Hibrary of the Museum OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY, AT HARVARD COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, MASS. Pounded hy private subscription, tn 1861. Deposited by ALEX. AGASSIZ. No. /3, 8% Mea odd, ue ess ‘ INDIAN MUSEUM NOTES. /SxB 86 ISSUED BY THE TRUSTEES, MAY 22 1897 VOLUME II.—No. I. ——}—— ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. Published by Authority of the Gobernment of Endia, Revenue and Agricultural Department. - CALCUTTA : PRINTED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF GOVERNMENT PRINTING, INDIA. Igol, Price Two Rupees. is CONTENTS. —_—— re PAGE I.—MiscELLANEOUS Notes FROM THE HNTOMOLOGICAL SECTION OF THE InDIAN MusEvuM, by E.C. Cotes ; 5 é 1 I].—A New Sreciss or Tinerip#, by Lord Walsingham, F.R.S. . 49 WII.—TuHer BatucHistan Merton F ty, by Mons.J.M.F. Bigot . 51 TV.—American Brieut, by E. T. Atkinson, C.I.E. . : Boe V.—Dkzscriptions or New Coccipz, by W. M. Maskell . ea) VL—A Darsitine SA Pest, by G. C. Dudgeon a é os OS VII.—A NEW PsycHID InJURIOUS TO SAL, by F. Moore . we ShOF, EXPLANATION OF PLATE I. —_~— Vig. 1. Aspidiotus thee, Maskell— a.—Puparia on twig, natesize; 6,.—Puparia ¢ & 2, X 2; e—Adult female, X 20; d.—Larva, X 100; e.—Antenna of larva, x 350. Fig. 2. Chionaspis thee, Maskell— a.—Puparium 2 ; 6.—Puparium ¢ ; c.—Adult female. g,3. rsochiton cajant, Maskell— a a a.—Tests on twig, nat-size; 6.—¥Female tests, dorsal and ventrai aspects ; c.—Male test, dorsal aspect ; d.—Larva, dorsal aspect; e.-—An- tenna of larva; j-—Foot of larva ; g.—Female 2nd stage, dorsal aspect ; &.—Adult female, dorsal aspect; 4.—Antenna of adult female ; m.—Foot of adult female ; 7.—Marginal spines, spiracu- lar spine, and tubular spinnerets of adult female. 19 orl INDIAN MUSEUM NOTES. ISSUED BY THE TRUSTEES. MAY 22 1897 VOLUME II.—NO. 2, —_— THE WILD SILK INSECTS OF INDIA. Soe Published bo Authority of the Government of Endia, Mevenne and Agricultural Departinent. CALCUTTA: PRINTED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF GOVERNMENT PRINTING, INDIA, IS9l, Price Three Rupees. pene oe, +) male; ) cocoon ; (a) [ke ss leto,—(a) male ; (6) female ; (c) cocoon. ved, a oes female; (6) male; (c) and (d) cc cocoons. Antherea helferi, —(a) female; (3) male. These Nee are some v we too dark, “ Sloss pea female 3(0) ae yy aaye Se bia ee | 1, Caligula ae female: (6) male. ae e Gobe nment of Endia, Rebenue and Agricultural Bepartment. 4E SUPERINTENDENT OF rice Eight Annas. EXPLANATION OF PLATE. ee eed Fig. 1. Ceroplastes ceriferus ; twig with three wax-covered females, nat. size. Fig. 2. Phromnia marginella ; a, imago natural size; b and c larve, natural size and enlarged, in each case divested of the flocculent matter with which they are ordinarily covered; d, gland like organs situated at the extremity of the abdomen in the larva, enlarged; e, leaf covered with dried larval skins as they appear before being divested of their flocculent coverings, nat. size; f., leaf covered with tke sugary secretiun emitted by the larve. [3806 MAY 22 1897 INDIAN MUSEUM NOTES. ISSUED BY THE TRUSTEES, VOLUME II.—No. 4. stent Se THE LOCUSTS OF BENGAL, MADRAS, ASSAM, AND Stat te Published by Authority of the Godernment of Endia, Redenne and Agricultural Departinent. CALCUTTA: PRINTED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF GOVERNMENT PRINTING, INDIA. . Is9l. Price One Rupee. (3,686 bee MAY 22 1897 INDIAN MUSEUM NOTES. ISSUED BY THE TRUSTEES Votume Il.—No. 5. Hublished by Authority of the Government of Endia, Rebenue and Agricultural Department. CALCUTTA: PRINTED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF GOVERNMENT PRINTING, INDIA. 1891, Price eight annas. CONTENTS. —— PAGE THE Economic ImporTaNCcE OF Birps 1n Inp1a, by W. L. Sclater, m.a. . 117 THE METHODS ADOPTED IN TUNIS FOR DESTROYING Locusts . 5 Sei WP, Gas TREATMENT FOR SCALE InsEctTs 3 ‘ ; : 5 3 . 133 PaRIS-GREEN AS AN INSECTICIDE FOR DESTROYING CATERPILLARS ; cae yf INSECTICIDE WASHES AGAINST DaTE PaLm Scale . i % 3 - 143 /38, 356 / MAY 22 1897 INDIAN MUSEUM NOTES. ISSUED BY THE TRUSTEES. Vo.ume IIl.—No. 6. eee bp Authority of the Government of Endia, Revenue and Agricultural Department. CALCUTTA: PRINTED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF GOVERNMENT PRINTING, INDIA. 1898, i aie oo (3 Talis a 2 ? A MAY 22 1897 NOTICE. —p——— TINUE serial Zxdian Museum Notes is issued by the Trustees of the Indian Museum, Calcutta, under the authority of the Government of India, Revenue and Agricultural Department. It is chiefly intended to record information on the subject of the Economic Entomology of India, and thus gradually to furnish materials upon which to base a comprehen- sive knowledge of this important subject, which has hitherto been but little studied. For the views expressed the authors of the respective notes are alone responsible. The parts of the serial will be published from time to time as materials accumulate. Communications are invited; they should be written on one side only of the paper and addressed to— The Editor, Indian Museum Notes, Calcutta. Correspondence connected with Economic Entomology should be accompanied by specimens of the insects to which reference is made, Caterpillars, grubs, and other soft-bodied insects can be sent in alcohol ; chrysalids and cocoons, alive, and packed lightly in leaves or grass ; other insects, dried and pinned or wrapped in soft paper. Live insects should be sent when there is a reasonable probability of their surviving the journey. Caterpillars, grubs, and other immature insects can often be only approximately determined; they should therefore, where possible, be accompanied by specimens of the mature insects into which they transform ; when, however, this is not possible, they should still be sent, as they can always be determined approximately, and uncertainty must necessarily arise in discussing insects when actual reference to the specimens cannot be made. Insects forwarded for determination should in all cases be accom- panied by a detailed report showing precisely in what their Economic importance consists. Tue EDITOR. Inp1an Museum, 19th March 1891. if NAD i MAY 22 1897 Vole i 1 Pilon INDIAN MUSEUM NOTES. —_—— No. I.—MISCELLANEOUS NOTES FROM THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION OF THE INDIAN MUSEUM. By E. C. COTES. During the year 1890-91 the collection of information on the subject of the Economic Entemology of India went on as usual in the Entomological Section of the Indian Museum. The chief work of the year may be classed under the headings of, (1) Locusts, (2) Silk insects, (3) Reference collections, (4) Lectures, (5) Miscellaneous insects. In the matter of Locusts, the habits and history of Acridium peregrinum., which is the chief locust of North-Western India, were investigated, and a detailed report was issued on the subject. Inthe matter of Silk insects, all available information was collected concerning the wild species which produce silk in India, but which have not hitherto been cultivated, and progress was made with a report upon the subject, for publication in these Notes. The silk insects which are actually cultivated have been already dealt with in a report which was issued as Volume I, No. 3 of these Notes. In the matter of the Reference collections which are being gradually got together in the Indian Museum, specimens of the insects sent to the Museum for report, were, as far as possible, preserved and identified zoologically for future reference. Help in the identification of the species was received from Entomologists in several quarters of the globe: for in India, where there are, at a moderate computation, some twenty thousand different kinds of insects, many cf them unknown to science, the zoological identification of a species is often a matter of very considerable difficulty, while it 1s necessary that the insects should be identified, as without identification it is impossible to avail ourselves of what has been ascertained in other parts of the world about similar or allied forms. Communication therefore has been established with many of the chief Entomologists in different parts of the world, and several of them have assisted gratuitously by identifying the insects belonging to the parti- cular groups which they have specially studied. In this connection may be mentioned the following Entomologists who kindly gave help during the past year in the identification of species of economic importance :—Dr. The work of the year 1890-91. B ) Indian Economic Entomology. [ Vol. Ii. Henri de Saussure of Switzerland; Messieurs Bigot and Desbrochers de Logis of France; Lord Walsingham, Colonel Swinhoe, and Messrs. Buckton and Moore of England; Mons. Kerremans and Dr. Auguste Lameere of Beleium; Mr. Maskell of New Zealand; Mr. Howard of the United States. Progress has necessarily been somewhat slow, but named specimens are accumulating, and it is alrealy becoming the rule, instead of, as heretofore, the exception, when an insect is sent to the Museum asattacking a crop, for it to be practicable to identify it without delay and to refer to what is known about it. In the matter of Lectures, a course on Forest Entomology was given in the Forest School in Dehra Dun, and it is hoped that the subject will be taken up hereafter by other agricultural bodies. In the matter of Miscellaneous insects, a large amount of information was collected from the reports and specimens which have been received from Government officers, as well as from private individuals in all parts of India, a large portion of it being furnished through the various directors of Land Records and Agriculture, from whom much assistarce has been received. It will be found embodied in the following Notes, which are necessarily very incomplete, though it is hoped that they will serve to bring to light points that were previously unrecorded in connec- tion with the insects that attack crops in India, In compiling these Notes care has been taken to indicate what is already known about each pest, so as to facilitate the investigations which it is hoped hereafter to institute locally; for the experience gained during the past few years, in the attempt that has been made in Calcutta to investigate the subject of the pests and other insects, which in some cases are not to be found nearer than the other side of India, shows clearly that itis useless to expect to obtain anything like complete information, unless facilities are afforded for visiting the localities where the insects are actually at work. From the Secretary to the Municipal Committee in Amritsar were received in October 1890 caterpillars of a Maize Stalk Borer. microlepidopterous moth which was said to have proved very destructive to millet and maize around Amritsar, none of the fields being free from it. The damage was variously estimated at from one-sixth to one-tenth of the crop. The caterpillars proved to be either identical with, or very closely allied to, the Sugarcane Borer (Diatrea saccharalis), described on pages 22 to 28 of Vol. I, No. 1 of these Notes. The maize stalks in which the caterpillars arrived having become somewhat dry, the caterpillars were transferred to pieces of sugarcane, into which they tunnelled eagerly. The sugarcane - was periodically changed, but as yet (3rd March 1891) the insects are still Wo. 1. J Miscellaneous Notes. 3 in the Jarval stage, showing that the insect passes the whole of the cold weather in the caterpillar stage within the stalks." In the case of Diatrea saccharals the eggs are deposited at the base of the leaf sheaths and the larvee tunnel into the stalks, the chrysalis being formed in the tunnels and several generations being gone through in the year ; and this no doubt will also be found to hold good when the insect attacks maize and sorghum, Intheir work on Meld and Garden Crops Messrs. Duthie and Fuller notice that in the case of maize this insect is known as Salat, while in the case of sugarcane it is known as Sz/az, and in the ease of sorghum as Bhaunri, the poisonous effect which Sorghum vulgare shoots sometimes have on cattle being attributed to it. 1 One moth emerged on 31st March, and four more on the 4th and 5th June, soon after heavy rain ; these all undoubtedly belong to the species which habitually attacks sugar- eane in India. In the North-Western Provinces, according to Duthie and Faller, maize is sown about May or June, and is reaped about the end of August; so the caterpillar pro- bably lies up in the maize stalks from the time of cutting until the plant springs up again, in the following June. In this case, on Dr. Riley’s estimate of thirty days for a generation, about two or three generations would be passed through during the growth of the plant, followed by a nine months’ hybernation. The evidence for this, however, is in- complete, and it is by no means impossible that intermediate generations may be passed through in sugarcane, which springs up considerably earlier in the year than maize. Indian Economie Entomology. f Vol. It. The Anjoumois grain moth in Kulu. NS ee S SS 5 SEN SSS Sh S 2 SSeS NOSIS) Ss = AN SS BSS . Ss NS SEAN SARS SROs SS ANS RS ENS ae SS Sees ee S : Nee Cr RSS SS SSNS > S RSS Ss ; ay oY TN WT = Oe He \ ME ' : f l i is oS ik : 4 Let nh me e ae al mie sae a6 es ty Ce Yi / | i NN Tih ff Mf | eae : = = = Gl (Gi, ee From the Revd. M. M. Carleton have been received American maize cobs grown in Kulu and infested by the larve of a small Tineid moth, which is said to swarm in the granaries where the grain is stored. The insect was evi- dently very closely allied to the Anjoumois Grain Moth (Gelechia cerealella, Oliv.) described in the United States Entomological Report, 1884, page 345, but, as this insect had not been previ- ously recorded from India, the specimens were submit- ted to Mr. L. O. Howard, Acting United States Ento- mologist, for favour of com- parison with the American form, In reply, Mr. Howard writes : ‘So far as I ean see, this moth is indistinguish- able from the Anjoumois Grain Moth of this country and Europe, and I have care- fully compared it with speci- mens upon which the illus- trations and article in the 1884 Report were based.” The Anjoumois Grain Moth has long been known in the granaries of Southern Kurope and of America. It is named after the old Prov- ince of Anjou in France, where it proved exceedingly destructive about a century ago. According to the ob- servations which have been made by Entomologists in Europe and of America, the first eggs are generally laid in grain standing in the Nowe) 7 Miscellaneous Notes. 5 fields. The eggs are laid on the ears, and the larvee tunnel into the grain. The second and _ subse- quent generations are Spent in granaries. Each caterpillar tunnels into a single grain, and remains concealed until just be- fore it transforms into achrysalis, It then cuts a small round valve-like door which is pushed open by the emerging moth, The chrysalis is enveloped in a slight silken cocoon inside the erain. The insect passes the winter in the caterpillar stage inside grain stored in granaries. The normal number of generations in the year is two, the first being spent in grain standing in the fields and the second in grain stored in granaries, but further generations sometimes occur under favourable circumstances. A temperature of 104°F., when sustained for two days, is said to have been found sufficiently high to destroy this insect. The Anjoumois moth therefore is essentially the inhabitant of temperate regions, and is little likely to prove destructive in the plains of India. (The figures show the eaterpillar, chrysalis, and imago of the insect, together with a maize cob attacked by it.) From the Sub- Divisional Officer of Kurigram, Rungpore, were received in November 1890 Noctues larve said to do great damage to paddy by cutting off the unripe ears from the stalks. ‘The insects were reared in the Museum, and in the early part of December produced moths which were found to belong to the species Leucania extranea. Caterpillars of the same species were received in the early part of December 1890 from the Collector of Rung- pore, who reported that immense mischief had been done by them in many parts of his district. Specimens of a Cut worm probably identical with Leucanta extranea were also received from the Manager of the Wards’ Estate, Rungpore, who reported that the extensive injury caused by these insects, in cutting the paddy, had ruined many of the tenants, who had been impoverished by previous floods and locusts. ‘The crops that were attacked were said to be nearly ready to be harvested, so that nothing could be recommended for use this year. It may be noticed, however, that the United States entomologists have recommended the destruction of Cut worms by strewing leaves poisoned with London purple over the fields, before the crop to be protected appears above the ground; while the Cut worms. § Indian Economie Entomology. [ Vol. I. fact that the insect passes most of its time in holes in the ground, makes insecticide dressings, such as gas-lime, wood-ashes, and soot, likely to tend to discourage the increase of the pest. Frequent stirring of the ground also has been recommended as tending to expose the caterpillars to the birds which feed upon them, and in Ceylon tea gardens, according to Mr. E. EK, Green, smooth conical holes sunk in the beds, when the earth is moist, have sometimes been found successful as traps. They should be made with a smoothly pointed stake pressed into the earth and rotated until the sides are smooth and firm, so that the caterpillars may be unable to climb out, when they fall into the holes in the course of their nightly wanderings. Through the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Bengal, were received in January 1890 specimens of Noctues larve, probably belong- ing to the species Agrotis suffusa, These insects had proved destructive to rabi crops both in Murshidabad and in Tipperah. In Murshidabad the Canoongoe of Jungipore reported that altogether he estimated the produce of 2,000 bigahs of land to have been destroyed ; the crops chiefly attacked were wheat, barley, gram, oats and peas, oil-seeds and some pulses appearing to be untouched; the insects attacked the very young plants only, the older plants escaping. The only remedy known was uri- gation, which caused the caterpillars to come to the surface, where they were exposed to the birds; irrigation, however, was practicable only in some cases. In the Sarail estate, Tipperah, the injury was chiefly con- fined to young tobacco and potato plants, mustard growing close by being untouched. From Mr. J. Cockburn were received in March 1890 notes and specimens illustrative of the Cut worms which had recently attacked poppy, gram, pea, linseed and mustard crops in Oudh, many of the cultivators complaining that their individual losses during the season from Cut worms, to crops other than poppy, amounted to from twenty to twenty- five rupees. In the case of poppy fields, both larvee and pupze were found in March, the pupe in the loose damp earth of the ridges between the poppy beds, where they staad erect in the ground from two to four inches below the surface. ‘I'he larvee were reared and proved to belong, in some cases, to the species Agrotis suffusa, and in others to the species Ochropleura flammatra, both belonging to the family Noctuide of the group Noctues. Moths of the species Agrotis suffusa were rarely seen, but the moths of Ochropleura flammatra crowded at night into the house, being apparently attracted by the light, and were largely destroyed by bats, In a subse- quent note Mr. Cockburn observes that moths of Agrotis suffusa again began to appear in the middle of September 1890. Noctues larve were received in January 1891 from Mr. R. H. Morris, of Mysore, who wrote :— “Another pest is doing very great damage to my estate. It is a grub or No. 1. ] Miscellaneous Nofes. 7 caterpillar (Agrotis suffusa, I think) well known to planters by the popular and signi- ficant name ‘Ringer,’ It eats the bark of the young coffee plants under two years old, in a ring right round the stem, sometimes just above, but generally just below the surface of the ground; the result being that in the dry weather the plant withers and dies, while in the wet weather apparently healthy and vigorous plants suddenly snap and fall over with the first gust of wind. In this latter case occasionally a good sucker is thrown out, which takes the place of the original broken stem. I believe I am well within the mark in saying that I have lost some fifteen thousand fine young plants during the past year, and some idea of their numbers may be gained by my informing you that I have destroyed by hand-picking, during the last two months only, over 1,10,000. These were brought in by the coolies in all stages of growth from little wee threads te big fat caterpillars an inch and a half long and as thick as a lead pencil. Iam sending you by post a few specimens which I hope may reach you alive, Hand-picking is not satisfactory, because in the first place, after a field has been searched, plants can be killed by the ‘ Ringer’ before the coolies get round to that field again ; secondly, many very young plants are killed, by the searchers having exposed their roots to the sun, as the grubs frequently retreat to a considerable depth in the day-time ; and, thirdly, it is an expensive way of getting rid of them, and is out of the question if labour be scarce. I amapplying kerosine emulsion to the stem close to, and just below, the ground, with a band of quicklime cn the ground right round, but an inch or two away from, the stem. Iam afraid, however, that the useful properties of both of the above are too evanescent for the purpose.” The caterpillars were reared in the Indian Museum and in the end of February there energed moths belonging to two very distinct species of Noctues, One of these is Agrotis segetum, and the second, being hitherto unrepresented in the Museum collection, has been sent to Europe for precise identification. The insect Agrotis segetum is well known in Europe as a most destructive Cut worm: some doubt, however, has been expressed as to its occurring in India. It may be useful, therefore, to notice that, be- sides the specimen from Mysore, the Indian Museum contains representa- tives of this species from Ceylon, and also from such localities along the Himalayas as Sikkim, Kulu, and Solon, In the Catalogue of the Moths of India also, by Cotes and Swinhoe, the insect is recorded from the Nilgiri Hills, Mhow, Poona, Quetta, Dubrai, Hyderabad (Sind), and Thundiani (Punjab). In England, according to Curtis (Farm Insects, 1860) Agrotis segetum passes through two or more generations in the year, hybernating in the larval stage and forming its chrysalis in the ground ; and very much the same habits, no doubt, obtain in India. In the end of January 1891 numerous caterpillars of a Noctues moth, belonging either to Agroéis suffusa or an allied species of Cut worm, were received through the Bengal Agricultural Department, both from the Jalpiguri district and also from the Santhal Pergunnas. In Jalpiguri the insect is known as Dora, and is said to attack the roots of tobacco, potato, and chilli plants, doing considerable injury. In the Santhal Pergunnas the insect is known as Nagara chandra, and is said to be found in large numbers in the wheat fields, generally from three to five inches below the surface of the ground. They are found chiefly in fields g Indian Heonomie Entomotogy. [ Vol. IT. that are comparatively damp, and do considerable damage to young plants, migrating from one plot to another. Rain and irrigation bring them to the surface, when they are greedily eaten by the birds. In February 1891 some Cut worms were forwarded by the Manager of Baboo A. N, Roy’s estate, Berhampore, with the information that they damaged mustard, potato, linseed, and tobaceo plants. The insects were thought likely to have belonged to some species of Leucania or Agrolis ; the material, however, was insufficient for precise identrfication, from the Superintendent of the Government Horticultural Garden in Lucknow were received in April 1890 speci- mens, in various stages of development, of the Palm Weevil, deseribed by Ridley in his report on the “ Destruetion of Cocoanut Palms by Beetles,” Gov- ernment Press Singapore, 1889, under the name of Rhynchophorus ferru ginens. In Lucknow. the insect was found to attack the stems of the date palm (Phenia dac- tylifera). The Superinte n d- ent writes :—= Palm Weevil. “The tree from which these were taken blew down afew days ago. At the base and for half the height of the stem it was quite decayed and full No.. 1. J Miscelianeous Notes. at of the refuse created by the larvee of the beetle. The upper part was fresh and the leaves green, and until the tree came down it was not noticed to be in bad condition. On examination, a number of other trees were found to be similarly affected, and will no doubt fade before long.” In October the same in. sect, both in the grub and Soop eran beetle stage, was found by Mr. Gollan in the stems of date palms in the Saharanpur Botanical Gardens. The trees killed by the weevils had been imported about four years previously from the Persian Gulf, and it was thought possible that the insect came with them, as neither the wild date nor any cther species of palm in Saharunpur had been similarly attacked. According to Mr. Ridley’s Report, this insect attacks both healthy and unhealthy trees. It generally lays its eggs at the base of the leaf stalk, though it also takes advantage of any mechanical injury to the stem, or of holesdrilled by the Rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes rhinoceros) for deposit- ing its eggs, The beetles fly chiefly at night and are often found con- cealed in the holes of the Rhznoceros beetle. As with other wood-boring insects, it is probably the case that unhealthy trees are more subject to attack than healthy ones. The only remedies that have been suggested are the obvious ones of destroying the beetles wherever they are found, and of burning trees that are badly infested to check the increase of the pest. Trees however that are not very badly attacked should be spared, as they are said to recover in many eases. (The figures show the beetle, with its grub, pupa, and cocoon, also side views of the head of the male and female to show the difference in the snout of the two sexes.) The minute moth which proved destructive to bales of country Determination of miscella. blanketing in the Calcutta Army Clothing neous pests. - Department in 1887 has been examined by 10 Indian Economie Entomology. [ Vol. U1. Lord Walsingham, who reports that it is a Setomorpha (Tineide), which he is unable to distinguish from the African species, Setomorpha rutella of Zeller. The common little case-making moth found everywhere on house walls in Calcutta has been identified by Lord Walsingham as Tinea pellionella, The moth which has proved destructive to raw wool in the Heonomie Section of the Indian Museum also appears to belong to this species. A minute moth referred to in Vol. I, No. 2, of these Nutes as destruc- tive to the lentil plant (Hrvwm fens) in Patna has been determined by Colonel Swinhoe as Laphygma exigua, Guer. (family,—Apamiude). The Microlepidopterous insect whose larvee were found by Mr. W. J. Simmons boring into the stone of mango fruit in Caleutta, and which forms its pupa case in the ground, has been examined by Colonel Swinhoe, who reports that it is a new species belonging to a new genus allied to Maruca (Pyrales, Margaronidz). The moth whose larva was found, by Dr. Prain feeding on orna- mental vat plants in the Botanical Gardens in Calcutta, in January, has been identified by Colonel