborus . ° < ° 5 s abnormis ., : 64, 65 Fe perforans . 4, 101 .s Saxesent ° ° ° 5 Xylorrhiza adusta : e - 47(5) Xylotrechus yuadrupes 4 - 130 Zea mays . ° e 51, 105 Zeuzera coffee . 5 1, 8(4), 10(4) Zisyphus jujuba e ° ey Government of India Central Printing Office—=No. 289 R, & A.—25-1-97.—3—-H. R.- ae par: Gr ist MCZ ERNST MAYR LIBRARY iii 3 2044 118 635 135°