Swinhoe as Lewcania extranea = separata (Noctues, Leucaniide) ; wide Catalogue of the Moths of India, No. 1674. An Acridid received on 25th February 1889 from the Collector of Murshidabad as destructive to crops in that district (w7de page 107 of Vol. I of these Notes) has been determined by Dr. Henri de Saussure as a variety of Acridium succinctum, St. Some Acrididew mentioned in Vol. I, No. 1, of these Notes, where they were said to be known as Bhunga or Ankphutta, and to defoliate sugarcane in Cawnpore, have’ been determined by Dr. Henri de Saussure as belonging to the species Oedalus marmoratus of Linnzeus, and Peeilocera Aieroglyphica of Klug. A dipterous insect of the Family Tabanide, forwarded by Mr. J. Cleghorn as attacking cattle in Baluchistan, has been determined by Mons. J. M. F. Bigot as belonging te the species Chrysopis dispar, Fabr., which is said to be common throughout Southern Asia, No. 1. J Miscellaneous Notes, 11 In February 1890 were received from the Deputy Conservator of Forests, Kamrup, Assam, specimens of IEG TSE | HOY. a boring insect which has proved de- ee ay structive to young teak trees in the Kulsi plantation, The insects were found to be larve of a Cerambycid beetle, probably identical with the species of Stromatium previously report- ed as injurious in this locality. An imago also found in the Mu- seum, marked “ Kulsi Teak Borer,” and probably the insect described in a note by Mr, A. G. Mein, which appeared in the Indian Forester in 1879, has been identified by Dr. Lameere as Stroma- tium asperulum, White. According to the account given by Mr. Mein in 1879, the insect had been noticed since 1873. It chiefly attacks trees that are in their first or second year’s growth, though trees five and six years old are also attacked. The presence of the borer is usually marked by a swel-_ ling in the stem near the ground, and below this swelling can often be seen a small puncture from which excrement of the grub protrudes. This puncture, no doubt, represents the tunnel formed by the young larva in boring its way into the wood, from the-spot where the egg was previously laid by the mother beetle in the bark. After a hot day the affected trees tend to have a faded appearance, but this symptom is not always present, and some trees remain apparently healthy until the larva has tunnelled so far into them that they snap off with the wind. The swelling, which appears where the borer is at work, is thought to be due to the efforts made by the tree to repair the damage, and to strengthen the stem where it is being weakened. These efforts appear in many instances to be successful, for the trees often recover. In 1877 the Forest Officer of Gauhati collected some affected stems and reared the insect. He obtained beetles in the end of June from logs which in March had con- tained only larve. But nothing further is known of the life history of the insect, beyond the fact that the larve are to be found in young teak ieee Indian Keonomice Entomology. feViol. alle stems all the year round, so that the insect probably takes at least two years to pass through its various stages. In the Kulsi teak plantation the practice that was adopted in !879 was to coppice all young trees that were badly attacked, and to encourage the growth of the strongest shoot from the stool to form a new tree by removing all other shoots as fast as they appeared. It was found best to leave older and more vigcrous trees alone, provided they showed no signs of fading, as in many cases they recovered, With the exception of the single specimen from the Kulsi teak plan- tation, the Indian Museum collection contains specimens of Stromatium asperulum from the Malay Peninsula only, Stromatium barbatum being the common Indian form. An application, therefore, was made to the Forest Officer of Kulsi for further specimens of the beetle which had been injuring the teak trees. In reply, specimens were forwarded of no less than three very distinct species of Cerambycide, viz. Stroma- tinum barbatum, Neoceramby# holosericeus, Agosoma lacertosum, the species Stromatium asperulum not being represented. ‘Teak logs said to contain the grubs were also furnished, and an attempt is being made to rear the beetle from them in Calcutta, as it will be interesting to learn the part played by the different species, the probabilities being that most of the damage is due to some one kind of insect, (The figures show the beetle Stromatium asperulum, with some of the larve, furnished by the Deputy Conservator, Kamrup.) The small Psychid, the cone-like cases of whose caterpillars are com- monly to be found upon rose bushes, Lager- stramia indica bushes, and other ornamental shrubs in Calcutta gardens, has been determined by Mr. F. Moore, who Lagerstreemia Psychid. writes:—“ This moth and its ease are identical with a species of Psychide which I have in my collection under the MS. name of Babula grotei, the type speci- men of which was reared at Ali- pur by the late Arthor Grote from eases found upon the Babul.” The following description of the species has been kindly furnished by Mr. Moore :— “Babula grofei,—upper and under sides uniformly pale cupreous brown, wings sparsely covered with short, very slender, laxly disposed, hair-like scales; ciliz long, dense ; expanse of wings 43th of an inch. AHabitat,—Calcutta, Type in collectios of F. Moore.” No. 1. ] Miscellaneous Notes. tes The insect does a good deal of damage in Calcutta gardens as a de- foliator. The eges are probably laid by the female inside her case. The young caterpillars at first thatch themselves with little rough bits of leaf, eradually adding to the case thus constructed and making it bigger and neater as they grow older. When full fed, they spin themselves up into their cases, which they suspend from some convenient branch by silken threads. They then turn themselves round inside the case, so that the head rests where the tail has previously been. In this position, inside the case, the caterpillar shuffles off its larval skin and becomes a chrysalis, the male moth finally emerging from what was previously the tail end of the caterpillar’s case, and generally leaving part of the chrysalis skin protruding from the case, as shown in the figure. The male is the active little moth depicted in the figure; the female has not yet been observed, but is likely to be a wingless grub-like animal which passes the whole of her life inside the ease. - London purple wash was tried for destroying this insect upon ornamental shrubs in Calcutta; the results, however, were not satisfactory, though it is only fair to add that the wash was mixed and applied by an unskilled native mali, so the fault may have lain with him, and not with the insecticide. The imme- _ diate result of applying the wash was to kill the leaves, so that the shrubs consisted for some time of nothing but apparently dry twigs, But, though the leaves were killed, it was found that many of the caterpillars spun themselves up inside their cases on the bare twigs and remained alive during the whole time the shrubs were without leaves, the conse- quence being that when fresh leaves appeared the caterpillars descended upon them and began eating them up as industriously as before. (The figure shows the male moth, together with the pupa case from which it emerged), In January 1890 Mr. T, T. Leonard reported injury to apple trees . in Bangalore by the aphid Schizoneura lani- gera. An account of this insect is given on page 51. Kerosene emulsion has proved useful in some cases in keeping this insect in check, but in many cases the destruction of infested trees has appeared to be the only effectual means of dealing with the pest. The life history of the insect has not yet been observed in India, but is no doubt very much the same as what obtains in Europe. In Europe, according to the observations of Lichtenstein, as recorded in the Ento- ‘mologists’ Monthly Magazine, 1878, page 134, a winged sexless female begets the wingless male and female which do not feed but produce the winter egg, which develops in the spring into the wingless female, These wingless females settle down, and, after moulting a number of times, form the gall, and reproduce themselves asexually ; their offspring again, which are also wingless, migrate to some fresh spot and then settle themselves Apple Scale in Bangalore. 14 Indian Economic Entomology. [ Wolk ile down and moult, as their mother did before them. This asexual repro- duction of wingless females goes on through a number of generaticns until the autumn, when winged asexual females are produced. These winged asexual females produce the wingless sexual form, from which, after copulation, the single winter egg is produced. The root and branch inhabiting forms belong to one and the same species. The galls on both roots and branches are morbid growths of the vegetable tissues, due to the irritation set up by the wingless females in feeding upon the plant. The downy excretion with which these females are covered serves to a great extent to protect them from the weather. Honey tubes are absent, so the insect is not protected by ants. In Peshin, Baluchistan, according to Mr. J. Cleghorn, the poplar Baluchistan Poplar Borer. No. 1. ] Miscetlaneous Notes. 15 tree, which constitutes the most generally useful wood of the country, suffers severely from the attack of a boring insect. This insect proves to be the caterpillar of an Myerid moth, allied to the species which attacks poplar trees in England ; it has been kindly examined by Mr. F. Moore, who determines it as a new species of Sphecia, which he describes below as Sphecia ommatieformis, The poplar trees are grown from cuttings and when about two years old they are almost invariably attacked by the caterpillar, which bores through the trunk and riddles it in all directions close to the ground, generally killing off the stem before it gets to be five years old, but leaving the roots intact, so that fresh shoots are made from the ground, ‘These shoots, having well established roots to support them, generally manage to survive the attack of the insect and to repair the damage by throwing fresh wood around the injured portion. ‘The loss therefore that is occasioned by the insect, chiefly consists in the throwing back of the growth of the young trees by two or three years. Now, as the tree is a fast-growing one, this loss is very considerable, two-year old trees being often as much as fourteen feet high, with trunks two and a half inches in diameter, when they are killed down by the pest. Out of thirty-five trees, planted out five years previously, Mr. Cleghorn found remaining eight of the original trees which had survived the attack of the insect, fifteen trees, each apparently from three to four years old, and twelve trees each one to two years old, all growing upon the original roots and derived from the shoots sent up after the original stems had been destroyed by the insect. With regard to the life history of the insect, from May to September, only caterpillars could be found in the burrows in the trunks, but in September chrysalids began to be formed in cocoons made of chips and situated near the entrances of the burrows, and moths appeared in October. The eggs therefore are probably laid in the bark in the early part of the cold weather, as the coldness of the Peshin winter makes it unlikely that the moths could hybernate, though the amount of fatty matter found in the body of the moth makes its hyber- nation in this stage by no means impossible. Whether, however, the moth lays its eggs soon after it emerges in the autumn, or hybernates and lays them in the spring, the cycle of the existence of the insect probably extends through one year. The moth, which has been reared in the Indian Museum from stumps forwarded by Mr. Cleghorn from Baluchistan, is a small clear winged figeriid, and so closely resembles the wasp Vespa ciucta in appearance as to be easily mistaken for it when looked at superficially ; and this likeness, as in the case of other mimicking insects, no doubt affords the moth a considerable degree of immunity from the attack of the birds which would otherwise feed upon it, Vespa cincta, with its powerful sting, not being an insect to be molested with impunity. (The figures show the 16 Indian Economie Entomology. Violas caterpillar, pupal case and moth of Sphecia ommatiaformis, also a section of the tunnel containing the cocoon of chips in which the pupa is formed.) In addition to the Aigeriid caterpillars a few Buprestid larvee were forwarded by Mr. Cleghorn as found boring into the poplar trees, one of them being also received from the Deputy Conservator of the Forest Circle, Quetta. Nothing has been ascertained on the subject of the habits of this insect, and specimens of the beetle into which the larve transform must be procured before its identification can be determined. It is not expected, however, that it will be found to play more than a subordinate part in injuring the poplar trees. The description kindly futnlaied by Mr. F. Moore of the Mgernd moth is as follows :— * Spheeia ommatieformis, n. sp., Moore. Male.—‘ Head above and thorax chestnut-red ; face yellowish, sides whitish ; thorax with a prominent gamboge-yellow frontal collar; abdomen chestnut red, each segment with an anterior pale yellow band ; second and third joints of palpi gamboge- yellow, the basal joint being bright chestnut-red; legs beneath dark chrome-yellow, legs above chestnut-red and darkest on the tips of the tibia. Wings semi-transparent, very pale reddish-ochreous; costal edge, the veins, and cilize chestnut-brown ; antennz chestnut-red. Expanse of wings 13 inch. Habitat,—Baluchistan.” This species is allied to 8. dasypodiformis, Walker (Catal. Lep. Brit. Mus. VIII, page 12).” The Toon Twig Borer, Magiria robusta (Microlepidoptera), which was described on page 85 of Vol. I of these Wotes as injurious to toon trees in Ceylon, has been observed during the past two years as extremely injurious to the toon trees which line the roads in Dehra Dun. The caterpillar mines the succulent twigs, constantly destroying the leading shoot, and causing - adventitious shoots to be given out on all sides. This goes on year after year, the leading shoot being constantly destroyed, and the trees becom- ing a mass of stunted branches with no well defined trunk above a few feet from the ground. The insect is chiefly found in young trees, but its work is only too apparent in the majority of the old trees, very few of which have anything approaching a well-grown trunk. Nothing has yet been recorded of the life history of the insect beyond the fact that in Ceylon moths were reared in October from larve which became full fed and formed their chrysalids inside the twigs in the latter part of September. The only measure which has been suggested for keeping the insect in check has been the cutting off and burning of the affected shoots ; the number of trees, however, which are affected in Dehra Dun, makes any such treatment quite out of the question. Toon Twig Borer. Node Miscellaneous Notes. 17 From Mr. Marshall Woodrow, of Poona, were received in October 1590 specimens of a coccid said to attack the Suparee nut palm . (Areca catechu) in the Janjira State, on the eoast, about 80 miles south of Bom- bay, the outturn of dress- ed beetle nuts having been reduced by the ravages of the pest, from 10 lbs. per tree to 1 lb. per tree. The trees Areca Palm Coceid, in the Konkan. were said to have suffer- ed for the last twanty- five years from this insect, which has become spe- elally troublesome during the past six or seven years. The specimens were submitted to Mr. W. Maskell, who has kindly furnished the following note on the identifications of the species :—= “The insect is, as regards the female, so much like Chionaspis aspidistre, Signoret, that I may consider it identical with that species. he female puparium agrees in its yellow colour and pyriform shape ; the second pellicle is rather large ; and the enclosed insect has the remarkably prominent abdominal segments, as shown in the enclosed rough sketch, characteristic of CO. aspidistre. As far as I can make out, Aspidistra is a genus of half a dozen species of ornamental plants in China and Japan; and it seems quite likely that (supposing you to have none of the genus in India) this scale may have other food plants, of which one would be Areca catechu. I could not, amongst the numerous specimens you sent me, discover any male puparias In C. aspidistre these would be small, white, narrow and carinated. In the absence of the perfect certainty which these puparia would give us I think my diagnosis of the female is probably correct.” With regard to remedies, Mr. Woodrow recommended the people to fire the badly-affected trees and to wash those which were but slightly attacked with an emulsion made in the proportion of one gallon of water, one ounce of sulphate of copper, one ounce of kerosine oil, and a handful of cowdune, to be applied three times at intervals of a few days, so as to destroy the young as fast as they emerged. It may also be noticed that, as the experience of entomologists in the United States has shown that kerosine and soap emulsion is the best application for destroying Scale insects of all kinds, recource might be had to it, if the treatment suggested by Mr. Woodrow should prove insufficient. Full directions for the preparation of kerosine and soap emulsion will be found in earlier numbers of these Woées. 18 Indian Economic Entomology. [ Vol. li. From the Calcutta Agri-Horticultural Society were received, in the early part of July 1890, blighted indigo shoots, with the information that, according to an estimate made by Messrs. Jardine, Skinner & Co., the indigo crop Indigo blight. in Bengal has been reduced hy about one-third this season, the loss, which amounts to several lakhs of rupees, being ascribed to blight. The indigo shoots were found to be covered with minute black scales, each containing a partially developed homopterous insect, which was at first supposed to be one of the Aphide, but which has since been described by Mr. G. B. Buckton as the pupa of a new species of Psyllidz, which he names Psy//a «sites, The description kindly furnished by Mr. Buckton is as follows :—= Psylla isitis, nov. sp. “ Pupa.—Colour shining yellow with the edges of the abdominal somatic rings rich brown. Vertex bristly, eyes angularly facetted, large and red. Rostrum short and stout, proceeding from between the eyes, and lying between the fore coxe. Pronotum corrugated and tuberculose. Antenna with eight joints, the two basal joints stout and somewhat globose ; the third and eighth joints the longest. Wing-cases double, but not separate. Abdomen globose, the somata edged with rich brown, and marked with stigmata. Tarsus obscurely two-jointed, ending with one claw and two bristles. The larval form is smaller than the pupal, and has less developed antennz and feet. Size 0°05 X 0°08 of inch.” No. ie] Miscellaneous Notes. 19 In September 1890 were received through the Agricultural Departe ment of Bombay, carterpillars of a microlepidopterous insect reported by Padi Borer in Thana. the Collector of Thana to have done a con- siderable amount of damage to paddy during the past two years in his district. The specimens were insufficient for absolute determination, but were either identical with, or very closely allied to, the Rice Stalk Borer(€hilo oryzeetlus) of the United States. A very similar insect has been described as destructive to paddy in Perak, though it has not yet been ascertain- ed whether the species found in Perak is identical with that which occurs in the United States. With regard to remedies, the observations of Mr. Howard inthe United States, and of Mr. Wray in Perak, have shown that the insect passes the time between the harvest of one year, and the springing up of the crop of the following year, in the se!f-sown paddy, and perhaps also in the stems of large grasses, which spring up in and around the paddy fields. The careful destruction therefore of these by burning has been thought to be the most promising means of reducing the numbers of the pest. According to Mr. Wray, eggs are laid in batches at the base of the leaves, 600 eggs being sometimes laid by one female. These eggs hatch a few days after they are laid, and the caterpillar at first feeds on the leaves, but after a short time it bores its way into the inside of the stem, where it passes the rest of its caterpillar existence. The chrysalis is formed either in the leaf stalk or inside the stem. A generation takes about two months; so, there are several generations in the course of the year. (The figure shows the caterpillar, natural size and enlarged, together with a piece of rice straw tunnelled by it.) c2 20 Indian Economie Entomology. [ Vol. If. In December 1890 were received, from the Overseer of the Government Lablak Plume Moth. t Farm, Nagpur, amongst other pests, pods of Dolichos lablab tunnelled by the larvee of a minute Plume moth. The caterpillars were reared in the Museum and the moths were forwarded to Lord Walsing- ham, who identi- fied them as be- ie longing to the species Sphenarches caffer, of Zeller ?. Lord Walsingham gives the synonymy of this species as follows :— 1 Lord Walsingham notes that a pupa case, sent to him from West Africa, corresponds precisely with the figure made by the Indian Museum artist from a Nagpur specimen, and that the only difference he has observed between the moths from Nagpur and those that have been sent to him from Africa, consists in the Nagpur specimens having the tooth of dark scales, on the hind margin of the third lobe of the hind wings, a very little further removed from the apex, even this slight difference not holding good throughout a series from Burma. Should it turn out, however, that there are twospecies, then the name &. caffer, of Zeller, will belong to the African form. No: 2] Miscellaneous Notes. 21 “ Spuenarcues, Meyr. “ § 2 carrer, Z. Pterophorus caffer, Z.—Hand. Kong. Svensk. Vet-AK., 1852, 118. Oxyptilus caffer, Z.—Lin. Ent., VI, 348-49 (1852) ; Wkr. Cat. Lep. Ins. B-M. XXX, 934 (1864); Wlsm., Tr. Ent. Soc, 188], 279; Meyr., Tr. Ent. Soc., 1887, 268. * Sphenarches caffer, Meyr.—Tr. Ent. Soc., 1887, 268. “= Oxyptilus anisodactylus, Wky.—Cat. Lep. Ins. B.—M. XXX, 934.3853 (1864) ; Moore, Lep. Ceyl., III, 528 (1887); Meyr., Tr. Ent, Soc., 1887, 268. (Type @ 2 B-M.) “= Oryptilus walkeri, W\sm.—Ty. Ent. Soc., 1881, “279; Meyr., Tr. Ent. Soc,, 1887, 268. (Type, Cape Town Mus.) “* = Sphenarches synophrys, Meyr.—Tr. Ent. Soe., 1886, 17 ; 1887, 268. (Type, ¢ Mus. Meyr.) “ Larva—on “ Calabash” (West Africa): in “ Lablab ” pods (India). * Imago—March (N.-8.-W.) . * Hab, —Australia (N.-S.-W.), New Hebrides, Tonga Is. Africa (Natal, Caffraria, Gambia, Hast Africa). Asia (India, Ceylon, Burma, Japan). (Type, ¢, Stockholm Mus.) ”’ From Mr, L. Wray, Jr., Curator of the Perak Museum, were received Perak Pomelo Moth. in October 1890 specimens of the moth which he pve eee has found destructive to pomeloes, limes, and lemons in Perak. The specimens were for- warded to Mr, F. Moore, who identified them as belonging to anew species of Phy- citide which he de- scribes as Nephopteryx sagittiferella, The following is his de- scription :— “ Nephopteryx sagittiferella, nov. sp., Moore. “Closely allied to NV. physostigmalis, Walker, described in the Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh for 1869, the larva of which is stated to feed upon the ‘ Esere’ or ‘Ordeal Bean’ of Old Calabar. “Fore wing slightly broader, paler ferruginous, brown, the costal area and between the outer veins silvery-grey ; on the discal area is a transverse curved series of elongated very acute sagittate points, which are blackish and with a greyish outer line ; at the end of the outer veins is a prominent blackish pointed-dot. Hind wing also broader, pale, pinkish cinereous, silvery-grey along the anterior border (not brown, as in IV. physostigmalis) ; veins externally, and the marginal and cilial line, brown. 99 Indian Heonomie Entomology. [ Vol. IL, Body dark cinereous brown ; head, thorax, palpi, antenna, fore and middle legs ferru- ginous brown ; hind legs pale cinereous brown. * Expanse of wings 6 1, 2? lg inch. Aabitat.—Perak.” The following is Mr. Wray’s summary of his report upon the sub- ject :— “ At the request of the British Resident of Perak, I made an enquiry into the cause of the destruction of all the pomelo fruit grown in the Residency gardens at Kwala Kangsa, and have ascertained, from actual observations and breeding experiments, that it is primarily to the attacks of the caterpillars of a small moth that the loss ts due. ‘The life-history of this insect is, as far as I have been able to observe it, as follows :— “The eggs are laid singly and in small irregular patches on the lower side of the fruit, and when they hatch out, the young caterpillars eat their way into the fruit, making a number of minute holes through the rind, generally over an area of about the size of ashilling. The pith underthis patch is riddled with holes, and gum is often subsequently found, both in the cavities of the rind, and also on the outside of the fruit. -“ As the caterpillars increase in size, they eat their way through and through the fruit, and make holes through the rind to eject refuse, and also possibly to obtain air. To these holes uneatable portions of the fruit and fecal pellets are carried by the caterpillars and ejected. : “The caterpillars, which are active, quick-moving insects, jump and twist when touched, and, for caterpillars, can progress with considerable speed. On arriving at maturity they leave the fruit, and, descending to the ground bury themselves in the earth to undergo the change into the pupa state; the caterpillars make in the earth cells of agglutinated earth, lined with white silk; they measure 0°7 inch in length, O'4 ineh in breadth, and 0°3 inch in depth. “On the twellth day after quitting the fru:t, the transformation is complete, and the moth forces its way through the cell and up out of the earth, “The perfect insect is about an inch across the wings, and of a warm brown colour, with shadings of silvery grey. In the day-time it is very quiet and sits usually on the earth of the breeding cages, the head and forepart of the body being much raised, and the antenne laid back on the wings, which are closed and folded closely over the body. When in this position, it is a very inconspicuous object, both as regards colour and form. At night it seems to be lively and is possessed of fairly good powers of flight. “The first four moths I raised all died in a little over two days, and though they consisted of two of each sex, no eggs were laid. On dissection of the females I found the eggs to be immature and few in number, and deduced from their state that the insect does not deposit its eggs until some days after leaving the chrysalis and that during that time it needs food to enable it to perpetuate its species. * With the next brood of moths I put various fruits, but none of these seemed to their taste, for, though they lived for five or six days, and laid a few eggs, none of these proved fertile. In all I raised over thirty of these insects without getting one egg that would hatch. “Tt seems quite possible that, as the fruit on which they feed during the caterpillar stage is seasonal and that there are periods of months at a time during which no food is available that the moths are long-lived, and until their natural food during the imago portion of their lives is discovered, attempts at artificial breeding will be un- successful, **Fgg.—Oval, dirty white, translucent, with fine raised, irregular network cove ring No. 1. 2 Miscellaneous Notes, 93 surface. Length ‘04 inch, and breadth ‘025 inch. When laid, they take the form of flattened ovals, with the lower side following the shape of the object on which they are laid, and the upper surface convex. * Larva.—General colour bluish-eveen, tinted above with pinkish bronze. The four anterior segments being less tinted than the remainder; the young are aimost wholly of a rather dull pink. Length of adult °86 inch, breadth °15 inch. “ Pupa.—General colour warm brown, darkening towards the tail, wing sheaths dull green for the first few days, after which they become dark brown. A dark me- dian line from tail to thorax on the dorsal aspect. Length °5 inch, breadth *17 inch, “The caterpillar of the pomelo moth is able to pierce uninjured the natural defences of the fruit.’ Disregarding both the pungent oil of the rind, and the thick layer of pith beneath it, it reaches tbe cellular portion of the fruit, which it tunnels through and through in all directions, passing through the seeds if they happen to be in its line, but apparently not seexing them out. Fecal matter is deposited in the burrows, and decomposition as a consequence quickly sets in on its walls. Under the microscope the fluid contents of any cell which has had its containing sac broken by the passage of the caterpillar is seen to be teeming with bacterial life of many kinds. Carefully detaching a sac adjoining one that had been broken by a caterpillar, but which was in itself quite perfect, and microscopically examining its contained fluid, there appeared many bacteria. The most frequent form being masses of cocci, many other forms were present, but in smaller numbers. “An oval saccharomyces was very plentiful in the injured cells, and is the probable cause of the acid fermentation which takes place in them. It was not present in the adjoining unbroken ones. Presumably the smaller forms only can pass from cell to cell through the connecting vessels. “It is probably to this secondary attack of micro-organisms that the premature ripening and falling of the fruit may be ascribed, more than to the actual injury done by the caterpillars themselves; other insects taking advantage of the holes made by the caterpillars through the rind can enter the fruit and lay their eggs in the pith and pulp, with the result that large rotten patches spread from the entrance and exit holes. These insects are two or three species of flies, and a small brown beetle, all of which are attracted by any decaying fruit. “The life-history of the pomelo moth shows that there is only one period of its existence when there is any hope of destroying it in useful numbers, and that is when it is in the caterpillar stage inside the fruit. The eggs are small, and so like the oil cells on which they are laid that without a lens it is difficult to see them; in the pupa state, which is passed beneath the ground, they are well out of reach, and in the per- fect stage, being strictly nocturnal and very inconspicuous, there would be little chance of doing any good. “The only suggestion that I can make is to destroy all fruit that is seen to be in- habited by the caterpillars, or which falls from the trees. The destruction of the fruit which falls is of importance, not only as a means of killing the insects contained in it, but also as preventing its serving for the rearing of another brood. * As the eggs seem to be laid only on the fruit itself, it would appear that if the young fruit is put into bags, that they would have a chance of arriving at maturity. “ T am inclined to think that tne wild species of Citrus, known by the native name of Limau kerbau, and which is apparently nearly allied to the pomelo, Citrus de- cumuana, is the natural food of these caterpillars, as it is a fairly common tree in the jungles of some parts of Perak. “ Since writing the above, bagging the fruit in common thin white cloth has been tried. in the Government gardens, with complete success. ® Quite recently I have found that the common limes, and also European lemons 5A Indian Economie Entomology. fe Vol lie are attacked, and large numbers of them destroyed by the same insect. The moth bred from them is indistinguishable from those bred from pomeloes. “ Nothing but the destruction of all infected fruit would be of any use in mitigat- ing the ravages of the pest in the case of limes and lemons.” The cosmopolitan insect Heliothis armigera, which has been previously referred to in these Notes as attacking opium, cotton, and lezuminous plants, has recently been noticed in Ceylon, where, aceording to Mr. E. E. Green, it feeds upon the fruit of the Cape gooseberry, Phipalis (%) peruviana, often com- pletely destroying the crop. It remains concealed within the persistent ealyx that envelops the fruit, and devours the succulent berry. Cater- pillars also, which are thought to belong to this species, though the material has becn insufficient for precise identification, have been received, in most cases accompanied with a small percentage of larve of other moths, from the following :—(1) The Officiating Collector of Backer- -gunge, who reported that in the Patuakhali Sub-division, where the in- sect is known as “eda, the injury done to rice in December 1890 had amounted to an average of about one anna in the rupee. (2) The Collector of Khulna, who reported in February in 1891 that the insect had proved injurious to paddy in his district. (3) The Deputy Com- missioner of Sambalpur, Central Provinces, who reported that the insect Heliothis armigera. was known locally as harnipok, and attacked rice: it was said to be comparatively scarce just then, though in previous years it had been numerous enough to damage the crop, (4) The Commissioner of Excise in Bengal, who reported in February 1891 that the insect had been damaging the hemp plant (Connabis indica). According to the observations which have elsewhere been made upon this insect, the larvee feed in the open upon the leaves and pods of various plants, several generations being passed through in the course of the year. The pupe seem in most cases to be formed in the ground, the only exception being when they attack poppy capsules, in which case (according to the observations of Mr. Scott) the pupe are formed within the capsules. Jn the United States the insect has been found in most cases to hybernate in the pupa stage, though a few of the moths which emerge late in the autumn are also thought to survive the winter. Specimens, in all stages of development, of the fly which attacks - melons in Baluchistan, have been received from Mr. J. Cleghorn, who has written an interesting paper upon the subject. The specimens were forwarded_to Mons. J. M. F. Bigot, who kindly examined and deseribed the insect as Baluchistan Melon Fly. Nose Miscellaneous Notes. 25 Carpomyia parctalina, a new species which belongs to the group of Mus- cide distinguished by Rondani as Tep/ritoidi, and is hence ailied to Tephritis onopordinus, Fabr., which, according to Miss Ormerod, mines the leaves of celery and parsnips in Europe. Mons. Bigot’s description of the species will be found on page 50. According to Mr, Cleghorn’s observations, which were made in Peshin (5,000 feet), the Baluchistan Melon Fly hybernates as a pupa from Sep- tember, and in some eases from July, until April, two or more genera- tions being gone through in the summer months, the later broods being especially numerous and destructive, The insect passes about four days in the egg stage, fourteen days in the grub stage, thirteen days in the pupa stage, and twenty days as an imago: its cycle of exis- tence therefore consists of something over a month. The egg is deposit- ed in the rind, several eves being often laid in a single hole. The Coe laying is chiefly done in the morning, the fruit selected for oviposition being usually very young, sometimes with flowers still attached. The egos hatch about four days after they are laid and the grubs work their way towards the seed pulp. The passage grows together behind them as they advance, so that a few days after the egg is laid, the hole in the rind closes up and the tunnel disappears, leaving no sign of attack. The maggot therefore cannot obtain air from the exterior, and it is supposed that it breathes the air contained in the seed cavity. ‘This view appears to receive confirmation from Mr, Cleghorn’s observation that in cucumbers and vegetable marrows, in which there is little or no seed eavity, the young grubs remain near to the original hole in the rind, eating out a cavity in the pulp, and only making their way towards the seeds when they have eaten out so large a quantity of the pulp that there is no chance of the passage filling up behind them. When about a fortnight old the maggot becomes full fed; it is then much like a small grain of rice in general appearance, and has its mouth armed with a pair of hooked mandibles and its posterior end provided with the usual paired breathing organs. When full fed, the maggot cuts its way out of the melon and pupates in the ground, where, in the summer time, it remains about a fortnight before emerging as a fly, and where the autumn brood hybernates until the spring. The life of the fly itself is a brief one, about twenty days being the longest that it has been found to live, even when plentifully supplied with melon pulp upon which it feeds, When a melon contains numerous grubs, it becomes stunted and does not develop, but when not more than five or six grubs are present, growth does not seem to be interfered with, unless indeed the grubs cut their way out, in which case the fruit decays. Jn the case of well-grown fruit, which is full of juice, the grub always cuts its way out of the upper portion,—apparently in order to avoid being choked by the juice,—the practice therefore of constantly turning the fruit in the sun to ripen it 26 Indian Economie Entomology. Viol al: prevents the emergence of the grub and saves the fruit from rotting. The Melon Fly does considerable injury to the melon crop, especially to- wards the end of the summer, when the later generations of grubs begin to emerge. Mr. Cleghorn recommends enclosing the fruit in muslin bags, which he endeavours to show would repay their cost, many times over, in increased production of melons. He is of opinion that hard winters kill the majority of the hybernating pups, so that it is after mild winters that the insect is chiefly abundant. The following reports have been kindly furnished by Messrs. Green, Kerosine emulsion on Coffee Crow and Shelley, who have experimented Scale insects. upon their Ceylon coffee estates with a foree pump, furnished by Messrs. Woodin & Little of San Francisco for applying kerosine emulsion for the destruction of scale insects : —— “Tam now able to report, from personal experience, upon your pump and the kerosine emulsion treatment for ‘green-bug.’ I find that the cost is not excessive, varying from about R20 to R30 per acre according te circumstances (nature of land, water-supply, &c.); but I am not satisfied with the results. I find that with the greatest care it is impossible to thoroughly saturate the tree withthe mixture, and that a very large percentage of the insects escape. Even some of those that were fully exposed to the spray were afterwards found to have survived the treatment, although the leaves on which they were fixed had been partially scorched by the action of the kerosine. Where the insects were actually killed, the young larve were after- wards seen to be crawling in numbers from beneath the dead bodies of their parents, I made the emulsion according to the formula given in Hubbard’s Insects affecting the Orange, and diluted it before using in the proportion of one part emulsion to nine parts cold water, as recommended in the same work. Particulars of cost. To spray 1 acre— 250 gallons diluted mixture = 25 gallons of the emul- sion = 16% gallons kerosine, costing at local rates 9 R16°00 Four pounds, common soap . i 4 5 2 », 0°80 Application, 10 men @ °37 cts. 5 ;° 3 . 6 BW) Total cost per acre 6 55 20°50 “This experiment was made under the most favourable conditions, the land being comparatively level, and there being an abundant supply of water to hand. This particular form of pump is not the most convenient for the work. The cost of appli- cation would be much less if a Vermorel knap-sack pump were used. The principal faults of the present pump are :—(1) The bucket and pump being separate, it requires two men to work and transport the machine. (2) The distributing hose is not long enough, and at its junction with the pump should be guarded with a Bodifield hose~ protector to prevent kinking. Of the nozzles, the one with adjustable cap is the most convenient. It gives as good a spray as the cyclone nozzle, and is more readily cleared than the latter. But, unless itcan be shown that the treatment is really fatal to the bug (of which I am not assured), it matters little what form of pump is used. “I have unfortunately been unable to find any one willing to co-operate with me No. 1. | Miscellaneous Notes. Q7 in testing this treatment. Mr. W. Jackson and others to whom I have applied say that they would have no time to attend to the work, and also that they are not now so much troubled with the pest. Mr. Shelley seems to have confined his experiments to young plants in nurseries.” —(H. E. Green.) “ At the request of Mr. EK. E. Green I am returning you a force pump which you had lent him for the purpose of spraying bug-infested coffee, and which he at my request sent on to me to try some experiments in the same way. I regret to say that the emulsion of kerosine oil was not satisfactory, and the insect seemed to get on the trees almost at once after the application. Pure kerosine seems to have some influence in destroying the bug, butit at the same time rots the skin of the young coffee berries, so that it cannot be used while the crop is on the trees, which in some districts here is practically all the year round. I fear it is useless trying to contend with this pest on a large scale and that we have to look forward to the complete extinction of coffee in this island ere long.” —(J. G. Crow.) “It has been an unfavourable season for trying the pump, as we have had hardly any bug to speak of ; and what we have had has been on isolated trees here and there ; so I am quite unable to say anything as tocost. But I have been much pleased at the result of the emulsion applied with the pump, and all I can say is that under ordinary circumstances, such as not too steep a lay of land, and with water handy, I believe it would be quite easy to keep the bug in check.’—(/. HZ. Shelley.) ——____ In May 1890 was received from the Department of Land Records and Agriculture in Madras a packet of wee- villed cholum seed (Sorghum vulgare), in- fested by numerous specimens of Calandra oryze (wheat and _ rice weevil), also of the common Ptinid (? Rérzopertha pusilla, Fabr.),a single specimen of Silvanus surinamensis being also found. The injury to the seed appeared to be chiefly due to the Calandra and Ptinid, which are the two insects that do most of the jury to stored wheat in India, Silvanus surinamensis being also a common granary pest which is often found in wheat. As far therefore as can be judged from this sample, it seems that stored sorghum seed and stored wheat in India have common Stored Sorghum pests. enemies, and that any measures found useful in protecting the one are likely to be efficacious with the other. From the Superintendent of the Government Museum, Madras, have been received specimens of six species of Acri- dide said to~have been the docusts which proved destructive in the Madras Presidency in 1878, The specimens comprised the species Acridium a@ruginosum, Burm., represented by about The Madras locust of 1878. half a dozen individuals, and Acradium melanocorne, Serv. var., Mecopoda, sp., Tryaalis turrita, Linn., Euprepocnemis, sp., and Pachytylus cineras- cens (?), Linn., each represented by one, or at most two individuals, the single specimen of Pachytylus cinerascens (?) being in such a poor state of preservation that its specific identification was somewhat doubtful. N 28 Indian Economie Entomology, fiViolse ile So far therefore as these specimens enable us to judge, it appears that neither Acridium peregrinum, which is the chief !ocust of North-Western India, nor Acridiam succinctum, which was probably the Bombay locust of 1882-83, were concerned in the Madras invasion of 1878. A eonsider- able amount of damage was undoubtedly done by Acridide over a wide area in the Madras Presidency in 1878, and the official reports upon the subject seem to show that while Orthoptera of all kinds were particularly abundant in that year, all over the presidency, most of the injury was done by swarms belonging to a single species whose identity therefore has yet to be established. From Mr. J. Cleghorn were received in September 1890 some pome- Baluchictan Pomegranate granates tunneled by the larva of a Micro- Moth. lepidopterous moth. The insect was reared in the Museum and the specimens were forwarded to Mr. F. Moore, who has identi- fied them as be- longing to a new species of Phyci~ tide, which he | describes under the name of Nephopteryx puniceella. The following is the description kindly fur- nished by Mr. Moore :— “ Nephopteryx puniceella. * Allied to the European JV. abietel/a, but smaller in size, grey ; forewing numerously covered with greyish black scales, but differs from abietella in not having the marginal blackish dots ; it has a similar transverse discal or postmedial pale narrow wavy band, and also an antemedial similar band; the other markings are also similar. Palpi, antenne, and eyes black ; head, thorax, legs, and abdomen blackish, the latter with greyish segmental bands. “ Expanse of wings 38; inch. “ Habitat.—Baluchistan.” In August 1890 the Commissioner of Bhagalpore forwarded some paddy plants said to be suffering from the attack of a minute insect known locally as Mara, which weakens the plant by sucking up the juice of the leaves. The insects are said to be so small as to be scarcely visible to the naked eye. They occur only in rice fields where there is a scarcity of water, and the damage caused by them has not been very extensive. The leaves of the Paddy blight in Bhagalpore. Nowlsd Miscellaneous Notes. 29 plants that were forwarded to the Indian Museum were covered with what appeared to be a black felted fungoid growth; but the specimens were so old and dry that very little could be made of them. No insects were found, but the fungoid growth may possibly have followed the attack of plant lice on the rice plants. The beetle, Lastoderma testaceum, noticed in Part I of these Notes as attacking cheroots, rice, and the leaf cover- ings of opium balls, has recently been reared in the Indian Museum from pieces of saffron which were found to be tunneled by its larve. The larvee are the little white grubs depicted in the figure; they tunnel into various substances. The external hole, which is usually the first intimation which is Lasioderma testacewn. noticed of their ravages, is cut by the beetle when it emerges. (The figures show the grub and beetle enlarged, also still further enlarged drawings of the legs and antenna of the beetle). 30 Indian Economic Hutomology. [ Vol. I. In August and September 1890 a good deal of damage was done in the Rajpipla State, and in the Panch Mahals, Broach, and Thana districts of the Bombay Presidency, also in the district of Sambalpur in the Central Provinces,! by grasshoppers belong- ing to the species Hzero- A glyphus furcifer and its f allies. The insect was noticed (wide Vol. I of these Noles, page 203) as destructive both in the Central Provinces and in Guzerat during the rains of 1889. The specimens that were Mieroglyphus furcifer. forwarded to the Museum were found to vary so much in their size and markings that Dr. Henri de Saussure, to whom they were submitted, waslof opinion that the more extreme forms should be looked upon as con- stituting a second species, for which he proposed the name of Hieroglyphus colesiana, The specimens, however, which have since been forwarded by the district officers, tend to show that the peculiarities upon which the new species was based are merely due to individual variation, It seems likely therefore that the whole of these insects belong to the one species, Hieroglyphus furcifer, which, however, is a somewhat variable one. It is probably non-migratory in its habits, and there is no record of any definite measures adopted against it, though the injury it occasions appears in some cases to be considerable. In Sambalpur, according to the report of the Deputy Commissioner, the insect lays its eggs in cracks in the ground in the early part of the cold weather, the young hatching out with the commencement of the following rains, and often occasioning considerable injury to the young rice plants. In Broach, where, according to the Collector’s report, the green standing crops were said to be suffering, the ravages of the insect were effectually put a stop to by a heavy fall of rain, which was supposed to have killed off the pest. In the Panch Mahals, according to the Coilector’s report, the insect was said to have been injuring maize, rice and Santi (?) crops, the loss in some villages being estimated at as much as ten per cent. of the whole, In Thana,’ according to the Collector’s report, the insect was said to 1 Specimens of the same insect were also received in January 1890 with the informa- tion that it had proved destructive to crops in the Kolhapur State (Bombay). 2 The specimens forwarded from chis district as responsible for the injury were accompanied by a few grasshoppers of the genus 7ryxalis. No. 1. J Miscellaneous Notes. 81 have done much mischief to rice that was coming into ear, by destroy= ing the immature grain. In the Rajpipla State the insect was said to have also been noticed in some places in 1889. The Wax Moth, whose caterpillars attacked the combs of the Ligurian Bee (Apis mellifica, var. ligus- tica), which was reared experimentally Wax Moth. in the Indian Museum, has been deter- mined by Mr. F. Moore, who writes :— *‘T have examined this moth and find that it is the species that is so com- monly found wherever honey bees are reared, both in England and in other parts of Europe. The moth is Achrea grisella, Zeller, and is termed “%he ‘Honey Moth’ being a great pest and very destructive in its habits of tunnel” ing through the combs, It belongs to the family Galleriide.” Specimens of the Rice Hispa (Hispa enescens), referred to on page 37 of Vol. I of these Notes, have been for- warded during the past year by the district officers of Howrah, Backerganj, and Khoolna, also by Mr, C. H. C. Adamson, of Mandalay. In Howrah the insect is known as Shanki poka, in Khoolna as Sanka poka, and in Backerganj as Mazra. In each case it is reported to have been destructive to the rice crops, The Khoolna report notices that it breeds in low-lying grass which it attacks in the same manner as paddy, the injury occasioned during the past year being less than usual, owing to the heavy rain which is said to check the insect. This insect eats away the parenchymatous tissue of the leaves, Rice Hispa. 39 Indian Economie Entomology. [ Vol. iT. thus weakening the young paddy plants and decreasing the outturn of rice. No practicable remedy is at present known for it. The Cureulionid destructive to the seed of Strobilauthus pectinatus Strobilanthus Weevil. (47bu) in Sikkim has been determined by Mons. Desbrochers de Loges, as a new species of Apion, which he names Apion strobi- lanthi, The kidu is a herbaceous weed which grows at an elevation of about 6,000 feet in Sikkim and is used for fodder, In the rains of 1889 the only plant which was observed by Mr. Gilbert Rogers to flower, had the whole of its seeds destroyed by this insect. (The figure shows the insect with its antenna (much en- larged), also a kidu pod attacked by it). From the Superintendent of the Botanical Gardens, Bangalore, were Cotton pests in Seringapatam. received in March 1890 speci- mens of the heteropterous insect Oxycarenus lugubris, Mosteh., of the family Lygeide, said to have proved injurious to cotton in Seringapatam, where, in the early stages of the growth of the plant, fumigating with tobacco had been found effica- ciousin keeping down the pest. 'This insect has previously been reported as injurious in Ceylon, where it infests the ripe cotton pods and discolours and cakes the cotton. Nothing further is known of its habits. The cotton was also said to suffer from the No. 1. J Miscellaneous Notes. 35 attack of a hemipterous insect probably belonging to the species Dysder- eus cingulatus. Th's insect is allied to the “ Cotton stainer”’ ( Dysdercus sutureilus) of the United States, where it is said to puncture the cotton bolls and injure the fibre, also puncturing the rind of oranges and causing the fruit to drop. The remedies reeommended for the American species have been, poisoning the insects by traps of sugarcane trash, mixed with Paris green or destroying them when collected upon piles of cotton seed or orange peel, with hot water or kerosine and soap emulsion. It is extremely doubtful, however, to what extent such remedies will be found practicable in India, (The figure is that of Oxycarenus ligubris, much enlarged.) In October 1899, from the Overseer of the Government Farm, Nagpnr, were received eotton. stalks tunneled by the lary se ‘of a Buprestid beetle which has been identified by Mons.Kerremans as a new species Cotton Buprestid in Nagpur. of Sphenoptera which it is pro- posed to eall Sphenoptera gos- sypit. The larve were reared in the Museum and produced imagos in November ; the insect was said only to attack the country varieties of cotton, the American varieties escaping. With regard to the identification of the species Mons.Kerremans writes :— a “Les espéces actuellement décrites de ce genre, et habitant l’Inde proprement dite sont au nombre de onze ; ce sont, @rosa Gmel. (= enea F. = tricuspidata Ol.), indica Cast, et Gory, orientalis Cast. et Gory, perroteti Cast. et Gory, pulchella Cast. et Gory, angustata Thoms., /afertei Thoms., nigrescens Thoms., pisciformis Thoms., eupriventris Kerr., et cyaniceps Kerr. (ces deux derniérs décrites dans un tout récent mémoire sur les Buprestides du Chota Nagpur). Parmi ces espeéces, il n’en manque que trois a ma collection, ce sont lafertet, piceiformis, et pulchella et le spécimen que vous m’avez envoyé ne se rapporte ni & aucune de mes espéces ni aux descriptions des espéces qui me manquent. C’est done une espéce nouvelle.,..I] se distingue des autres espéces par sa forme paralléle, par sa téte aussi large que le thorax et ses yeux, prominents, par son écusson trés grand et cordiforme, et par ses tibias postérieurs incurvés. L’espéce dont il se rapproche le plus est le sp. angustata, Thoms., mais celuie ei a le front sillonné, l’épistome tout autrement conformé, et le dessous est d’un euivreux brillant trés prononcé. Sa ponctuation générale est aussi trds différente.” ————SS eee # 34, Indian Beonomic Entomology. [ Vol. I From Mr. E. Green were received in February 1590 specimens of hid an Aphid which is said to attack young al tea plants in Ceylon, semetimes doing Ceylonia Thecola considerable injury, According to Mr. Green’s account, published in the Ceylon Independent newspaper, both the winged and wingless forms are found in great numbers on the young succulent shoots in nurseries, and the irritation which they set up causes the edges of the leaves to curl 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 beside the mother and becoming full grown in about ten or twelve days after they are born, Honeydew is secreted in the usual way by glands on the dorsal surface of the abdomen, and the insect is consequently attended by ants. It is devoured by the larve of Syrphide, Hemerobide, and Coccinellide, besides being parasitized by a minute Ichneumonid, and the combined effect of these insects is so consider= able that the Aphid is often completely kept in check by them. Wood ashes, powdered sulphur, and dry carbolie powder, have all been found No. 1. ] Miscellaneous Notes. 55 useless as applications for destroying the pest, but washes made of dilute kerosine emulsion or of phenyle are found to be efficacious; the propor- tions recommended 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 should be applied in the evening or on a cloudy day, as hot sunshine, following its application, is apt to seorch the leaves. In the case of phenyle the application of the wash should be followed the next morning by a copious drenching with ordinary water. The specimens were submitted to Mr. G, B. Buckton, who kindly examined them and reports that the insect belongs toa new genus and species of Aphidew which he names Ceylonea theecola. The following is his note on the subject :— ** The Ceylon Tea Aphis appears to be anomalous and undescrioed, and the form has no representative in Europe, as far as I know. In the general appearance of the body, the antenne, and the cornicles, it follows the genus Aphis, but the single furcation of the cubital vein sharply separates it from that genus, and in this particular it more nearly follows Schizoneura. I presume, however, that the Tea Aphis neither rolls leaves nor forms galls, neither has it a flocculent covering. The lower wing also shows some modification in the disposition of the oblique veins. I think it will be desirable to place this Aphis under a new genus, and for the present I suggest for its name Cey/o- aia theecola, which is trivial and not therefore binding to any particular character. “ Genus CEYLONIA, * Antennee long and seven-jointed, third and fourth joints nearly equal. Cornicles cylindrical and rather long. Upper wings with the cubitus once forked. Stigma large ; oblique veins two. Lower wing with two oblique veins running nearly parallel to each other ; tarsus with one joint.” “ Ceylonia theecola, nov. sp. “ Colour dark brown or black. Apterons insect, globose, shining, finely punctured. Head square. Antenne long, seven-jointed, ochrous yellow, with black wings, Abdomen with a row, on each side, of small pores. Whole insect punctured. Legs dirty ochrous, with dark femora. Cauda black and hirsute, cornicles cylindrical. Size of body 0:055 inch. Winged female coloured much like the above. Wing voluminous, with a brownish membrane much punctured. Underside all brown. Rostrum reach- ing just beyond the third pair of cox. Expanse of wings 0°19 inch. Body 0:04 inch. These insects stain weak alcohol a fine port wine red colour.” Specimens of the rice sapper (Leptocorisa acuta, Thumb.) have been received from Mr. J. Cripps, of Chumparan, where the insect is said to have been very destructive to the ears of The Rice Sapper inChumpa- Bhyddai paddy, which is harvested about ran. October. The insects work chiefly on cloudy days and at night, and retire to the foot of the plants in hot sunshine, The cultivators are said to strew the fields with fresh buffalo dung, covered with buffalo buttermilk, in which an insect is said to breed D2 36 Indian Economie Entomology. [ Vol. 1, over in India and attacks immature paddy grain in the ear, sometimes destroying a large proportion of the crop, especially when the rains set in early. Little is known of its life history. In January 1890 were received from Mr. J. Cleghorn, Harnai, Ba- luchistan, a number of little cases formed of wheat grains cemented together. It is said that all granaries in Harnai have to be examined and cleaned every month to destroy the insect :which constructs the cases, granaries not examined for three months having their whole contents destroyed by it. No specimens were received of the insect, but the cases appear to be the work of one of the Z7¢nein@ moths, which are cosmopolitan granary pests. The frequent examination required would seem to point to the insects passing through a number of generations in the year. A Baluchistan granary pest. Mons. J. M. F. Bigot, to whom specimens of the Bashahr Grape Fly! were submitted for examination, writes from Paris that, though the specimens are in- sufficient for precise identification, the insect probably belongs to a new species of the genus Drosophila, which might be named Drosophila apicata. Further specimens therefore should be procured for examination. In the meantime it may be noticed that the larve of other species of Drosophila attack both sound and decaying fruit. According to W. C. Fish, as quoted by Packard in his Guide to the Study of Insects, one species of Drosophila, which is known in the United States as the Apple Hy, attacks apples, rendering them unfit for use; in this case the mag- got usually enters the apple through some wound caused by other insects, ‘or, if there be no such wound, through the calyx. Many of the maggots arrive at maturity in August, and the fly soon afterwards appears, seve- ral generations being gone through before the cold weather, which the insect passes as a pupa in some sheltered spot, the flies emerging in the following spring. Bashahr Grape Fly. From Messrs. Williamson and Magor were received in January 1891 caterpillars of a Limacodid moth, said to have proved injurious to tea in the Darrang district, Assam. The caterpillars defoliate the bushes and then descend to the ground, where they roll themselves into the characteristic Limaco- did pupal case, resembling a minute potato. Children had been employed to hand-pick the caterpillars, but the numbers of the pest have been too great to be successfully dealt with in this way, and some inconvenience Tea Limacodid. pe A ROL tb OE 1 Vide page 202 of Vol. I, No. 4, of this serial. No. 1. J Miscellaneous Notes. 37 ae was also found owing to the stinging properties of the bristles with which the caterpillars were armed. It is not thought likely that these cater. pillars will occasion any very serious injury. The moths emerged on 26th January, and were forwarded to Colonel Swinhoe, who has deter- mined them as belonging to a new species of Mzresa, which he is deserib- ing under the name of Miresa cotes?, From Handerzai, situated at an elevation of about 4,000 feet in Balu- chistan, Mr. Cleghorn sends an Cistrid Fly with the information that he has found it in November laying its eggs at the ends of the hair on horses’ legs and other parts of the body that can be reached by the horse’s mouth. Whilst laying its eggs the insect does not disturb the horse, but immediately afterwards irritation sets in, possibly from the itching caused by the frequent settling of the fly, and the horse bites the place where the eges are laid, so that some of the eggs find their way into the animal’s mouth, and thence into its stomach where they develop. Careful grooming and the application of a nose-bag to prevent the horse from biting off the eggs have been found to be the most practicable means of protecting the animal from the pest. The specimen was sub- mitted for identification to Mons, J. M. F. Bigot, who reports that it is a variety of the well-known European form (Gastrophilus equi), which has been descrived under the name of Gstrus bengalensis (Macq., Dipt. Exot.). The life history of this insect is no doubt the same as that of the true Gastrophilus equi, which, according to Williston, lays four or five hundred eggs, generally on the inner side of the horse’s knees, the horse showing great annoyance and often becoming unmanageable, though the insect can cause but little irritation in the process of laying its egos. The egos hatch a few days after they are laid, and the larve get taken in the horse’s mouth when it is biting the irritated spots. They are then swallowed with the food, and, upon entering the stomach, attach themselves to the inner membrane by means of the hooklets that encircle the mouth. Here they remain for nine or ten months feeding on the suppurative matter produced by the irritation they set up within the stomach, and when full-fed they loosen their hold and are carried through the intestinal canal and ejected with the excrement. They then burrow into the ground and transform into pup, from which the images emerge in thirty or forty days. When only a few grubsare present in a horse’s stomach they are said to cause but little injury to the animal, but when they exist in large numbers they may produce sufficient inflammation ox loss of blood, in some eases even to cause death, Horse strid in Baluchistan. 38 Indian Economic Entomology. (eaviolenlile Through the Calcutta Aegri- Horticultural Society was received in November 1890 a specimen of the Dynas- tinid beetle Xylotrupes gideon, var. mnis- zechi (?), said to have caused some damage by eating the pulp of coffee fruit in Cachar. Coffee Dynastinid. From Mr, R, Wroughton, of Poona, have been received specimens of the Liparid moth, Artara limbata, with the information that the caterpillars were injuri- ous to young grafted mango plants. The insect had been reared by Mr. Wroughton, who noted that the caterpillars were found on. 23rd September, the cocoons spun on 29th September, and the moths emerged about 12th October. Mango Liparid. The Acridid grasshopper Phymateus miliaris, which may perhaps be the docust that proved destructive to crops in Nowgong in 1879, is noted by General H. Collett as fairly common in the neighbourhood of Shillong, where it is often to be seen feeding on bushes and grass, though it is thought not to do any appreciable damage to the crops. Acridide in Assam, Through the Calcutta Agri-Horticultural Society were received in June 1890 a series of mangoes from Mozaf- ferpore, where they are known as Lal hampeeé and are said to be attacked, very generally throughout the district, by white maggots. These maggots are about the size of grains of rice, and are found in such numbers in the fruit as to render it unfit for use. The maggots are likely to be the larvee of some dipterous insect allied to the species ([ivellia persica) described on page 192 of Vol. I of these Notes as destructive to peaches in Chota Nagpore ; but for some unexplained reason the mangoes actually received were found to be unaffected by anything of the kind. The only insect discovered in them, after careful search, was the solitary larva of a micro-lepidopterous insect which was about three-sixteenths of an inch long by one thirty-second of an inch thick. It had boreda hole in the side of the mange, but had not pene- trated more than about a quarter of an inch into the pulp. It may, possibly, have been the caterpillar of the moth (Maruca nov. sp., Swinhoe) which has been found boring into the stones of mangoes in Calcutta, Its position shows that 16 was in all probability hatched from an egg¢ laid by the parent moth in the skin of the nearly ripe fruit, Mango maggots. The following information has been furnished by Mr. G. Rogers, of the Forest Department, in Darjiling. In April 1890 a blackish, hair-covered, processional caterpillar, about two inches in length, defo- Notes from Darjiling forests. No. I. J Miscelluneous Notes. 39 liated the Buk (Quercus lamellosa) trees over an area of about twelve miles long by eight miles broad, near Darjiling, the trees, which were in some cases as much as seventy feet high, being often completely denud- ed of their leaves, Much injury was not done however, as, at the time that the caterpillar appeared, the trees had only their last year’s leaves upon them, while they put forth young leaves again in the following June. The Suugare hatus (Quercus pachyphylla), a valuable forest tree which grows in Sikkim at an elevation of 7,000 to 10,000 feet, suffers from the attack of the larvee of one of the Cureulionidz beetles, which is esti- mated to destroy 90 per cent, of the seed. ‘he only specimens that could be obtained were small grubs, about a quarter of an inch in length, and of the characteristic curculionid shape; they are insufficient for pre- cise identification, A large swift-flying Curculionid beetle, which has been identified as Cyrtotrachelus du, and which, in the male, is characterised by enor- mously developed front legs, attacks the asparagus-like shoot of the hill bamboo Dendrocalamus hamiltonii at elevations of about 3,000 feet above searlevel. In May and June the imago is often found clinging on to the growing shoot, which is perforated by a big hole from which it has emerged. Shoots thus attacked come to nothing. In June a large green Rutelinid beetle, which has been identified as Anomala viridis, strips leaves off the Al tree (Alnus nipalensis), growing at elevations of from five to six thousand feet above sea-level. A Stag beetle, which has been identified as Lwcanus mearest of Hope, bores into the dead sapwood of the Kharani tree (Symplocos, sp.) at eleva- tions of between five and six thousand feet above sea-level. A large wasp, which has been identified as Vespa magnifica, builds a, nest sometimes two feet in diameter in the trunk of a laurel known to- eally as Kawlee. The nest occupies the whole of the interior of rotten trees, and is to be found in July at elevations of about 6,500 feet. The hill people are in the habit of eating the grubs of this wasp, though the sting of the imago is so severe that an Englishman has been known to. have nearly died after being stung by three of them. The wild bee, Apzs dorsata, is not often noticed at elevations above two thousand feet, though in one place a large bee which probably belongs to this species builds combs on the face of some rocks at an elevation of four or five thousand feet, and yields, in good years, a revenue of as much as a hundred rupees to the Forest Department. From the Bhergaon garden, Mungledye district, Assam, were receiv- ed in October 1890, through Messrs. Wil- liamson and Magor, tea shoots attacked by the larvee of the homopterous insect Mata conspersa, which had covered the shoots with its characteristic white secretion and was said to be feeding Flata conspersa on tea. 4 Indian Economie Entomology. L Wolk 16% on the bushes and retarding the flushes, the whole garden being badly attacked by it. A closely allied insect was once before sent to the Mu- seum as attacking tea, but as nothing further was heard of it the suppo- sition is that if did not occasion any very considerable damage. This is also likely to be the case in the present instance. Specimens of one of the Aphide have been received from Mr. C. F, Balucliscunmbrnit ecco Aphieh Elliot, the Deputy Conservator of Forests, Quetta, Baluchistan, with the information No. I. ] Miscellaneous Notes. 41 that they infest apricot, almond, and peach trees, swarming in patches from six inches toa foot in length on the undersides of the branches, especially of the apricot, and causing the trees to bleed profusely. The wingless forms were noticed from March onwards, and in the early summer they were so numerous that it was found worth while to have them rubbed off daily by hand. Winged-individuals were found for a short time in Gctober, eggs and young appearing on a few trees in the latter part of November, a fortnight’s rainy weather in November not appearing to affect them This insect has not been previously recorded as attacking fruit-trees in Baluchistan, though it may not improbably be the same as what has been noticed by Mr. Cleghorn as causing the bleeding of poplar trees in that region. Specimens were sent to Mr. G. B. Buckton, who has determined the insect as a new species of Lachnus wnich he describes as Lachuus fuliginosus. The report whieh he has kindly furaished upon the insect is as follows :— “The specimens embraced the three different stages of larvae, pup, and a few winged examples of viviparous females. These insects clearly belong to the Luch- nine, ov Aphides, which show the full number of nervures in theiy upper and lower wings, possess short six-jointed antenne aud thick mammilliform nectaries or corni- cles. * The Quetta insects do not exactly agree with any described species of Lachnus with which I am acquainted....... I may mention that, asa rule, the Kuropean Lachnine feed upon conifers, but not exclusively, for an Aphis, very like the one under examina- tion, viz. Lachnus viminalis, feeds on the willow bark. Hitherto the plum, the peach, and the apple tree have not been recorded as liable to the attacks of these insects of the genus Luchnus. Several important differences, as will appear by the following diagnoses, lead me to suppose this to be a new species, notwithstanding certain resemblances to the willow Lachnus before mentioned. Provisionally I name this Quetta insect Lachnus fuliginosus, nov. sp. “ Larva.—Variable in shape according to age; either long-oval or globose. Head small, vertical edge round. Eyes, small. Thorax separated from the abdomen by a slight stricture. Antenna rather short, stout, and hirsute, six-jointed, the nail being counted as one. Abdomen rugose, and studded with black shining tubercles. Nectaries stout and mammilliform. Apex of abdomen round, hirsute, and without a visible cauda. Legs long, yellow, with black points to the femora and tibie Tarsi black and two-jointed. Rostrum one-third the length of the body. Length 0 16 x 0'u9 inch = 4:0 X 2:2 millimetres. Antenna 0°05 inch = 1:27 mil. © Pupa.—More linear in form, but much of the same colour as the larva. On the somite preceding that on which the cornicles are developed, a curious horn-like process rises, out of the dorsum. In Lachnus viminalis this horn appears to be restricted to the larval stage. The wing-cases are about equal to one-third the length of the body. ** Imago.— Viviparous female. Head small; vertex rounded, and finely pilose. Antenne black, and fringed with hair ; about half the length of the body ; with two stout basal joints ; the first of which is rather the longest ; the third joint the longest of all. The fourth and fifth about equal length ; the fourth sometimes shows a con- striction or a tendency to subdivide. The nail-like process on the sixth is sometimes so large as to suggest the antenne to consist of seven joints instead of the normal number of six. Eyes moderately large, and apparently without any supplemental eyelet. 49 Indian Economie Entomology. [ Vol. EL. Thorax broad, with two alar muscular bosses. Scutellum small, abdomen pilose, brownish grey, flask-shaped, and much corrugated. Nectaries as in the larval condi- tion. Abdominal apex rounded, fringed with hair, and without a cauda. Legs long, particularly the hinder pair ; second tarsal joint the longest, and furnished with two. black claws. Wings one-third longer than the body ; membrane semi-transparent smoky-brown, densely and finely punctured. Stigma long and straight. Stigmatic vein nearly straight. Cubital vein twice forked ; other veins as in Lachnus. Lower wing with two straight cubital veins. Expanse 0°54 inch or 13:7 millimetres. Size 0°17 X 0°80 inch or 4°24.x 2°02 millimetres. “ Tt would be hazardous to describe the colours of the living insects from samples- preserved in spirit, but it may be fairly assumed that the colours are of a grey-brown or black, with a few obscure spots on the sides and dorsum. When placed in spirit,. they yield to ita deep port wive red tint, and the same stain tinges the insects. mounted in Canada balsam.” In September 1890 were received, from the Agricultural Department, Rangoon, pupz of a moth belonging to the family Limacodide, said to have proved de- structive to paddy in part of the Bhamo district. The specimens were Paddy caterpillars in Bhamo. insufficient for precise identification. From the Sub-Manager of the Encumbered Estates, Ranchi, were: received in September 1590 a number of hair- covered caterpillars probably belonging to the heteroeerous family Lastocampide, but in too poor condition for precise identification, They were said to attack Dian and Marua crops in Lohar- dugea, the damage annually done by the insect in one pergunnah being estimated at from four to six annas of the total crop. The caterpillars appear in the rainy season and defoliate the plants, trenches being dug by the cultivators to prevent their passing from the upland crops to attack the rice which lies at a lower level. Rice caterpillars in Ranchi. The Executive Commissariat Officer at Thayetmyo reports that the outturn of potatoes grown from English seed in the Commissariat garden in 1889-90 was considerably reduced by the ravages of a small ant which attacked the tubers when quite young. No specimens have been furnished, but, according to Dr. Walsh, the insect may perhaps have been the common red ant Solenopsis gemminata. The only remedy suggested is that of following the ants to their nest and destroying them there with boiling water, kerosene oil, or bisulphide of carbon. Ants attacking potatoes. In October 1890 the Collector of South Arcot reported injury to paddy in his district by caterpillars. Speci- Paddy pest in South Arcot. ‘ ae mens of the caterpillars were forwarded No. I. | Miscellaneous Notes, 43 through the Board of Revenue and the Government Central Museum, Madras, and were found to be the larvae of a Noctues moth which is pro- bably one of the Leucanude or Heliothide. The material, however, was iusufficient for precise identification. The injury done by the insect appears to have been slight. The following is an abstract of a series of Notes on Mosquito blight (Helopettis theiovora) furnished by Mr, C. N. Harcourt, of the Ging factory, Darjil- ing. For a more detailed account of the insect vide page 180 of Vol. I of this serial. Helopeltis thetovora injuces tea both in spring and also during September ; it attacks chiefly the young tea shoots, also fuchsias, and a tree (Schima wallichit), known loeally as chilauni, which is botani- cally allied to the tea-plant. The blight does not ascend above an eleva- tion 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, but precise estimates of the amount of loss occasioned in the Darjiling tea district are not available. The insect punctures the epidermis of the young tea leaf, with its proboscis, and sucks up a little of the sap, leaving a round transparent spot wher- ever it has been at work, and it seems to have some poisoning effect, as the buds, below an affected leaf, dry and fall off as if burnt, The eggs are laid in the soft stems of the tea shoots, and can only be discovered from the three small hairs which are attached to each ege and which protrude from where it les. The eggs are about one thirty-second 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 becomes full grown in about a week after emerging from the egg; it has the char- acteristic bug-like odour, and the only animal noticed to attack it is a small spider. Mosquito blight in Darjiling. From the Officiating Commissioner of Settlements and Agriculture, Central Provinces, were received in July 1890, caterpillars of Bombyces moths said to be in the habit of destroying paddy in Sambalpur. ‘The material was insufficient for the precise identification of the insect concerned. Rice pest in Sambalpur. In February 1890 were received from Mr. John Guilt, of Darjiling, eaterpiilars of the Bombyces moth. Olene A Darjiling tea pest. a : ; ee res mendosa, Hiibn. ‘hey were said to feed on tea bushes. 4A Indian Heonomic Entomology. DWok Tut From the Deputy Conservator of Forests, Kamrup division, Assam, have been received pups of a Bombycid moth, probably belonging to the family Liparida, said to have suddenly appeared in vast swarms and denuded sat trees in the Kulsi range of their leaves, This particular caterpillar had not been noticed previously, and the natives attributed the visitation to the successful protection of the forest against fire. Pupze were found in the end of October 1889. Moths appeared immediately after- wards and Jaid eggs which produced caterpillars in the beginning of November, after which the pest seems to have disappeared for some time, moths and caterpillars, however, being again noticed in large numbers in the middle of December. Several attempts were made to rear the pupe in Calcutta to enable the identity of the moth to be ascer- tained, but the only insects that emerged were Tachinid and Hymenop- terous parasites, with which the pupze seem to have been very much infest- Kulsi sal caterpillars. ed. The Superintendent of the Government Horticultural gardens in Lucknow, in February 1890, forwarded larvee ofa moth probably belonging to the family Rlepialida, said to be commonly found in the stems of fruit-trees, such as Boring caterpillars, oranges and guavas, which it injures to a serious extent. Mustard oil poured into the hole was found to kill the insect. Specimens either of the moth into which these caterpillars transform, or live pup, which no doubt are to be found in the tunnels, are desired to enable the insect to be precisely determined. In February 1890 were received, through the Agricultural Depart- ment of Madras, specimens of cotton plants said to be attacked by plant lice (Aphida) which caused the decay of the plants. The specimens were insuflicient for any conclusive examination, and the only Arthopoda that were found on them were a number of mites which are not thought to have been connected with the destruction of the plants. Madras cotton pest. Injury was reported by Baboo T, N, Mukharji to have been done to musk mallow and cabbages cultivated by the Cossipore Agricultural Society in August 1889, by an insect which proved to be Dysdereus cingulatus, Babr, (Heteroptera, Lygeide), noticed on page 127 of Vol. I of this serial. The insects were said to have fed upon the leaves and afterwards to have taken up their abode within the capsules of the musk mallow fruit. Dysdercus cingulatus. No; deal Miscellaneous Notes. A5 Through the Madras Museum were received in January 1890 speci- mens of (1) the Buprestid beetle, Pszloptera Jastuosa, Fabricius, and (2) heterocerous larve, probably belonging to the family Aepialida, both said to injure the Government teak plantations in Nilambur, Malabar. Teak borers. With regard to the species described on page 80 of Vol. I of these Notes, by Professor Kohl, as Chalcis cricula, Mr. W. F. Kirby, of the British Museum, suggests that the species may, perhaps, be identical with the Chalets responsata described by Walker in Tr. E. Soc., Lond. (3) I, page 355 (1862), from North India. He notices that this spe- cies has hind tibie “ white, with the inside of the curve black.” An examination of the type specimens of Cha/eis circula in the collection of the Indian Museum shows that the hind tibiz are yellow, with a very thin black line along the inside of the curve. This seems to point to the probable correctness of Mr. Kirby’s supposition, white colour on the tibiz being very likely to show as yellow in old specimens. Chalcis cricula. Some larve of a Scarabeid beetle, probably one of the Cetonini, were received in December 1890 from Mr. F. J. V. Minchin, of Ganjam, with the information that they cut the branches, and even the stems of young Casuarina trees across diagonally, as one would cut a stick with a knife. The insect A Casuarina pest. cannot be precisely determined without an examination of the imago; and the observation would seem to require explanation. : Tu July 1887 were received specimens in various stages of develop- Hpilachna vigintioctopune- ment of the Coceinellid beetle, Hpt/achna tata. _ wiginteoctopunctata, Fabr. var., from Burdwan, where it was said to feed upon the brinjal plant, whole fields in Burdwan being sometimes destroyed by it. It was thought at the time that some mistake had probably arisen in this observation, the Coccinelli- de generally being carnivorous, but observations since made in Dehra Dun, North-Western Provinces, where the imago was found feeding on a cucurbitaceous plant, point to this species being an exception to the general rule. In January 1890 the Deputy Commissioner of Umballa forwarded, through the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Punjab, the following insects :— (1) immature larve of a Bombyces moth, said to attack rapeseed ; (2) coleopterous larve said to attack sugarcane; the specimens being Umballa pests. 46 Indian Economie Entomology. [ Vol. IT. in both cases in too poor a state of preservation for precise identification ; (3) the common acridid grasshopper (Chrotogonus, sp.) said to do consi- derable injury to wheat, barley, linseed, and rapeseed, appearing in June or July and dying off about December, no means being known of destroy- ing it; (4) caterpillars of the butterfly, Mancipium nepalensis, Grey (Rhopalocera, Pierinz}, said to attack gram, Zuria, linseed, sugarcane and garden vegetables, such as radishes, the only known preventive being ashes, which, in some cases, are thrown over the plants. From the agent of the Lyall Farm, Budaon, have been received ;—(1) caterpillars of a Noctues moth said to attack rabi crops, such as mustard, barley, safflower, and wheat; (2) an Acridid grasshopper belonging to the genus, Chroto- gonus, said to have done such extensive injury to indigo as to have seriously interfered with the cultivation and manufacture of the drug in the district. The grasshopper appears in April and May in large numbers in the indigo fields, and destroys the young plants by biting them off as soon as they appear above the ground; it continues to be found in large numbers up to the end of August, and gradually disappears about November. When the rainfall is deficient in July, it also does much injury to kharif crops, such as Mash (Phaseolus radiatus), Bajra (Peni- cillaria spicata), Til (Sesamum indicum), and Lobia (Vigna cateang). Budaon pests. From the Settlement Officer, Koojang estate, Orissa, were received, in February 1890, Noctues caterpillars known locally as Kala mundi, and said often to do much injury to rabi crops erowing on tracts subject to inundation, sometimes also attacking rice, The insect appears on rabi crops in the early part of the cold weather, and spins a web over the leaves and flowers; it feeds chiefly on the flowers and disappears as soon as these die off. Specimens submitted for examination prove to be the cater- pillars of a Noctues moth, which cannot at present be precisely deter- mined without an examination of the moth. Specimens therefore either of the moth itself or of the live chrysalides, which can be reared in the Museum, should be furnished. The Settlement Officer also reports that in 1887 insects much like Jocusts, but green in colour, with longitudinal black stripes, appeared just after the flowering season of the paddy, and did great damage to the crop by cutting off the ears, the outturn being said to have been dimi- nished by about half, Orissa pests. The Collector of Hooghly reports (letter dated 12th February 1891) much mischief to the mustard crop by an Hooghly pests. 9 : . sue insect which proves to be one of the Aphide No. I. | Miscellaneous Notes. 47 (plant lice). The specimens have been forwarded to Europe for identi- fication, as they are unrepresented in the Museum collection. Me also notices that wheat is attacked by one of the Lady-bird insects (Coccined- lide). In December 1890, from the Overseer of the Government Farm, Nagpur, were received—(1) Bombyces cater- pulars, probably belonging to the species Spilosoma suffusa of Walker ; these were said to have attacked the 7%/ crop (Sesamum indicum), as many as thirty caterpillars being sometimes found upon a single leaf; the same insect was said in the rains to defoliate plantains and San-hemp (Crotalaria juncea), thence spreading over the neighbouring foliage plants of all kinds, (2) Pods of the Popat plant (Lablab vulgaris = Dolichos lablab) tunneled by the larve of a minute Plume moth said to be known locally as Mehada ; a note on this insect will be found on p.19. (3) Noctues caterpillars thought to belong to the genus Leucania, found boring into the pods of Tur (Caganus indicus), the seeds of which they destroy. The injury caused by the three foregoing Nagpur pests. insects is reported to have occurred owing to the cloudy weather which prevailed for about a week without rain, and was then followed by plentiful rain, which was expected to kill off the insects, and thus prevent further damage. From the District Engineer, Patna district, were received, in February 1890, larvee of the Noctues moth, Heliothis armigera, and of a Geometres moth, for the precise identification of which specimens of the imago are required. These insects are reported to attack Ahessarz pods in the montis of January and February. Patna pests. The following is a report by the Officiating Collector of Monghyr Monghyr pests. on insect pests in his district :— “In this report are embodied the results of the enquiries made by the Sub-divi- sional Officer for the sub-divisions and the Sub-Deputy Collector for the sudder sub- division. Several zemindars, &c., in this district were also requested to furnish any information they could regarding the damage insects do to different crops, and to send specimens of such insects, live or dead, but none of them seem to have taken any interest in the matter yet. **The species of insects which are most injurious are— “ Gudhiya.—A small fat grasshopper of about an inch and a quarter long and three= eighths to half an inch broad and quarter inch high, of a dull white colour. The eggs are hatched and the young insects born in May and June. They at once look out for all the young and tender plants just germinating at that time with the early showers prior to the regular rainy season. When this pest attacks a field it eats up either the whole field or a portion of it in patches. It frequently affects a whole village to the extent of about 25 per cent. of its yield. 48 Indian Keonomie Entomology. ie Violen “The wheat Keery (Larka) is a small, soft, round, green saterpillar. An insect of about one and.a-half inch long and one-fifth of an inch in diameter. It is found usually near the roots of the young wheat plants which it eats mght through. It makes its appearance in November and disappears when the plants are somewhat developed. “The oil seed Keery (ahi) are small insects. early stage. The produce of a village is often affected by them to about 30 per cent. They appear when the rains cease and there is still moisture in the fields. “ Bhoow is an insect about two inches long and quarter inch in diameter with a thick covering of mixed white and black hairs about quarter inch long. It appears just after the oil seed Keery (Zaki). The damage done by this insect is often 15 per cent. of the wheat crop. “Besides the above, there is a species of small insect called Kujra which cuts off the ears of the paddy crop and eats up the rabi crops also. “The subject will be given more close attention to during the next autumn, winter, and summer harvest seasons, and more information will be collected and better specimens of insect pests obtained and sent to the ludian Museum.”’ They devour the oil seed in its No. If. J A new species of Tineidea. 4.9 Il.—A NEW SPECIES OF TINEIDA. (Gracilaria theivora, W\sm., sp. nov.) By LORD WALSINGHAM, F.R:S. Antcnne, steel-grey, each joint spotted above with purple, basal joint shghtly enlarged, purplish. Labial palpi, ochreous, the apical joint tipped with fuscous beneath, Maxillary palpi, yellow. Head, shining grey above, posteriorly iridescent purple: face shin- ing yellow. Thorax and patagia, iridescent purplish cupreous. Fore wings, narrow, elongated, pointed, with rounded cilia; brilliant shining purplish cupreous, with a series of slightly darker and ill-defined streaklets along the dorsal margin from the base to the apex : a brilli- ant shining yellow triangular costal patch commences at one-fourth from the base and reaches to the middle of the wing, its apex is obtusely - truncate before reaching the dorsal margin; cilia brownish grey, with a paler line near their base. Under side, greyish-fuscous. Hind wings, greyish-fuscous; cilia steel-grey, with a slight irides- cent lustre. Under side, greyish fuscous. Abdomen, greyish above, shining yellow beneath. Legs, anterior, —purplish fuscous, tarsi shining white, spotted above at the joints with fuscous ; postercor,—greyish fuscous above, tarsi in- clininge to ochreous, dark spotted above at the joints, spurs ochreous. fixp. al. 135 mm. i 50 Indian Economie Entomology. E Vol. LU. Larva. Mining leaves of the tea-tree.? Hab. Ceylon (Pandaloya). : Type & 3% Mus. Wism. I have received two specimens of this very beautiful, brilliant and distinct species from Mr. E. C. Cotes ; they were bred by Mr. Green from larvae mining the leaves of the tea-tree (presumably Camellia theifera), but it will probably be found to feed on other species of Camellia. The nearest allies of this species are the North American blandella, Z. and belfrageella, Chamb., 1 According to the account of this insect given by Mr, E. E. Green in the Ceylon Independent, the egg is laid on the under side 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 under side 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 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 Ichneumonide, besides being often drowned in wet weather by the water that accumulates in the rolled-up leaf.—Z. C. C. No. I. J American Blight. 51 III.—THE BALUCHISTAN MELON ELY. (Carpomyia Pardalina, 6 et ¢, nov. sp.). By J. M. F. BIGOT. Long. ¢ = 4 mill,et $; 9 = 5 mill. et 3 (cum oviducto). $-—Oculis aneis; capite fulvido; antennis, palpis, haustello ejusdem coloris ; cheto antennale nigro, bast albidd; macrochatis cunctis nigris ; thorace pallide flavido, reérorsum albescente, tergo, ante, angus- tussime fulvo bilineato, utrinque nigro nitido trinotato, et retro pariter unt- maculato; scutello aibescente, nigro nitido quadrinotato; halreribus, abdomine, pedibusque totis, pallide fulvis, femoribus anticis sat incrassatis, interne fuscopilosutis ; alis hyalinis, transverse, late, fulvopallido trivitta- tis, vitta apicale bifida, vittis cunctis cinereo obscuro anguste marginatis.— 2 simillima ; oviducto abbreviato, fulvido. 6 .—Les yeux d’un vert bronzé brillant; téte d’un faune pale, ainsi que les antennes, les palpes et la pipette; tous les macrochétes noirs ; chéte antennal noir & base blanche ; thorax d’un faune pale; tergum, avec, en avant, deux lignes rougeatres trés étroites, en -arriére, large- ment blanchatre, ainsi que l’eeusson, de chaque cdté, quatre grandes macules arrondies saillantes, d’un noir luisant, les plus grandes situées en arriére ; €cusson avec trois grandes macules situées sur les cOtés, et une pe- tite tache médiane, toutes semblables; les macrochétes noirs ; abdomen, pieds, entiérement d’un faune pale, base des segments lecérement prui- neux; les fémars antérieurs assez notablement renflés, avec quelques poils brunatres en dessous ; ailes hyalines avec trois larges bandes transver- sales faunes, celle située al’extrémité, se bifurquant en forme de V, dont la branche extérieure contourne le bout du disque, toutes ces bandes mar- ginées d’une nuance grisatre, principalement la branche qui borde l’extré- mité de l’aile-— 9 Semblable au ¢ ; Voviducte court, obtus, rougeatre, Plusieurs spécimens ¢ et @. Beloutchistan. Attaque les Melons. Larve, cilyndroide, allongée, légérement atte- nué aux extrémités, teinte d’un jaune pale et luisant, les annéaux fort peu marqués, deux petits crochets noirs a l'une des extrémités ; fomg. = 11 millon. Cette rémarquable espéce, incontestablement inédite au présent jour, appartient, sans aucun ,doute, au genre Carpomyia (Rondani), inscrit par ’auteur dans son groupe des Tephritoidi ( vide Bullet. della See. Entomol. Lialiano, Vol. If], Fase 2, 1871, Firenze), kK 2 52 Indian Economie Entomology. [ Vol. Il, ITV.—AMERICAN BLIGHT" (Schizoneura lanigera). By E. T. ATKINSON. The insect so well known in England as “ American Blight,” in Ame- rica as “ Woolly Aphis of the apple,” in France as “ Puceron lanigére,”’ in Germany as “ Bluttlaus,” has appeared in India and done considerable damage to orchards in Conoor and Bangaiore. 1t belongs to the order Rhynchota, suborder Homoptera, family Aphida, and genus Schizoneura, and appears under two conditions, one attacking the branches and trunk, the other the roots. In both cases its presence is readily detected by the abnormal growth of gall-like exerescences or knobs on the parts affected, leading eventually, in many cases, to tbe death of the tree. During 1888 it was particularly common in England, where much attention has been paid to devising remedies against it. The aerial form is usually found about the base of twigs or of suck- ers springing from the trunk, or the base of the trunk itself, and in wounds and crevices of the bark. Inautumn they are said to be found abundantly in the axils of the leaf-buds, towards the ends of the twigs, and are easily recognised by the white downy tomentum by which they are covered. Under each patch of down there is usually found a female 1 The following paper was written shortly before Mr. Atkinson’s death. The delay ia publishing it has been due to the preparation of the figures by the Museum artist. The winged insect is copied from a figure which has appeared in American and English works on the subject. The larva and the galls are from specimens furnished by Mr. Daly. No. L. ] American Blight. 53 with her young. These insects are capable of bearing extreme cold, and it would appear that where they hibernate in the open bark, their downy covering increases much in quantity. SCHIZONEURA LANIGHERA, (Aphis), Hausmann, Illiger’s Mag, Insekt.,i1, 1802, p. 440; Banks, Hortic. Soc. Trans., ii, p. 162, t 11; Kirby & Spence, Introd. Ent., 5 ed., 1828, 1, p. 29, 200; ii, p. 225; i, p. 182: Hints on Orchards, Salisbury, 1816, p. 39: Andouin, Ann. Soe. Ent. Fr., iv, p. 9. App.: Goureau, Bull, Soc. Ent. Fr. (2s.) x. 1852, p. xxix. (Sehezoneuraz) Hartig, Germar’s zeitschr. Ent., ii, 1841, p. 367: Kaltenbach, Mon. Pflanzen, i, p. 169: Walker, Cat. Hom,, iv, p. 1048: Buckton, Aphides, iii, p. 89, t. 105, 106: Saunders, Insects injurious to Fruits, 1883, p. 13, 27, f. 1, 18, 14. ° (Lriosoma). Ruricola (Curtis), Gardener’s Chronicle, iv, Feb. 1844, p. 116, £. 1—3: Glover, Rep. Dep, Agric., Unit. States, 1877, p. 38, f. 41. Malt, Coccus, Bingley, Anim. Biogr., iii, 1803, p. 200: (Zriosoma), Samouelle, Compend., i, 1819, p. 16: Mosley, Gardener’s Chronicle, 1, p. 828: (Myzoxylus), Blot, Mem. Soc. Linn. Calvados, i, 1824, p. 114; 2d., Mem. Soe. Agric. Caen, 1830, p. 58: Am. and Serv., Hist. Nat. Ins. Hem., 1844, p. 612: Tougard, Ann. Soe, Hortic. Paris, xiv, p. 341, Pyrt (Eriosoma), Fitch, The Senate, 30, 1851, p. 68: (Schizoneura) ; Walker, Cat. Hom., iv, p. 1052; Suppl., p. 302: (Pemphigus), Fitch, Fourth Rep. N. Y. State Cab. N. H., 1851, p. 68: Walsh, Proc. Ent. Soe. Philad., 1, 1866; 7d., Practical Entomologist, 1866: Glover, Rep. Dept. Agric. Unit. States 1879, p. 38: Riley, Bull. Unit, States Ent. Com., vi, 1881, p. 59. Trunk and branch-inhabiting form.—Hausmann describes the form of the first generation as having the body oval and strongly domed : head, eyes, antenne, rostrum and legs blackish; thorax and abdomen deep honey colour, shining, the latter covered with woolly whitish down. The form of the second generation is winged, somewhat smaller and narrower than that of the first generation, and a second form of the secend gene- ration differs in size and its lighter colour. M. Goureau, quoted by Thomas, describes the stages thus :-— * Apterous individuals—About one-tenth of an inch long; reddish brown and covered above with a white, cottony secretion; antennz short and pale yellow; legs yellowish; knees brown; without honey-tubes, but with a circular cicatrix in place of them. “ Winged individuals.—Antenne shorter than the head and thorax, and varying in colour from brown to black; head and thorax black, a brownish ring at 5A Indian Economie Entomology. [ Vol. IT. the collar; the abdomen chocolate-brown; legs brownish; wings hyaline, with the veins and stigma deep brown; body enveloped in a white cottony secretion. ” Through the labours of Lichtenstein, however, we are able, in some measure, to trace the successive changes through which this insect passes. From the single egg of each female of the last stage comes an apterous so called female (Pseudogyne of Lichtenstein) or ‘ Queen Aphis’ (also called Stammiitter, Altmiitter, Pundatrix, Pseudogyne fondatrice), which becomes the founder of the colony, forms the gall, and after a number of moults fills the gall with its progeny. Buckton describes this ‘Queen Aphis’ thus— “ Size of body, ‘07 x ‘055 inch; 1°77 x 1°39 mill.: length of antenne, ‘015 inch; 0°38 mill.: colour dark shining brown, ap- proaching to black: form oval, flat and ridged: dorsum domed and deeply marked with sutures; eyes very small: antenne and legs very short, black or reddish : nectaries represented by pale papille with a median spot: cauda rudimentary: body sparingly covered with a eottony tomentum, which is most developed at the caudal extremity : rostrum very short, only reaching the second pair of feet. The progeny of the Queen Aphis differs much in size and form from their parent. They are of various shades of red or warm brown, and are less flattened and longer in the body. When just produced, the rostrum is very long, ex- tending far beyond the body, but ceases to grow, whilst the insect itself rapidly increases in size and eventually exudes from its pores long silky threads, which form a covering. After their moults the progeny of the Queen Aphis reaches the second larval state, called the ‘ Emigrant wing- ed! Pseudogynes’ by Lichtenstein, when they leave the galls and fly to some other food-plant and deposit small lice, which form the Gemmantia, or third larval state, (the whole brood being capable of reproducing their species without any connection with a male by a process of germination or budding forth without being enveloped in a pellicle or pseudovum, as observed by Lichtenstein ) This is the curious stage of unlimited apterous reproduction, very much like that observed in the case of the well- known Phylloxera vastatrix (vine pest). Out of the numerous colonies formed arises the winged viviparous females (pupiferous of Lichtenstein), forming the fourth larval state, which carry back to the parent tree the pupa from which issue small apterous male and female lice. The latter after copulation lays the single egg from which the Queen Aphis arises and another cycle commences.? ” Buckton describes the winged viviparous female thus :—“ Expanse of 1JTn Ent. M. M., November 1878, p. 135, Lichtenstein observes that ;the emigrant, or second larval form of Schizoneura lanigera, is wingless.—E. C. C. 2 These stages represent the ascertained facts chiefly in the case of Aploneura lentise?, Pass. No. IL ] American Blight. 55 wings, 0°2 inch; 5°08 mill.: size of body, ‘05 x :025 inch; 1:27 x -62 mill. : length of antennz, ‘025 inch; °62 mill. Uniform colour dusky brown, approaching to black: pronotum rather paler, abdomen carinated and ringed : antenne short ; third joint long and strongly ringed, the three following joints less markedly so: wings ample and rounded at their apices ; membrane smoky and slightly punctured : cubitus broad, ending with a large trapezoidal brown stigma: veins black, cubital vein with a single furcation: legs short, The small sexuated lice produced by this female appear to be born within a pseudovum. They have no rostrum, which is represented by aborted buccal processes, its five-jointed antennze and the tarsi also are not well developed; the eyes are small and the colour of the 9 is yellow, tinged with red. The length of the 9 is 0°63 mill., and of the ¢ 0°50 mill. The fact that both male and female in this stage are without the usual sucking organ shows that they exist simply for the propagation of the species, and when that is accomplished, they perish.” Root inhabiting form.—Thomas describes the root-inhabiting form ealled Pemphigus pyri by Fitch thus :—“'Yhe young larve are scarcely 0:04 inch long, of an oval form, and pale dull yellow colour : legs short, robust and nearly equal in length : the antennz appear much like a fourth pair of legs and are five-jointed. From the extremity of the abdomen usually appears a white filament of flocculent, cotton-like matter * * *,? Winged individuals. —These are nearly quarter of an inch lone to the tips of the closed wings ; body, legs and antenne, coal black; the head and abdomen above covered with cottony down: fore wings transparent and slightly smoky, as though sprinkled with fine dust; veins black ; the third vein is rather more slender than the first, nearly straight, not forked, its basal third abortive ; stigma dark, smoky brown, oblong ; its opposite sides nearly parallel, abruptly conveying to an acute point at each end: hind wings clearer; the two discoidal veins, black. The winged individuals found in Illinois show some slight variation :— gen- eral colour, black ; antennz not quite half as long as the body, third joint half as long as the entire antenne ; abdomen more or less sprinkled with white downy matter: wings transparent, third discoidal vein forked near the middle, its basal portion obsolete ; stigma nearly three times as long as itis wide, pointed at each end, and pale brown: length to the tips of the closed wings, about one-seventh of an inch. Local Reports—Myr. Daly writes (August 1889) from Conoor :— It (S. Zantgera) has destroyed nearly every orchard in Conoor.” * * “ I have syringed the trees affected, with the kerosine and soap emulsion, afterwards applying lime and ashes with a little salt. I hope I have not killed the trees. I cannot see any blight now, but some of the leaves look as if fire had been placed to them. A friend tells me that they have 56 Indian Heonomice Entomology. EP Wok ait got to the roots of his trees and no remedies he can apply eventually de- stroy them.” Under date November 13th, Mr. Daly writes:—“ Out of about 400 apple trees I found about six unmistakably affected. I cut all the branches badly attacked and burned them: then mixed a solution of soap (common country) and kerosine with a little turpentine and _ boil- ing water, stirring round until it was of the consistency of butter. After allowing it to cool I mixed one bottle of this with twelve of water and applied with a garden syringe to the branches and roots. I also applied the soapy congealed matter to any of the insects concealed in the crevices of the trees and also to the trunks, I applied in the same man- ner a mixture of lime and ashes with a little salt mixed. For the last ten days none of these insects are visible and the kerosine and soap emulsion does not appear to harm the trees. In some cases the branches attacked have a knotty appearance like that of the hands of a person suffering from chronic rheumatism. I have heard that planting tomato-plants in the neighbourhood of apple trees alleviates the pest.” * * Under date January 1890, Mr. Daly writes :—‘ My trial of the tomato-plants has led to no further advance of the pests. I have each individual tree examined by a gardener every morning, who is armed with a small pot of the emul- sion and a brush, and if he perceives any new comers, they are treated with a dose of the mixture. The trees attacked are now looking quite healthy, and are apparently free from aphides, which, however, may come back.” I it is probable that the aerial or trunk-inhabiting form at certain seasons descends to the roots or to herbage in their vicinity, and again with a change in the season ascends, leaving some members of the colo- nies, however, always above or below. The tomato-plant may therefore only serve as a source of food for the insect when it descends, and serves to propagate it, and in no way protects the trees. In its aerial form at any rate the insect confines itself to the apple in Europe and does not accept any substitute. The brief account given above will, however, indi- cate the points to be observed locally, for there can be little doubt that some modifications in the habits of this insect must have arisen to suit it to the comparatively strange climate of Conoor and Bangalore. Natural enemies.—It is probable that insects found to attack the woolly Aphis in other countries will be represented in India. Amongst these are spiders who spin their webs directly over the place where the colony of young lice are found to devour them at their leisure. The next in efficiency are the Chaleid flies (Report, Department Agriculture, United States, 1879, p. 259, t. 6, £. 6 : Saunders, Ins, Inj. Fruits, f. 15). The root-inhabiting form is attacked by a Syrphus fly, Pipiza radicum, _ Walsh & Riley (Saunders, Ins. Inj. Fruits, f. 2, 135, 186) in its larval form, when it occurs as a footless maggot of a dirty yellow colour and about quarter of an inch in length. The adult and larval forms of the No. i. J American Blight. 57 Coccinellide (Lady-birds) also feed on the plant-lice, and the larve of the Lace-winged flies (Chrysopa), known by having four delicate lace- like wings (Saunders, /. ¢., f. 133, 134). j Remedies.—For the trunk and branch-inhabiting form is reecom- mended the use of a stiff brush and the application by it of an alkaline wash, This may be made by mixing five seers of fresh lime with one seer of sulphur and four gallons of water and heating until the sulphur is dissolved... Common country soap, reduced to the consistence of paste by the addition of a strong solution of washing-soda in water, also forms a good wash for application with the brush. This should be rubbed into all hollows in the barks, wounds, and wherever the insects appear. The use of the brush and wash has been found effective in England during 1888, and by Mr. Daly at Conoor in 1889. Another effectual but troublesome plan, described by Harris, is to scrape off the rough bark of the infested trees and make them perfectly clean and smooth early in the spring; then rub the trunk and limbs with a stiff brush, wet with a solution of potash; after which remove the earth about the bottom of the trunks, and with the scraper brush an alkaline liquor over that part so far as the roots can be conveniently uncovered. The earth removed should be carried away to a distance or burned, and be replaced by fresh earth, and all cracks and wounds should be filled with grafting cement or clay mortar. Small infested limbs and branches beyond the reach of the application should be cut down and burned, As a preventive measure, Blot recommends :—“ Avoid giving to the nursery, in which the young trees are, any more shade than is absolutely necessary ; avoid placing the trees in too flat or humid ground, give to both nursery and orchard all ventilation possible, so that they may be thoroughly aired, and keep the heads of the trees open so as to favour the circulation of air and the drying of the soil: dig up around the trees frequently, and do not allow rubbish to accumulate at the roots; surround each tree with a mixture of soot or tobacco or sand.” The application of a remedy must depend ina great measure on the climate and soil, and from the suggestions made here, tne Indian fruit-grower must select that one which experience will show him to be the most suitable. For the root-inbabiting form Dr. Fitch recommends the clearing away of earth from the roots and the application of soap-suds in suffi- cient quantities to penetrate the excrescences on the rootlets. Similarly, when transplanting young trees, if the lice appear on the roots, they should be dipped in a solution of soap-suds. Others recommend the application of scalding hot water to the bared roots, but if young trees in a nursery are thus treated, care should be taken net to allow the temperature of the water to exceed 120° tc 150° Fahr. Plant-lice appear to flourish in some places best in a dry porous soil; hence some recom- mend that the earth around the crown of a tree should be kept hollowed 58 Indian Keonomie Entomotogy. | Vol. J. into a sort of basin, in order that water may collect there. Weeding too has the effect of bringing the root-lice nearer to the surface and thus making them more easily reached by the hot water, but lime or ashes should be mixed with the earth. Melted resin, mixed with an equal quantity of fish oil, put on the infested spots, whilst warm, with a brush, also applications of spirits of tar, turpentine, urine, kerosine, soft soaps, and other similar substances, have been recommended, but there is little doubt that the kerosine emulsion fulfils the same purpose quite as effectually. The following works may be consulted with advantage or the life- history of this insect :— Buckton, G. 8.:—‘ Monograph of the British Aphides,’ 11, 1881, p- 89, t. 105, 106, f.1 to 6: Ent. Mon. Mag., xx, p 110. Comtock, J. H.:—Report, Department Agriculture, United States, US Ofp.02 5S. Girard :—=Bull, Insect. Agri., ix, 1884, p. 119, f. 11. Goethe, K.:—WUandwirthschaftliche Jahrb., 1883. Hausmann, F.:—Beitrage zu den materialien fir eine kiinstige bear- beitung der gattung der Blattlause, in Illiger’s Mag. Insekt., i, 1802, p. 426. Kessler, H. F,:—Deutsche Ent. Zeitschrift, xxvii, 1823, p. 26; Ber. Ver. Cassel, 1883, p. 90; Kosmos, xv, 1844, p. 457; Nova Acta Leop. Carol., xlvii, 1885, p. 107, t. xi; S. B. Verh. Zool.-bot. Ges. Wien, xxxv, 1885, p. xxv; ‘Die Entwickelungs—und Lebens-gesechicte der Blutlaus, 8. /anzgera, Hausm. Cassel, 1885. Lichtenstein, J.:—Migrations of plant-lice, Ent. Mon. Mae., xv, 1878, p. 184, 166; 24., xx, 1883, p. 7Y. Thomas, C.:—Highth Report of the State Entomologist on the noxious and beneficial insects of the State of Illinois, p. 126. Spring- field Ill., 1879. Bolt, F.:—Mémoire sur le Pucéron lanigére et sur les moyens de le détruire, Caen, 1831. Anon.— Programme et résumé des observations et des mémoires présentés a la société d’Agriculture de Caen pour la destruction du pu- eéron lanigére, Caen, 1830. Anon.—Moyen de détruire le pucéron lanigére ;—Ann, de |’ Agric. Frang., (2 s.) xliv, 1828, p. 380. Or eo) No. I. ! Descriptions of New Coccida. V.—DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW COCCIDA. By W. M. MASKELL. (With one plate.) { Norz.—The first insect described below has recently been found attacking tea in Assam and the Kangra valley. The second has been found on the leaves of tea in the Kangra valley. The third has been found destructive to the plant Cajanus indicus in Madras.—Z. C. C. | Group—Diaspidine. (senus—Aspidiotus, Bouché. Female puparia circular; pellicles usually in the centre. Male puparia slightly elongated, not carinated ; pellicle at one end. The absence of carination in the male puparia distinguishes this genus from Diaspis. The pellicles of the female are not always in the centre, and when this is the case an examination of the male puparium is necessary for certitude. Aspidiotus thea, Maskell, sp. nov. (Plate I; fig. 1 a, 6, e, d, e.) Female puparia clustered thickly on twigs, as nearly circular as their numbers and position will permit: slightly convex: colour light-brown, covered with a very thin coat of white excretion: pellicles yellow, very small, situated near the margin: the fibrous portion of the puparium rather solid, Diameter averaging ;/, inch. Male puparium elongated, not carinated : pellicle at one end: colour similar to that of the female. Adult female brown peg-top-shaped, the cephalic segment rather large, the pygidium comparatively small. The abdominal segments shrink up more and more as the female approaches gestation, Abdomen ending in two median lobes witha smaller lobe on each side: a few spines and small hairs on the edge, Pygidium on the ventral surface, exhibiting four large “ spinneret-groups”’: the upper pair with from 30 to 40 orifices, the lower pair 15 to 25. On the dorsal surface are a number of tubular spinnerets, and a large patch divided into an irregular lattice-work, the spaces of which are not large, and not constant 1a shape in different specimens, although the size and position of the whole patch is quite constant. Larva when just hatched bluish, flat, active, length about 54, inch. The antennz appear to have six joints, sub-equal, the jast widely dilated at the tip and bearing two longish hairs, Adult male unknown. Habitat.—On tea-plants in India :—(Assam, Kangra valley, &e.) 60 Indian Eeonomic Entomology. C Vol. If. The form of the male puparium forbids the introduction of this species into the genus Diaspis, but I think none of the described species of Aspiniotus has the female pellicles so close to the margin as this one. The “lattice-work *”? arrangement on the dorsal surface of the pygidium is peculiar and destructive. The only other instance in which this curious feature is reported (as far as 1 am aware) is in IJschnaspis fils« formis, Douglas (Kntom. Month. Mag, Vol. XXIV, page 27), but in the description of that species it is not stated whether the lattice- work is on the dorsal or the ventral surface. Chionaspis thea, Maskell, sp. nov. (Plate I, fig. 2 a, B, ¢.) : Female puparium (figure a), light-brown, pyriform, flattish : pellicles brownish-yellow, small length, averaging about +4, inch. Male puparium (figure 4) white ; deeply and conspicuously carinated ; sides more or less parallel: carinations three or four. Pellicle small, yellow. ‘Texture very loose, the puparium having the appearance of three or four short, nearly disconnected, white cottony tubes. Length averaging about 1; inch, breadth about 7, inch. Adult female brown, elongated, form normal of the genus, with conspicuous posterior segments. Abdomen ending in two median lohes with two others smaller at each side: a deepish median depression : short spines. between the lobes, and on the margin three others on each side, the upper pairs of which are rather long and strong. On the last segment above the pygidium two or three longish spines. Five groups of spinnerets : upper group, § orifices: upper laterals, 13 and 16; lower Jaterals, 14: between the groups and the margin a row of single spin- nerets. Rudimentary antenne can be detected on the head. Length of insect about 3/5 inch. Adult male unknown. Habitat.—On tea (Kangra valley, Northern India). The brown female puparium, the arrangement of the spines on the pygidium and the loose little male puparium, distinguish this from almost all other species of the genus: but it seems, at least in the female, to be very closely allied to C. brasiliensis, Signoret, ‘The male puparium, however, in that species is stated to be four times as long as broad, and in texture does not differ from those of other Chionaspides, whereas in C. thee it is half as broad as long, and loose in texture. Group— Lecaniding. Sub-division—Lecano Coccidea, Maskeel. Genus — Eriochiton, Maskeel. Adult female insects covering themselves with a test of felted matter, Noreen Description of New Coccidea. 61 forming more or less complete sacs. Abdominal cleft and lobes present in all stages. Male pupa covered with similar excretion (Scale Lusects of New Zealand, 1887, page 84). Ihave omitted from these generic characters one —‘‘ Secretion is conspicuous or absent on adult females,” which I included in 1887. Such a character, depending merely upon the quantity of the matter covering the insect, 1s after all more accidental than otherwise, and at best ought only to avail for specific differentiation. Eriochiton cajani, sp. nov. (Plate I, fig. 3 a—n.) Test of adult female dirty-grey, moderately thick; so closely felted as to almost resemble wax: elliptical, convex above, usually open be- neath, but sometimes closed: covering the insect completely. The tests are congregated in masses on the twigs, mixed with male puparia and with the younger females. There is usually no marginal fringe, but sometimes a fringe of small segments may be detected: the edges are somewhat thicker than the rest. Surface of the test often rugose, as if composed of many small irregular segments. Length about 5/, inch. Test of male pupa elongate-elliptical, convex, whiter and cleaner- looking than that of the female: very thin, transparent and brittle: at the edge there is a small fringe of very minute segments. Length about 5/5 inch. Larva elliptical, flattish, active, naked : colour reddish- yellow : length about <1, inch: exhibiting a rather wide abdominal cleft with lobes which do not project beyond the extremity. Antenne of six joints, of which the third is the longest, the second the shortest, the rest sub-equal : there are a few hairs on each joint, and on the last one, hair very much longer than the rest. Feet rather long, slender: the tibia is longer than the tarsus (a very abnormal character amongst coccids of all groups): a few hairs on each joint: upper digitals rather thick, lower pair only slightly dilated at the ends. Mentum monomerous. Abdominal lobes small, each bearing one very long seta and a short spine. Anal ring with six longish hairs. The spiracular spines are very long: and all round the margin is a row of minute conical spines, Female of the seeond stage reddish yellow; elongate-elliptical, flattish, active: length about =, inch. Antenne of six sub-equal joints, the last bearing some shortish hairs. Abdominal cleft wide, as in the larva: lobes short, each bearing six shortish set, arranged in pairs. Anal ring with numerous hairs, There is a thin, white, mostly fragmentary test, which at the edges forms a fringe of short cylindrical tubes: these tubes spring from the marginal conical spines, which are of two sizes, as in the adult. 62 Indian Economic Entomology. [ Vol. iI. Adult female dull brownish-yellow : at first elliptical, tapering some- what posteriorly, convex, and filling the test: afterwards shrivelling up towards the cephalic end of the test: length from #4, to 4, inch. HEpider- mis rugose, as in the test. - Abdomen ending in a rather wide cleft with short broad lobes, each lobe bearing two short unequal sete. Anogenital ring with very numerous hairs. Antenne of seven sub-equal joints, the last bearing afew short hairs. Feet slender, upper digitals long and rather thick, lower pair very widely dilated at the ends: tibia longer, but not much longer, than the tarsus. Edges of the’ body rather thick, bearing a double row of conical spines, one row larger than the other. Spiracular spines very long. There are a good many tubular spinnerets on the dorsum, mostly near the edges. Male pupa reddish-brown: length about 54 inch. Four dorsal and two ventral eyes can be made out, and two ocelli. Adult male unknown. Habitat.—On Cajanus indicus in Madras, ! India. This insect is clearly Lecanid, from the abdominal cleft, the very numerous hairs of the anogenital rine, and the seven-jointed antenne of the adult. It exhibits characters closely allied to those of four described e@enera. From Szgnoretia, Targioni, it differs in its much more closely felted test and in the antenne, that European genus having antenne of eight joints. Hriopeltis, Signoret, and Phalippia, 'Targioni, have both loose cottony sacs and antenne of six joints, But the genus Hriochiton in New Zealand differs only in the guantity of the excreted matter cover- ing the adult female. In the New Zealand forms this is usually frag- mentary or inconspicuous, being most easily seen in the second stage : in the Indian insect 16 is thick and constant on the adult. But sucha character may fairly be considered as only trivial. There is indeed one oint in which the new species differs from all the above: and that is the length of the tibia, as compared with the tarsus, in the larva. But this indeed is so abnormal that, if stress were laid on it, not only a new genus, but a new group would have to be established to include the in- sect: because it 1s probably an invariable mark of the larval stage in any other coccid that the tarsus is longer than the tibia. Setting, then, this aside, there seems to be no genus to which this insect can be so well ascribed as Hrzochiton, and it has therefore been here so placed. 1 The specimens were furnished, in January 1890, by the Assistant Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Madras, as destructive to the plant Cajanus indicus. Novela A Darjiling Sal Pest. 63 VI.—A DARJILING SAL PEST. By G. C. DUDGEON. [Norge.—A specimen of this insect, furnished by Mr. Dudgeon, has been examined by Mr. F. Moore, who determines it as a Psychid belonging to a new species of Humeta, which he deseribes on page 66 under the name of Humeta sikkima.— £.C.C. | : The larva of this moth is found everywhere in the Darjiling district where sal trees grow, and would be perhaps the most to be feared as a pest, sbould it increase greatly, which it has apparently little to prevent it from doing. It appears, however, to be little known, probably on account of its ability of hiding itself within its case, made of moss, bark and dried leaves, at the slightest alarm, and in this manner making itself almost indistinvuishable from the bark or twigs near which it may be suspended whilst feeding, Before describing the larva I will proceed to give a short description of the perfect insects, male and female. The male moth, which, like others of the same family, is alone perfectly developed (the female being a mere bag of eggs without any limbs, wings, eyes, or even antenn), measures 2°8 inches in expanse, 64, Indian Economie Eutomology. (Violaeie Wings entire. The scales on both wings are sparsely scattered. ‘The fore wing has the whole space between the costal margin and the subcostal nervure reddish ochre; the discoidal cell distinctly divided into three por- tions by two interlineal nervules ; the whole spaze between the submedian nervure and the inner margin reddish ochre. All the rest of the fore wing, with the exception of the following markings is semitransparent, and powdered with fuliginous scales ; all the nervules are defined distinctly with black ; the interspace above the first discoidal nervule is white, basal- ly ; there is a marginal triangular white spot in the interspace between the first and second discoidal nervules ; the first median nervule is bifurcated from the base, enclosing a large marginal quadrate spot; there is a sub- marginal black patch connecting the lower branch of the first to the second median nervule; there are also pale spots along the margin between the second and third median nervules, and the third median nervule and submedian nervure. The hind wing is semitransparent fuliginous, with the nervules only slightly darker ; the base of the wing is clothed with ‘long dark brown hairs. The antenne are highly pectinated and are about a third of the length of the fore wing. Eyes smooth. Legs densely covered with hair. Thorax whitish buff with central and subdorsal black longitudinal bands, Abdomen covered with dark brown hair. The female, which never completely emerges from the pupa shell, unless by accident, until it has laid allits eggs, is simply askin full of eggs, with a scutellate formation at the head end, and an ordinary ovipositor and sexual organs at the other. My figure gives a correct representation, magnified 2% diameters, of all that is visible outside the pupa case. There does not seem to be any trace of any limbs or features, which are present in the male. The head end consists of a sharp beak-like protu- berance, with an edged under surface, followed by two short pointed processes on a wrinkled hard surface. The backs of the thoracial segments are covered with a hard shell-like formation, of a light brown colour, re- sembling the pupa shell, but smoother and lighter coloured. The abdo- men is of a pale buff colour, with a broad dorsal and narrower lateral yellowish line, extending throvghout. There is a ring of tawny velvety scales round the last segment but one, formed of extremely fine scales and the end of the abdominal part of the pupa shell is filled with loose scales of a different shape, which the insect drives out of its pupa shell by means of its maggot-like contortions. I believe that the expulsion of these scales serves to attract the male, and they are probably odoriferous ; they are also used to cover the eggs, which are always laid inside the pupa shell. Some collectors have thought that the part of a female Psychid moth which protruded from the cocoon was the sexual organ, but had they seen a male copulating with the female, they would at once have recognised their mistake, Indeed, the head end has at first sight somewhat the appearance of some insects’ sexual organs, No. 1. ] A Darjiling Sal Pest. 65 The males of this and another species of the same family in my collection, kindly named for me by Mr. Moore as Gorisana bipars (?) (Waiker), are easily attracted to virgin females. Ihave taken seven males of the latter species in about two hours, by hanging a virgin female on the branch of a tree, and preventing connection, and when at last connection was formed, I saw one or two males flying round a few yards away, but they did not settle, and only left again in a few minutes. Copulation is formed by the male settling on the head of the female and forcing its abdomen, which it is capable of producing to more than half again its original length, in between the pupa shell and the body of the female, in the meantime the latter performs a series of contortions which facilitate the insertion of the male’s abdomen. The female lays its eggs within the pupa shell among the remaining loose scales, which have not been emitted and which serve as a kind of protection for theeges. After laying all, or nearly all, its eggs, its abdo- men so decreases in size that it drops out of the chrysalis shell and dies. The eggs are yeliow, simple, smooth ovals, slightly squared at the ends and unmarked, ‘The outer covering is not hard and shell-like, but is simply a skin, and the least touch will put the ege quite out of shape and useless. The ege stage appears to be the most critical part of the insect’s life, as during the larva and pupa stages it is practically safe from the attacks of birds, and from other insects, except ants; but I have often found the empty female’s cocoons inhabited by earwigs, and small beetle larvae, which lead me to think that the eggs have been eaten by these intruders. The larve emerge about the first of April from eggs laid at the begin- ning of March in the same year. This is the first brood of the year, but the others do not follow in any regularity, and it has been impossible for me to ascertain how many broods there are, as the larve and pupe are found in all stages throughout the rains. Larve when firstemerged are about one-sixteenth of an inch in length. Colour reddish brown. Heads large, mandibles strong. Body cylindrical, tapering towards the tail end. Pectoral legs large, long, and very powerful; abdominal legs, seen per- fectly through magnifying glass, semideveloped, ten in number, includ- ing anal legs. Pectoral 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 abdo- minal 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 F 66 Indian Economie Entomology. [ Vol. II. 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. If a full-grown larva be removed from its case (which can only be done by cutting the case open, as it seems to prefer death to being squeezed out) it will be found that it is almost helpless and cannot progress at all on a flat surface, as its anterior legs are too long and its prolegs are too short, and are useless to it without its ease. The whole body is a purplish brown, covered with short bristles ; the anterior sezments have a dorsal shell-like covering of a pale buff colour, variegated with reddish brown. The head is reddish brown, and not very large. The abdomen has a lateral row of small red spots encircling the breathing apertures. Anterior legs strong and rather long. Prolegs very small. When the larva is about to undergo its change, it fastens the upper part of the case firmly round a twig or on to the bark - of a tree, and draws out the mouth in the shape of a neck, which it closes. It then covers the inside of the case, now converted into a cocoon, with a very fine, soft loose silk, and then turns round, keeping its head downwards for the change. The pupa of the male insect is of the usual shape, cylindrical, shiny dark, mahogany coloured, The abdomen is rather long and pointed. Wings and thorax short, antenne large, broad, Palpi enclosed in a small blunt process at the top of the head. All the abdominal segments are minutely toothed dorsally, and there are a few short bristles on the mesothorax. By this means the pupa can easily draw itself upwards or downwards. ‘The cocoon of the male is smaller than that of the female. The pupa of the female insect is very much thicker than the male, and is also of a lighter reddish brown colour. Length 1 to 1:17 inches, greatest breadth °42 to*S inches. Shape cylindrical, attenuated at both ends (anal end rather suddenly so), and ending in a sharp curved point ; other end truncated and wrinkled, with no trace of the features usually apparent in lepidopterous pups. This end is bluntly beaked and keeled on the back of the first three segments. The fourth seg- ment projects slightly over the fifth, There are breathing apertures from tiie fourth to the tenth segments along the sides. On the under surface of the fifth to eighth segments, there is a sublateral row of dark dots, one on each segment. The whole surface, with the exception of the wrinkled parts on the first three sezments, is smooth, and the edges of the segments are slightly defined with dark brown. The edges of the two thickest serments are furnished with a minute row of teeth-like processes, apparently to enable the pupa to work itself upwards or down- wards at will. When the pupa changes to the perfect insect, the shell covering the head and thoracial segments alone is cast off, and the No. 1.] A Darjiling Sal Pest. 67 insect cuts its way out of the lower end of its cocoon by means of its sharp edged beak, propelling itself forward by the aid of the two pointed processes and the toothed seements of the abdomen of the pupa shell. I have occasionally found the caterpillar singly on tea bushes adjoin- ing sal forest, but, although they eat the leaves, they do not appear to do so by preference, neither do they feed gregariously, as is the case with the larvee of Govisana bipars (?) (Walker), which completely strips the tea bushes it feeds on and often kills them by taking off the bark to make its case. [NotE.—Since writing this, I have taken the larvee commonly on tea bushes at eleva- tions of from two to three thousand feet above sea-level in this district. ] VII—A NEW PSYCHID INJURIOUS TO SAL.’ By F. MOORE. Eumeta sikkima (nov. sp., Moore), nearest allied to the Ceylonese £. layardi (Moore, Lep. Ceylon, II, 102, pl. 118, fig, 2, ¢). Darker coloured generally. Fore wing with the costal border, the area longi- tudinally below the cell, and the posterior border darker brown ; the veins also blacker. On the hind wing the general colour is also darker throughout. Body much darker coloured, and the black tufts of hairs on thorax and abdomen more prominent. Expanse of wings 1} inch. Habitat.—Sikkim. The larva feeds on the sal (Shorea robusta), and forms a large fusi- form case longitudinally covered with leaves of the tree, and before pupating suspends the case to an adjacent twig. [ Norn.—Z. sikkima is quite distinct from the Ceylonese ZL. erameri and its ally the Bombay Z. letthiz, both of which latter species are much smaller in size, and each have the antennal combs on both sides of the shaft about half the length of those in JZ. layardi and EF. sikkima, the breadth of the antenne in both the latter species being conspicuously broad. All the species of the genus Hwmeta are much alike, superficially. Hi, cramert, HE. leithii, and #. layardi are stated to form twig-covered cases, whereas the Sikkim species covers its case with Jeaves. ] 1 The lifeshistory of this species is described above by Mr. G. C. Dudgeon. Government of India Central Printing Office.—No. 237 R, & A.—21-11-91.—975.—F. J. B. P y ane “4 wade ve bE eek PU A ) MAY 22 1897 Vol. II. | [No. 2. INDIAN MUSEUM NOTES. THE WILD SILK INSECTS OF INDIA. By EH. C. COTES. The following account of the wild silk-producing insects of India is intended to be a supplement to the paper on the cultivated forms, pub- lished as Vol. I, No. 3, of these No¢es. It includes a summary of what has been ascertained about the various forms of Saturniide and Bomby- cide which occur in India—the mulberry-feeding silk worms, and the Eri, the Muga, and the Tusser alone being omitted, as they have already been dealt with in the paper on the cultivated forms. It is a well known fact that the caterpillars of most moths spin a small amount of silk. The only groups, however, which contain species whose silk is at all suited for utilization are the Saturniids and Bomby- cide, and the whole of the Indian species belonging to these groups, therefore, have been included in the present report, though many of them do not produce sufficient silk to be of any use. So much, however, has of late years been said about the wild silk insects of India, and such exaggerated opinions have been expressed as to their value, that it has been thought best to deal exhaustively with the matter, so as to clear the ground and show precisely how the question really stands. All that is known about the possible commercial utility of the cocoons of the various species has been noticed in dealing with each insect. The conclusion’ arrived at has been, that while many of the wild species produce silk which would be of considerable value if it were forthcoming in sufficient quantities, there is nothing to show that any of it is superior to the silk produced by the species which are already under cultivation 2 and although the cocoons of numerous wild species are collected, when they happen to be found, and are sold to be spun up with other materials, this source of supply is too precarious to have any commercial import- ance; so that upon the whole it may be concluded that an increased demand for Indian silk is far-more likely to stimulate the production of the species which are already under cultivation than to bring any of the wild forms into general use. The only cogoons, other than those of the cultivated forms, which are to be found in any appreciable quantity in the Calcutta market, belong 70 Indian Museum Notes. [ Vol. Il, to the species Aftacus cynthva, and even these do not appear in sufficient numbers to be of any importance. Of the remaining wild species, the most promising seem to be; (1) Cricula trifenestrata, whose golden colored cocoons are often to be found in large masses upon mango and other trees in many parts of India, and have been favorably reported upon by some experts, though the silk is said to irritate the skin of the wearer, owing to urticating properties of the caterpillars’ hairs which are liable to get spun up with it; (2) Antherea roylec, which lives upon hill oaks in the Himalayas and is elosely allied to the oak feeding species Antherga pernyt and Antherea yamamar which produce most of what is known as the 7ussore silks of China and Japan; (8) Zheophila huttoni, whose cocoons are sometimes to be found in considerable number upon wild mulberry trees in the North-West Himalayas, and might occa- sionally be worth collecting, though, according to Captain Hutton, the crop is too precarious to have much value. In drawing up this account constant reference has been made to the collections of the Indian Museum, which now contain representatives of all the commoner forms of Indian Saturniide and Bombycide. The literature of the subject has also been carefully consulted and an attempt has been made to introduce some order into it, by indicating the affinities oi a number of so-called species, which have in many cases been founded solely upon trifling peculiarities detected in dried specimens, though these peculiarities are often so shght that the insects are practically indistinguishable. Where, therefore, there is no known difference in structure or life history to justify the separation of what are evidently very closely ailied forms, it has been thought best to deal with them under the headings of the ones earliest described, the existence, however, of the allied forms being in each case indicated, so as to prevent the possibility of confusion arising, in the event of fundamental differences — being in any cases hereafter brought to light. Figures of all the well marked forms have been appended, where possible, with illustrations of the caterpillars and cocoons ; and in all cases where there is‘any possibility of doubt about the identity of a species which has been figured, the authority adopted for its identification has been quoted. The most re- liable specimens in the Museum collection of Saturniide and Bombycide are probably those collected by the late Mr. Otto Moller in Sikkim and determined by Mr. H. J. Elwes, but the Museum also possesses several of the late Captain Hutton’s types, as well as numerous insects determined by Mr. F. Moore, and the whole of these specimens have in each case been carefully examined, reference being also made to a con- siderable collection of Indian moths belonging to Colonel A. M. Lang and determined by Mr. F. Moore. With regard to the plates with which this report is illustrated, the figures of the larvee of Zheophila affinis, Th. huttoni, and Th. bengalensis, No. 2. ] Wild Sitk Insects of India. 71 - are from colored drawings made some years ago by the Museum artist, Behari Lal Dos, under the direction of the Superintendent of the Indian Museum. The figure of the cocoon of Theophila afiinis is a photo- graph kindly taken by Mr. Wood-Mason. The figures of Antherea yomamar and A. pernyt are after figures published in the Rev. et Mag de Zool. and the Tijd. Voor, Ent. in illustration of papers by Guérin Méneville and Westmaas. The figure of the larva of Ocinara lactea is after one published in the Trans. Ent. Soe., Lond., in illustration of a paper by Captain Hutton. The remaiaing figures have been made from the specimens by the Museum artist, Grish Chunder Chuckerbutty, under the direction of the writer. Arracus attas, Linn. Plate 2, fig. 1. This moth is well known on account of its great size, some of the specimens in the Indian Museum being more than ten inches across from tip to tip of wings. It is common on the slopes of hil] ranges all over India and Burma; and, according to Gosse, ranges in South- Eastern Asia over 35° of latitude and 55° of longitude, being abund- ant in China and scattered over the whole of the Malay Archipelago. The life history of the insect has been fully deseribed by Gosse (Entomologist XII, p. 25), Manuel (Journ. Agri. Hort. Soe. Ind. n.s. Vol. VII, p. 291), and by Brownlow (Journ. Agri. Hort. Soe. Ind. n.s. Vol. V, p. 183). According to Manuel the insect spins once a year in its natural state, though in domestication in Burma it will spin twice or even three times,—once at the commencement of the rains, once during the rains, and again at the close of the rains, the best cocoons being those formed towards the beginning of the cold weather, The female moth is very sluggish, and seldom flies; the male, which has a powerful flight, usually seeking her out and fertilizing her as she clings to the cocoon from which she has emerged ; for this purpose the male is furnished with some sense, probably of smell, which enables him to find the female unerringly, however thick the foliage in which she is concealed. After fertilization the female lays about 300 ego's in masses which are firmly gummed on to the under surface of the leaves upon which the caterpillars afterwards feed. Tne food plants are very numer- ous ;in Almorah the caterpillar has been found upon a bush belonging to the genus Berberis ; in the,hills about Mussoorie upon Falconeria insignis (Hutton); m Assam on Vangueria spinosa (Stack) ; im Sikkim upon Teucrium macrostachyum, a species which grows abundantly from an elevation of 6,000 feet upwards (Otto Moller); in Bangalore upon a species of Ocimum (Cameron) ; in Burma upon Ardisia sp., Clerodendron infortunatum, Dillenia pentagynia, Lagerstremia indica, Nauclea rotund. folia, Phyllanthus emblica, and Schleichera trijuga (Manuel); while Gosse succeeded in rearing it upon apple, and in Ceylon the form 72 Indian Museum Notes. [ Vol. If. described by Moore as Attacus taprobanis, which is said to be very com- mon about Colombo, feeds upon cinnamon ( Thwaites). The eggs are oval in shape, about 0:08 of an inch in diameter, in color greenish white, with brownish purple clouding, which readily washes off. They hatch about a week after being laid, and the caterpillars which emerge are generally sluggish and solitary in their habits, seldom wan- dering to any distance from their birthplace unless driven by scarcity of food. When first hatched they are little dark colored creatures, about a third of an inch in length, and covered with hairy tubercles ; they grow rapidly, however, and after the first molt become lighter in color and are soon covered with a dense white flour-like secretion which accumulates upon them after each molt. After passing some twenty days as cater- pillars, and molting about five times, they are full grown and ready to spin themselves up into their cocoons; a very large proportion of them, however, fall victims, before they reach this stage, to the ants, wasps, and other foes which are always on the look-out for them. When the caterpillars leave off feeding, preparatory to spinning, they are sometimes as much as five inches in length by an inch in diameter, but they contract consider- ably before actually commencing their cocoons. The cocoon is spunin the usual manner and is so closely enveloped in the leaves of the food plant that, when it is torn away, permanent impressions, showing the shape and neuration of the leaves, are left upon the silk. The cocoon is generally drab colored, and from two to three inches long, by an inch in diameter ; it is irregular in shape, with thin firm walls, which are scarcely at all silky in appearance, except at the upper extremity where there is a natural orifice for the exit of the moth. ‘This orifice is formed, as in the cocoons of other Saturniide, by the convergence of a great number of silken fibres, which are left ungummed and are therefore soft and flossy, opposing an almost impenetrable hedge to any animal which tries to force its way into the cocoon, but opening readily when pushed aside by the moth which emerges from within. The moth thus effects its escape with hardly any perceptible disarrangement of the fibres, which close together again behind it. The stiff gummed parchment-like wall of the cocoon passes upon one side of the orifice, so as to form a cord, which is firmly wrapped around the twig from which the cocoon hangs, thus securing it from mishap in case the leaves, in which it is wrapped, beeome detached. The cocoon contains a large amount of thick strong silk which cannot indeed be reeled easily enough to make it worth doing, but which would have a considerable market value for carding and spinning purposes, if lerge quantities could be obtained; it is said that some of these cocoons have been collected in Burma and exported to England for this purpose, while attempts have also been made to domes- ticate the insect in China ; but upon the whole experts seem to be agreed No: 2.] Wild Silk Insects of India. 73 that there is no chance of the Atdas silk competing successfully with that of such species as the ¢wsser, which can be obtained so much more easily. Connected with Attacus atlas, besides Attacus edwardsi, which is pro- bably a distinet though closely allied species, we may notice Attacus sithetica of Helfer (Journ. A. 8. B. VI, p. 41, 1837) and Attacus tapro. banis of Moore, Lep. Ceyl. IL, p. 124, 1882), both of which forms, so far as the descriptions and figures of them go, seem indistinguishable from Attiacus atlas. Atracus epwarpsui, White. Plate 2, fig. 2. A large species, somewhat darker in color and with somewhat larger and differently arranged white markings, but very similar, both in general appearance and in size to Aétacus atlas, of which it is little more than a constant variety. It is found in the hillsin many parts of India (Sikkim, Shillong, Khasi Hills, Mussoorie, Western Ghats, and Mysore), but is usually scarce. In Sikkim, according to the late Mr. Otto Moller, it is found at an altitude of from6,000 to 7,000 feet and goes through but one generation in the year, hibernating as a pupa inside the cocoon, from which it emerges as a moth during the rains (July to September). The cocoon is much like that of Aftacas atlas, butis Somewhat denser in struc. ture and sufficiently different in shape tobe distinguishable. The cater- pillar is very like that of Attacus atlas, but differs from it markedly in possessing a number of black speckles on the two anterior pairs of fleshy protuberances. The specimen from which the drawing of the larva has been made was obtained by Mr. A. V. Knyvett at Kurseong, Mr. Knyvet de- scribes the caterpillar as follows :—‘‘ General color, sreen-powdered above, especially on the tentacles, with a white powder which comes off in flakes, tentacles about half an inch in length, oceurring in pairs on the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, séventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh segments, the twelfth segment being furnished with a singlemedium tentacle: the tentacles on the third and fourth segment are bluish, dotted ‘with black, those on the other segments are green at the base, bluish at the apex, and covered with flakes of white powder; stigmata, light greenish blue in color; anal claspers with a large vermilion spot.” Attacus cyntTHia, Drury. Plate 3, This species is very closely allied to the ere silk moth (Attacus ricint) and is probably the original wild form from which the erz has been derived by domestication. It can, however, be easily distinguished from the ez, by its larger size and brighter and more golden coloration, and as the two forms appear to have somewhat different habits, it seems best to look upon them as belonging to distinct species. Atiacus cynthia is said to range over India, China, and some of the Malay Islands; in the Indian Museum are specimens from Mussoorie, 7A, Indian Museum Notes. L Vol. I. Sikkim, Shillong, Buxa, and Sibsagar, besides a single specimen from the Andaman Islands of what seems to be a local variety. It is said to be common up to 5,000 feet in Sikkim, where, it is thought to be trivoltine, feeding upon Zanthoxylum acanthopodium, or %. alatum (Meller). Its larval stages do not appear to have been ob- served in India. The cocoons, though much smaller in size, are very similar in structure, coloration, and general appearance to the cocoons of Attacus atlas; they are smaller and more compact than cocoons of 4. ricint, but appear nevertheless to contain a considerable amount of silk, which would no doubt be valuable for carding purposes if it could be obtained in any considerable quantities. Of late they have appeared in the Caleutta market, where they are known as Junglies. Mr. G.C, Hodson writes that they are brought to market by Mahomedans, while the evi and muga trade is entirely in the hands of Marwarries. According to Captain Hutton the insect is also identical with a semi-domesticated species which ~ is reared on a small scale in some parts of China, upon Azlanthus glandu- Zosa, for the production of silk, and which has also been raised experi- mentally upon the same plant in Europe, The forms Attacus guerint (Moore), Attacus obscurus (Butler), Attacus canningit (Hutton), and Satwruia tole (Westwood), have at different times been described as distinct species. From the descriptions and figures that have been given of them, however, they appear to be so nearly related to A, cynthia and A. ricini that until cause is shown for their separation it seems best to look upon them as synonyms of one or other of these two species. Of the species Attacus vesta (Walker) no description has been found, and it may, therefore, be neglected. The moths, figured on plate 3, were determined by Mr. H. ‘J. Elwes; the cocoon was_one furnished by Mr. Otto Moller. AcTtas SELENE, Hiibner. Plate 4. This species is common in collections from all parts of India, and is said to occur in Ceylon and China. In the Indian Museum are speci- mens from Simla, Shillong, Khasi Hills, Sylhet, Sibsagar, Manbhum, Gobindpur, Lakhimpur, and from the neighborhood of Calcutta. In Sikkim, according to Moller, it is fairly common at an elevation of from 3,000 to 5,000 feet. It passes the winter asa pupa inside the cocoon, and goes through two generations in the summer, the first set of moths appearing in early spring and the second in July and August. The food plant of the caterpillar is Zanthorylum acanthopodium or Z. alatum. In the hills around Mussoorie it was found by Hutton to feed on the wild cherry, wild pear, walnut, Cedrela paniculata, Coriaria nepalensis (Munsoory) and several other forest trees. The cocoon is coarse in texture, yields but little silk, and, as it is not forthcoming in any con- siderable quantities, it has no commercial value. No. 2.] Wild Silk Insects of India. "5 The following account of the rearing of the caterpillar in Mussoorie is taken from Captain Hutton’s writings as given in Moore’s Catalogue of Lepidoptera in the East India Museum :— ** Moths, found in cov¢u in the middle of April, each laid, in the course of a few days, about 300 eggs which are about the size of mustard seed. After depositing their eggs the moths rapidly died off and the eggs began to hatch about the end of the month. The larve when first hatched are about a quarter of an inch in length, hairy, and of a pale rufous red with a single black band across the middle of the body, and a small black transverse mark on the anterior segment; along the back are two rows of small tubercles and another along each side, from each of which spring a few short hairs, the base of which forms a small black dot. There is also an anal tubercle, larger than the others, and placed between the two last tubercles of the dorsal rows ; the head is black. . . . The first molt commenced when siz days old, and this occupied three days, so that at the end of nine days the larva appeared in its second stage. The black transverse band upon the body had disappeared, but the head still vemained of that color, and the rest of the body was hairy and rufous, the tubercles being black on the summit and more prominent; pro-legs brown. The period between each change was about ten days in some specimens, but varied in others between that and shorter periods, . . In the third stage the caterpillar appeared of a bright rufous color, the black dots, or tubercles, being larger and more prominent, but there were no black bands. In the fourth stage the change was still more remarkable, for the cater- pillar now appeared ofa beautiful apple green, each tubercle headed with bright orange, except the four which spring from the second and third segments, which are ringed with black and crowned with pale yellow; and the anal and two posterior tubercles, which are green throughout. From each tubercle springs a small tuft of hair, the centre one of each being longer than the others; the head and pro-legs brown. Along each side is a line, which is red above and yellow below, and the spiracles are red ; there is a line of very small yellow dots along each side between the rows of tubercles. In the fifth stage the colors are the same as they are in the fourth, also in the sixth and seventh stages ; but the caterpillar increases rapidly in size, and is most beautiful and delicate in appearance, with a semi-transparency of hue which makes it look some- thing like waxwork. One of these commenced spinning its cocoon on the 17th of July, being then about forty-six or forty-seven days old, and the remainder after the interval of a day or two; that is, on the 19th, 20th, and 25th July. The cocoon is formed of coarse brown silken threads, closely interwoven and of an ovate form. It is inclosed among the leaves of the tree, which are, in fact, glued closely round it. It is hard and not furnished interiorly with a soft silken bed, the chrysalis lying within a hard and hollow chamber. The chrysalis remained thus until the 14th August, when the one which had turned on the 17th July produced a perfect female after a period of twenty-nine days. Another, which had turned on the 19th July, came forth a male on the 16th August, showing the time to be pretty uniform. A large caterpillar, however, found in the forest on the 16th July, turned to a chrysalis on the 24th of that month; but, instead of coming forth in the autumn, it remained in the chrysalis state throughout the winter, as did some others, coming out in the following summer, namely on the 11th, 14th, and 18th of June.” Hutton also describes the manner in which the moth works its way out of the cocoon by the aid of its wing spurs, which seem to have a cutting edge and to be used to sever the silk strands of the cocoon. The moths from which the figures were made were determined by Mr. H. J. Elwes; the cocoon was furnished by the late Mr. Otte Moller. 76 Indian Museum Notes. [ Vol, IU. Acttas LeTO, Doubleday. Plute 5. This is a large insect allied to Actias selene ; it is found at low eleva- tions in the Himalayas and in Assam. According to Moller it is bivoltine, hibernating as a pupa inside its cocoon, the moths appearing in spring and autumn, its food plant in Sikkim being Turpina pomifera. In the Indian Museum, besides specimens of the moth from Sikkim, Buxa, and Sibsagar, there is a cocoon received from Sikkim as belonging to this species. It is much like cocoons of 4, se/ene in structure and appearance, but is remarkable for a number of neat round holes, each about the sixteenth of an inch in diameter which penetrate the cocoon on allsides; these, however, may possibly have been caused by hymen- opterous parasites.' Little seems to be known about the species, which is far too rare to have any value as asilk producer. It is chiefly remark- able for the great difference in the shape and coloration of the two sexes, which are so dissimilar in appearance that they were for many years thought to be distinct species, and in most works on Entomology are described—the male as A. leto, the female as 4. menas. Connected with Actias letois a form which is found in the Andaman Islands and | which has been described by Moore under the name of Actias ignescens (P Z. 8. 1877, p. 602). There are no representatives of it in the Indian Museum, but from the description it appears to be little more than a local variety of A. deto. The moths from which the figures were made were determined by Mr, H. J. Elwes ; the cocoon was furnished by the late Mr. Otto Moller. ANTHERMA FRITHII, Moore. Plate 6. - In the Indian Museum are specimens of this species from Sikkim, Sibsagar, and Buxa. According to Moller it is a bivoltine species, common at low elevations in Sikkim, where it feeds upon sal (Shorea robusta), hibernating as a pupa, and the moths appearing in March and August, respectively. Rondot (L’Art de la Sote UH, p. 117, 1887) writes that according to Fallon, who reared it in France, the larva is of an ochre yellow, ringed with black. The cocoons are yellowish white in color and very similar to those of 4. roylez, but less silky on the exterior. According to Rondot they contain a considerable amount of silk. The above seems to be all thatis known of Antherea frithti, which is too searce to be likely to be of any use as a silk producer. The specimens from which the figures were made were reared in the Indian Museum from cocoons furnished by the late Mr. Otto Moller. 1 Since the above was written information has been received from Mr. A. V. Knyvett, who has observed this species in Sikkim, and has found the holes invariably present jn the cocoons. No. 2. ] Wild Silk Insects of India. "7 ANTHERHA HELYERI, Moore, Plate 7, fig. 1. In the Indian Museum are several moths of both sexes of this species from Sikkim, but there are no authentic cocoons, and little seems to be known about it beyond the bare fact of its occurrence in Sikkim, and Hutton’s observation (Journ. Agri. Hort. Soc. Ind. III., p. 125, 1871) that the cocoon resembles that of the Tusser (Antherea mylitta). The insect is far too scarce to have any commercial value whatever. The moth from which the figure of the male was made was determined by Mr. H, J. Elwes, The figure of the female is taken from a specimen in Colonel A. M. Lang’s collection determined by Mr. F. Moore. ANTHERHA ROYLEI, Moore. Plate 9. In the Indian Museum are specimens of this species from Simla, Mussoorie, Sikkim, and the Khasi Hills, also a cocoon from Sikkim. It is said to be very closely allied to Antherea pernyt, a semi-domesticated species largely reared upon oaks in China for the production of silk. Rondot, indeed, in his L’ Art de la Soze, Vol. II, notices that a hybrid race has been obtained by crossing 4. pernyt males with A. roylei females. If, therefore, Hutton is right in saying that 4. roylec can be easily reared upon the common hill oak (Quercus dilatata 7), it is not by any means impossible but that it may become of value for the production of silk in the Himalayas, the cocoons being of a kind which would certainly be valuable for carding, if not for reeling purposes, Little has hitherto been recorded about this insect, though it has been bred by several people both in India and in Kurope (see Entomologist, XIV, p. 246, and Bull. Soc. Ent. France (5), 1V, p. 154). Hutton writes in the Journ. Agri. Hort. Soc. Ind. III, p. 125, 1871: “Antherea roylec is common at Simla, Mussoorie, Almora, and I think Darjiling. It feeds upon tke common hill oak, spinning a large but thin cocoon between three or four leaves . . . . The outer coating is very strong, and I do not think it could be reeled, but within this case is the true cocoon, of an oval form and yielding good silk. The worms are easily reared and sometimes give two or three crops, but this is when treated in the house.” Major Harford also, writing recently from the North-West Himalayas, notices the peculiar double-walled cocoons which he has found upon dex (hill oak?) and the khakee colored males and pinkish females he has bred from them. Some observations also on the habits of 4. roylez, by the late Mr. Otto Moller, appeared on page 201 of Vol. I of these Notes ; it is thought, however, that these observations referred to some other species, as the cocoon forwarded with them was single-walled and peduneulate, instead of having the double-wa!led struc- ture characteristic of typical A. roylec cocoons, A double-walled cocoon found by Mr. A. V. Knyvett on a chestnut tree in Sikkim was sent to 78 Indian Museum Notes. f Viol wie the Indian Museum in May 1890, and produced, in the early part of the rains, a female moth of the typical pinkish color, and Mr. Knyvett also writes that he has found A. roylez cocoons on Mohwa trees, oak, and birch in Sikkim. The above is all that we at present know about J, roylei proper. The figures of the caterpillar and cocoon are taken from specimens obtained by Mr, A. V. Knyvett in Sikkim ; those of the moths from Hutton’s type specimens which are in the Indian Museum collection. Closely connected with A. roylec proper is an insect with a firm singled- walled pedunculate cocoon which has been found by Mr. A. V. Knyvett upon wild cherry trees in Sikkim. The cocoons of this form, which have been sent to the Indian Museum, are much like the cocoons of Antherea frithvi, but moths reared from them by Mr. Knyvett are almost indistin- guishable from moths reared from the typical double-walled cocoons of A. roylez, the chief distinction consisting in the greater pinkness of those reared from the pedunculate cocoons. As, however, the females reared from double-walled cocoons show every variety of color from pink to greenish brown, and are in some cases altogether indistinguishable from females reared from pedunculate cocoons, it would seem most probable that the difference in the structure of the cocoon is to be attributed more to the difference in the food plant than to any specific distinetness in the insects. The differences observed by Mr. Knyvett between the caterpil- lars of the two forms, though very remarkable, not being of a sufficiently radical nature to warrant their separation under distinct specific names. Oak Sirk Worms or Cutwa anp Japan. Plate 7, fig. 2, and plate 8. An account of Antheraa roylet, which is the oak-feeding silk worm of the Himalayas, would be incomplete without a notice of the very closely allied oak-feeding silk worms of China and Japan. ‘These are Antherea perny? (Guérin Méneville, Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1855, p. 297, pl. 6, fig. 1), which is reared in a semi-domesticated state over large areas in Northern China, for the production of silk, and Anther@a yamamar, which is the corresponding form in Japan, About twenty-five years ago, when mulberry silk raising in Europe was threatened with extinction, these species attracted a good deal of attention, and were introduced’ and partially acclimatized in France by experimentors, who hoped to furnish a substitute for the mulberry-feeding species. The revival of the mul- berry silk industry, however, with the adoption of Pasteur’s treatment for the silk worm disease, has thrown the oak-feeding species again into the 1 As told by Van Westmaas (Tijd Voor. Ent. VII, 1864), the story of the obtaining of the eggs of A. yamamai, through a young Japanese, who in 1862 risked his life to get them for M. Pompe van Meerdervoort in Japan, recalls the difficulties encountered in the middle ages by the monks who first introduced the eggs of the mulberry-feeding species into Europe from China. No. 2.] Wild Silk Insects of India. rg shade, so that the experiments, which at one time seemed distinctly pro- mising, have not led to any practical results. That 4. pernyt and A. yamamai axe at least very closely allied to A. royled is shown not only by the great superficial resemblance of the three forms (vide plates 7 and 8), but also from the fact that hybrids have been raised in Europe both between 4. pernyi and A. yamamaz (Berce and Goossens: Bull. Soe. Ent. France (5), IV, p. 154), and also between A, roylec and A. pernyz (Wailly : Ent. X1V, p. 246). An excellent account of A. pernyi in China is given by Rondot (L’ Art de la Sore, II, 1887, p. 127). The following is an abstract :— Antherea pernyi is a bivoltine species found both wild and also in a semi-do- mesticated state upon oak trees in many parts of China, where it is reared extensively for the production of silk. The amount of fresh cocoons annually reared has been estimated at twenty-two millions of kilozrammes, of which a considerable amount is imported into Europe. Two yields of silk are obtained in the year, one in the spring and another in the autumn; the spring rearing occupying about sixty days and the autumn rearing about a hundred. The insect is generally reared indoors, but to a certain extent also upon trees or bushes in the open air. The worm is also common in a wild state in the forests and copses of oak trees on the mountain sides. In Koiieitcheou (according to Father Perny) there is an annual variety of the worm which is less es- teemed than the bivoltine one, a fact which is noticeable in connection with the ten- dency to become annual, which has been observed in the species when reared in France. The cocoon is enveloped in two or three oak leaves drawn together by a network of silken strands, and is further attached at one end to some small branch or leafstalk by a flat silken cord. The cocoon of the spring rearing contains only about half as much silk ag’that of the autumn rearing, but the silk itself is far more brilliant, that of the autumn rearing being somewhat dull and lustreless. The cocoons are either reeled or spun. The reeling is done in two ways—either wet or dry. In the dry process the eccoons, after having been dipped in a mordant made from cakwood ashes, are washed in clean water and are then reeled dry, the basket containing them, however, being sometimes steamed over a vessel of boiling water. In the wet process, the cocoons are simply reeled as they lie in the iron boiler, which contains either a solution of raw soda or strong mordant made out of oak ashes, the liquid being but just sufficient to cover the cocoons; the wet process therefore differs materially from that of mulberry silk filatures, where deep basins of water are used for holding the cocoons whils they are in process of reeling. Of the wet and dry processes, the dry one is preferred and gives the most satisfactory results. A large portion of the autumn crop and all the pierced cocoons are spun, the spinning being done either by hand or with a jenny worked by the foot. The figures of A, roylec are from specimens in the Indian Museum; those of 4, yamamai after Snellen’s figures (‘Tijd Voor. Ent. VII, 1864) ; those of 4. pernyt after Guérin Méneville’s figures (Rev. et Mac. de Zool., 1855). OtuEeR Inpian Species oF ANTHERMA. Besides the cultivated species—Antherea mylitta (Tusser), A. assama (Muga)—described in Vol. 1, No. 3 of these Notes, and the wild species—Antherea roylei, A. helfert, and A. frithii, which have been noticed above, five other Indian species of the genus Antherea have been described by entomologists. ‘There are no specimens of them, how- 80° Indian Museum Notes. [ Vol. I, ever, in the Indian Museum collection, and it seems very doubtful to what extent they are entitled to be looked upon as distinct. They are as follows :—(1) Antherea cingalesa of Moore from Ceylon : Moore’s figure of the moth, in his Lepidoptera of Ceylon, Vol. II,is very like some forms of A. mylitta, but his figure of the larva presents certain peculiarities ; (2) Anthereaandamana of Moore, from the Andaman Islands: no figure seems to have been published of this insect, and as no comparisen is drawn, in the description, between 16 and other Authercas, it is impossible to judge to what extent it is distinct ; (3) Antherea perrottetiz of Guérin Méneville from Pondicherry. This insect, according to Walker (B. M. Cat. Lep. VI, p. 1879), is very nearly allied to A. assama, and Guérin Méneville’s de- scription of the cocoon (Mag. de Zool. VI, pl. 123, 1844) also answers to that of A. assama, so it is not improbable that it may be a variety of that species, though Guérin Méneville’s figure of the moth presents some _ peculiarities. According to Rondot (Z’ Art de la Soie, IL, p. 117) it feeds upon Lugenia gambolana, Zizyphus sp. and other trees; (4) Antherea semplicia of Massen and Weymer, from the “ Hast Indies.” The writer has not had an opportunity of comparing the description of this species, so its precise habitat and identity remain to be ascertained ; (5) Azn- therea fraterna of Moore (P. Z. 8. 1888, p. 402) from Kussowlee and Kangra: this species also is unknown to the writer. CricuLA TRIFENESTRATA, Herr Schiff. Plate 10, fig. 1. This variable species is said to be common in all parts of tropical India, and especially in Burma, Assam, and Chota Nagpore, The Indian Museum possesses specimens from Sikkim, Sibsagar, Cachar, Dacca, the Andaman Islands, and Java, The larve are usually found upon mango trees, but also feed upon a number of other trees ; they are gregarious in their habits and spin large agglutinated masses of gorgeous reticulated cocoons, which are of the color and brillianey of molten gold when fresh. They are thought by some silk experts to be likely to prove valuable for carding purposes, though Stack in his account of Silk in Assam (1884) reports that the silk is almost worthless. He writes: “The cocoons are of a thin and open texture, yielding very little silk, which cannot be reeled. The worm is covered with hairs, which produce irritation of the skin, and for this reason it is regarded as unclean by the Hindus, but Kacharis, Rabhas, and Meches occasionally mix the silk with erz, where it reveals its presence by. the itching it causes, This irritating property of the worm is said to protect it against crows and bats.’’ } 1 Mr. G. C. Hodgson writes :—“ The Cricula trifenestrata found in Ranchi would bea valuable silk for carding purposes, but so far we have never been able to get it in a form fit for export. The chrysalids are usually alive when brought to Calcutta, whilst for com- mercial purpeses they must be thoroughly dessiccated before being serewed into bales.” No. 2. | Wild Silk Insects of India. 81 The insect is said to go through a series of generations in the year, each generation taking about two months to complete, and the rains broods being the strongest and producing most silk. The moths from which the figures were made were determined by Mr. H. J. Elwes. CRICULA DREPANOIDES, Moore. Plate 10, fig. 2. This insect differs very markedly from C. trifenestrata in general coloration ; it is recorded as occurring in Sikkim, from which locality also the Indian Museum possesses specimens. Nothing seems to be known on the subject of its habits. It is presumably very rare. The moth from which the figure was taken was determined by Mr. H. J. Elwes. Ruopia NEwaRA, Moore. flate 11. This fine'species is common in Sikkim, where it spins a brilliant green cocoon, with slit-like opening at the upper extremity, through which the moth makes its escape, and drain-like passage at the bottom, which is supposed to serve for the escape of any water which may happen to enter the cocoon during the rainy season owing to the imperfect closing of the upper slit. According to Moller the insect is found at an elevation of from 4,000 to 7,000feet in Sikkim, and goes through but one generation in the year; it hibernates in the egg; the larve emerge early in the spring, and finish spinning their cocoons by the end of May; the moth appears during the first half of November at 5,000 feet, and somewhat earlier at higher elevations; the larve feed upon the weeping willow and wild wainut. The specimen from which the figure of the moth was taken has been determined by Mr. H. J. Klwes; the cocoon was furnished by the late Mr. Otto Moller. SATURNIA STOLICZKANA Felder. Plate 15, fig. 4. This species was figured by Felder (Reise Novara, Lep., pl. 87, fig. 3, 1864—75) from Ladak. Nothing seems to have been recorded about it, but in the Indian Museum are some broken wings from an elevation of 10,500 feet in Lahoul, and also a specimen from Kulu, which answer to the figure. Saturnia crposaA Moore. 8. cidosa (Moore, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond.(3), 11, p. 423, pl. 22, fig. 2, 1864—66) is represented in the Museum collections by a smgle moth from Sikkim. According to Hutton (Journ. Agri, Hort. Soc, Ind., ii, 1871, p. 125) it is closely allied to S. pyretorum, 89 Indian Museum Notes. [Vol. If. SATURNIA PYRETORUM, Westwood. This species was originally described by Westwood (Cab. Or. Ent., p- 49, pl. 24, fig. 2, 1848) from China, and was noticed by Hutton (Journ. Agri. Hort. Soc. India, III, p. 125, 1871) as occurring in Sik- kim and Cachar; there seems, however, to be some doubt as to whether it extends into India. In China, according to the resumé given by Ron- dot (L’ Art de la Sore, 11, 1887, p. 205), the caterpillar is of medium size, longitudinally streaked with bright turquoise blue, alternating with canary yellow, and covered with bristling yellow hairs; it feeds chiefly upon the Liguidambar formosana and camphor trees. The cocoon is ovoid, much produced in lengta, pointed, open at one end, and sur- rounded with floss, which is deep brown in color. The silk is silver grey or brownish grey in color, coarse and very tough ; it is said to be used on a considerable scale commercially, the silk glands of the worm being also used for the preparation of gut for fishing lines. OrHER SATURNIAS, Saturnia grote: (Plate 13, fig. 2), Saturnia lendia, Saturnia anna, and Saturnia hockingit are so closely allied to each other that it seems most convenient to consider them together, as very little is known about any of them. Saturnia grotec (Moore P. Z. 8. 1859, p. 265, pl. 65, fig. 2, and Butler, Ill, Typ. Lep. Het. B. M. V, p. 61, pl. 94, figs. 3and 4) is represented in the Museum collections by specimens from Kulu and Sikkim ; Saturnia lindia (Moore, Tr. EK. Soe. (8), 11, p. 424, pl. 22, fig. 3, 1864—66) by specimens from the N.-W. Himalayas; Saturnia annua » (Moore, P. Z. S. 1865, p. 818) by specimens from Sikkim ; while Saturnia hockingii (Moore, P. Z. 8. 1865, p. 818 and Butler, Ill, Typ. Lep. Het, B. M. VII, p. 39, pl. 124, figs. 2 and 3), described from Kulu, is not represented in the Museum Collection. It should be noticed for the fact that Moore records that the cocoon, which is formed “under stones, ” is “ pyriform, dark brown, hard, pointed, and lax at the upper end.” The specimen from which the figure of S. groéec was taken has been identified by Mr. H. J. Elwes. Lapa KATINKA, Westw. . Four species of the genus Loepa have been described from India, viz. Loepa katinka (Westw., Cab, Or. Ent., p. 25, pl. 12, fig. 2, 1848), found in Sikkim, at an elevation of from 5,000 to 7,000 feet, and also in Assam; L. miranda (Moore, Trans. Ent. Soc., Lond. (3), u1, p. 424, 1864—66) from Sikkim; JZ. sekkima (Moore, P. Z. S., 1865, p. 818) from the hot valleys in Sikkim; Z. sivadica (Hutton, Journ. A. H. Soc. Ind., III, 1871, p. 125, and Moore, Wardle’s Wild Silk, 1881, p. 7) from Mussoorie. In the Indian Museum are specimens, determined by Mr. No. 2.] Wild Silk Insects of India. 83 Moore as belonging to the three forms—/atinka, miranda, and sikkima, together with intermediate varieties; so, taking into consideration the fact that the three forms are found within a few miles of each other in Sikkim, it seems very doubtful whether they are really distinct, With regard to the fourth form,—JL. sivalica,—found by Hutton in Mussoorie at an elevation of 5,500 feet, Hutton notes that it is closely allied to Li. katinka, while Moore writes that it spins a long cocoon, pointed at each end, and of a dark greenish grey color. The above, with Atkin- son’s note (P. Z. S. 1865, p. 818) tothe effect that moths of the Z. sikkima form appear in the beginning of August, while Z. hatinka appears later, concludes what has been recorded on the subject of this genus in India.! The specimen of L. miranda from which the figure has been taken is in Colonel A. M. Lang’s collection ; it was identified by Mr. F, Moore. Neoris nuttoni, Moore. Plate 18, fig. 8. In the Indian Museum are a male and female of this species from Mussoorie. Hutton notices that he found the larve at 6,500 feet eleva- tion in Mussoorie in April feeding on the wild pear tree, the cocoon being an open network worthless for silk production (Journ. Agri. Hort. Soc. Ind. III, 1871, p. 125). A second species of this genus has been described by Moore (P. Z. S., 1872, p. 577) under the name of Neoris shadulla, from the neighbourhood of Yarkand; there are no specimens of it in the Indian Museum. The figures of NV. huttont are from Captain Hutton’s specimens. Satassa Lota, Westw. Plate 12, fig. 1. This fine species was described by Westwood (Cab. Or. Ent., p, 25, pl. 12, fig. 3, 1848) from Sylhet, and the Indian Museum possesses specimens of it from Sikkim. With regard to its habits, Mr. A, V. Knyvett has observed in Sikkim that the caterpillar, previous to trans- forming into a chrysalis, spins a few leaves and chips together into a sort of rough covering in the ground exactly as is done by the species Salassa (Saturnia) royi. The specimen from which the figures of the moths were taken was determined by Mr. H. J. Elwes; the caterpillar was drawn from a spe- cimen furnished by Mr. A. V. Knyvett. SaLassa ROYI, Elwes. Plate 12, fig. 2. This species was described by Elwes (P. Z. 8., 1887, p. 447, and Trans. Ent. Soc., Lond., 1888, pl. 8, fig. 2) from a male taken at an 1 Since the above was written the following note has been received from Mr. A. Y, Knyvett, who has observed this genus in Sikkim: ‘‘ The high elevation form Z. katinka is quite distinct from the hot valley form, which may be either LZ, miranda or L. sikkima.” SA, Indian Museum Notes. [ Vol. IT. elevation of 10,000 feet in Sikkim. It was originally referred to the genus Saturnia, but the observations of Mr. A. V. Knyvett indicate pretty clearly that it should rather be included in the genus Salassa. Ac- cording to Mr. Knyvett, the caterpillars are very like those of Sadassa lola, only bigger; the chrysalis also is formed in the ground in a little, loose silk, much as is the case with Salassa lola. The male was figured from specimens determined by Mr. H. J. Elwes, the female from a specimen deposited for a short time in the Indian Museum by the late Mr. Otto Moller. 2 CatieuLa sim~a, Westw. Plate 14, fig. 1. In the Indian Museum are specimens of this species from Simla, Mussoorie, Sikkim, and Khasi Hills, besides cocoons which are supposed to belong to it and which were obtained in Dehra Dun, probably from the Mussoorie Hills. Hutton writes (Journ. Agri. Hort. Soe. Ind., ii, 1871, p. 125) that the larva feeds on walnut, Salye babylonica, and wild pear, the cocoon being a coarse open network, through which the pupa is visible, and yielding no silk. CaLicuLa THIBETA, Westw. Plate 14, jig. 2. In the Indian Museum is a male of this species obtained from Sik- kim. According to Hutton (Journ. Agri. Hort. Soc., Ind., III, 1871, p. 125) the original specimen from which the species was described came from Kumaon, and he also found it in Mussoorie on Preris ovalifolia. It seems to be a well marked species, quite distinct from C. simla. A third species of the genus Caligula, viz. C. cachara, was described by Moore (P. Z. 8, 1872, p. 578) from Cachar ; there are no specimens of it in the Indian Museum. Butler (Ill. Typ. Lep. Het. B. M. V, p. 61, pl. 94, fiz. 2, 1881) describes a species from Sikkim, under the name of Rinaca extenca. From the figure this insect would seem to be indistin- guishable from C. thibeta. The figure of C. thebeta is from a specimen determined by Mr, H. J. Elwes. Rinaca ZULEIKA, Hope. Plate 14, fig. 3 (Trans. Linn. Soc., Lond., XIX, p. 182, pl. 11, fig. 5, 1845). This species has been recorded from Sylhet, Sikkim, and Simla; the Indian Museum possesses moths from Sikkim, also a singte echrysalis case, but no cocoon. Rondot (L’ Art de la Sore, 11, 1887, p. 205) writes that the cocoon is reticulated and without economic value. According to Moller, the caterpillars feed in Sikkim upon the plants Actinodaphne | sikkimensis and Acer caudatum vel campbellit. According to Mr. A. V. Knyvett, the caterpillar is to be found at anelevation of about 7,000 No. 2.) Wild Sitk Insects of India. 85 feet in Sikkim through October and November. It spins a rough open cocoon on the ground at the foot of the fooa plant, the moth emerging in the following August. ‘The ficure is from a specimen determined by Mr. H. J. Elwes. BranM#a CERTHIA, Fabr. Plate 15, fig. 1 (Ent. Syst. iii, I, p. 412, 1793). This species is represented in the Museum Collection by specimens from Sikkim and Shillong. Nothing seems to have been recorded of its habits or development, Three closely alliel forms—B. whites Butler, from North-West India, B. conchifera, Butler, from Sylhet and Darjiling, B. wallichii, Gray, from Assam and Nepal—have been figured by Butler (Ill. Typ. Lep. Het. B. M. V, pl. 95, figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6). They appear to be so closely related to B. certhza as to be searcely distin- guishable from it. A fourth form—B, rufescens—Butler, from North- East Bengal, has been described (Ann. Mag. N. H. 5, VI, p. 62, 1880) as related to, and in some respects intermediate between, the others. It seems most convenient to await further observation on the habits and life histories of these insects before endeavouring to separate them into distinct species. The figure of B. certhia is from a specimen determined by Mr. H. J. Elwes. THEOPHILA HUTTONI, Westw. Plate 15, fig. 3. This is a bivoltine species, which iscommon upon wild mulberry trees on the lower slopes of the North-West Himalayas. The caterpillars of the first generation, according to Hutton (Trans. Ent. Soc., Lond. ,3, i, -1864—66 ; and Journ. Agri. Hort. Soc., Ind., III, 1871), appear about April, and the cocoons are formed in May and September respectively. The insect hibernates in the form of eggs glued on to the bark ofits food plant, The cocoon is whitish in color and of soft loose consistence, not unlike the cocoons of some Bengal Boméyx silk worms, but much less compact ; itis formed between the leaves of the food plant. The silk is of excellent quality, and, according to Cope (Rondot, L’ Art de la Sore, IL p- 6), can be reeled ; so, if it could be obtained in any considerable quan- tities, there is little doubt but that it would be of value. Hutton’s attempt, however, to cultivate it for commercial purposes proved unsuccessful, as the worms were too restless to submit to domestication in the house, and when left at liberty upon the trees were so much attacked by birds and predaceous insects as to render the yield of silk unprofitable. It is possi- ble that the restlessness exhibited by the worms, when under cover, may have been due to want of the moisture to which they are ordinarily ex- posed on the hill slopes; this having proved to be the case with tusser Q6 Indian Museum Notes. [Vole tiv (Antherea mylitta) whose larvee can only be raised in captivity when they are frequently watered (see footnote to page 160 of the first volume of these Notes). Even if this should turn out to be the case, however, with T. huttont, it would seem of doubtful utility to employ mulberry leaves for rearing it, when they might with no greater expenditure of labor be utilized for rearing one of the Bombys varieties which are already domes- ticated and which produce a silk whose commercial value is undoubted. The figure of the larva is copied from a colored drawing prepared by the Museum artist under the direction of Mr. Wood-Mason. Cunected with ZLheophila huttont are several forms which are so closely allied to it as to make it very doubtful to what extent they can reasonably be looked upon as distinct. They are the following :— (1) Pheopiila religiosa (=Bombyx religiosa, Helfer, Journ. As. Soc. Beng., Vol. VI,p. 41, 1837).—This insect feeds upon the Pipal tree (Ficus religiosa) in Assam. Helfer originally described it, without see- ing the insect, from a figure which was sent to him, and Moore (Cat. Lep. Mus. E. I. C., p. 381, 1858) writes : “After examination of typical specimens of B. huttonc, and comparing them with the deserip- tions of Dr. Helfer’s B. re/zgiosa, I am inclined to believe that they are one and the same species.” ‘This form therefore may be neglected. (2) Theophila Cengatensis (Hutton, Trans. Ent. Soe. Lond., (3), ii, p. 222, pl. 19, fig. 5,1864—66 ; and Journ. Agri. Hort. Soe. Ind. iii, 1871, p. 125).—This form feeds upon the Artocarpus lacoocha tree, in Lower Bengal, and has been also found at an elevation of 2,000 feet in Sikkim upon Artocarpus chaplasha (see page 200 of Vol. I of these Notes). The moth and cocoon closely resemble the typical 7 huttoni from the North-West Himalayas, but the larvee, as figured by Hutton, differ from T. huttoni larve both in being greyish white, instead of yellow mottled with brown, and in having somewhat smaller spines. If this difference should prove constant, 7’. bengalensis, feeding as it does upon a different plant and living in a different locality, might be considered to constitute a distinct species. For the present, however, it seems most convenient to look upon it as a variety only ; and this view is supported by the fact that the form which has been described as 7. affinis is to a certain extent intermediate between 7’. huttonz and 7’. Gengalensis. The figure of the larva (Plate 15, fig. 4) is eopied from a colored drawing prepared by the Museum artist under the direction of Mr. W ood- Mason. (3) Theophila affinis, plate 15, fig. 2 (Hutton, Journ, Agri. Hort. Soc. Ind. III, p. 125, 1871).—This form was described by Hutton as resembling 7’. huttoxi in shape, coloration and marking, and differing from it only in its smaller size and in being polyvoltine. In Chota Nagpur the caterpillar feeds, like 7. dengalensis, upon the Artocarpus No. 2. ] Wild Silk Insects of India. 87 lacoocha tree, but Hutton succeeded in rearing it upon mulberry. In the Indian Museum are moths and cocoons of this form from Gobind- pur; also a moth which is thought to be Hutton’s type from Chota Nags pur; they are indistinguishable from moths of 7, dengalensis from the neighbourhood of Calcutta. There is also a carefully colored drawing made by a Native artist in the Museum, of a full grown larva from Gobindpur, showing the yellow and brown markings and the prominent spines which are supposed to be characteristic of 7. huttoni. T'. affinis, therefore, may be looked upon as intermediate between TZ. dengalensis and 7. huttonz, and is consequently a variety of the latter. The figures of the moth and of the cocoon are from specimens in the Museum Collection; that of the larva is copied from a colored draw- ing made by the Museum artist under the direction of Mr. Wood- Mason ; the cozoon is from a photograph taken by Mr. Wood-Mason. (4) Theophila sherwilli (= Bombyx sherwil, Moore, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. 8, II, p. 423, pl. XXII, fig. 1, 1864—66; also Hutton Joc. cit., p. 324).—This form was described from a moth said to have been obtained in the Eastern Himalayas; nothing, however, has been recorded of its habits or transformations. The original figure and description of the moth would answer completely to a large specimen of the variety 7’. den- galensis, with the exception of the black tip to the abdomen which 7’. sherwilla is represented as possessing. In the absence, therefore, of fur- ther information, this form may be looked upon as a somewhat excep- tionally marked specimen of 7. huttoni, var. bengalensis. Trinocua variANs, Walker. Plate 15, fig. 5. This small species is common all over India and Ceylon; it spins a minute but compact cocoon of yellowish silk between the leaves of the trees upon which it feeds. It is fairly common, but the cocoons are not found in any large quantities together, and are far too small to make it worth while to collect them individually. In Calcutta the moths are often attracted by lamps into houses in the cold weather and the larve have been reared in the Indian Museum upon the leaves of Bukool tree (Mimusops elengt). According to Hutton (‘Tr. E. 8, III, 2, p. 331, 1864-6), Grote found itin February and March in Caleutta feeding on Trophis aspera, Ficus indica, and Ficus religiosa, while in Madras Elliot found it upon Ficus religiosa; and according to Moore (Lep. Ceyl. II, p. 136) Thwaites found it in Ceylon upon Artocarpus sutegrifolia. Nothing fur- ther seems to have been recorded of its life history, but from the fact of the moths and larvee being found in the middle of the cold weather it would seem likely to be a polyvoltine. The figures are from specimens reared in the Indian Museum, 88 Indian Museum Notes, OM Vol aie TRILOCHA ALBICOLLIS, Walker. Larve of this species were found by Forsayeth in August, feeding upon Pipul (Licus reliyiosa) in Mhow, the moths emerging the same month (Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. p. 408, 1884). Forsayeth’s description and figures of the various stages of the insect agree very closely with the 7. varians of Calcutta, and it would seem by no means improbable that the two forms are little more than varieties of each other. A third species—Trilocha cervina, was described by Walker (Brit. Mus. Cat. Lep. Het. xxx, p. 489, 1865) from India; but no particulars are given beyond a bare description of the moth. The precise locality is unknown, and there are no specimens in the Indian Museum; so, the form must either be extremely rare or identical with one of the better known species, Ocinaza Lipa, Moore. This species was originally described (Cat. Lep. Mus. E. 1.C., p. 381, 1858) from Java, and an account of its habits was subsequently given (Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. 3, II, p. 826, 1864—66) by Hutton, who named it in the first instance O. moorez, but afterwards recognized its identity with VO. dida of Moore (Journ. Agri. Hort. Soc. Ind. IIT, p. 125, 1871). Hutton found it between 5,000 and 6,000 feet elevation in Mussoorie in the North-West Himalayas, where it feeds upon the leaves of Meus venosa, and spins a small white oval cocoon. ‘The cocoon is generally enveloped in a léaf, and covered with loose silk ; it is to be found both in May and August, and Hutton supposed that at least two, and perhaps three or four, generations are gone through in the year. He considers the cocoon too small to be of any use. The larva is rough and resembles the bark so closely as to be very difficult to be distinguished from the latter upon the twigs to which it clings. OcinaRa LacTEA. Plate 10, fig. 3 (Hutton, Trans.Ent. Soe. Lond. 3, II, p. 382, 1864-66). This species was found by Hutton feeding with 0. lida upon Micus venosa in Mussoorie. The two forms are evidently closely allied and have very similar habits, but Hutton was of opinion that they are distinct, and as there are no satisfactory specimens of QO. ida in the Indian Museum, it has not been possible to compare them. O. dactea is represented in the Museum collection by specimens from Sikkim and Kulu, as well as from Mussoorie ; so, it is probable that the species extends throughout the Hima- layas, though it is too rare and the cocoons are too small for it to have any value as a silk producer. The figure of the moth is from Captain Hut- ton’s specimen in the Indian Museum; that of the larva is after Captain Hutton’s figure in the Trans. Ent, Soc. Lond. No, 2.] Wild Silk Insects of India. 8g Ocinara comma (Hutton, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. 3, II, p. 330, 1864—66). In the Indian Museum are moths which are thought to be Hut- ton’s type specimens of this species from Dehra Dun (2,300 feet eleva- tion in the North-West Himalayas), where, according to Hutton, they are found upon mango trees. They are very similar in appearance, and seem to be closely allied to O. dactea. OcINARA DIAPHANA, Moore. This species was described by Moore (Deser. Ind. Lep. Atk. I, p. 83, 1879) from the Khasia hills in Assam. Nothing seems to ke known about it beyond Moore’s note that the male moth differs from O. lactea of Hutton “in the absence of the black markings on the forewing and on the abdominal margin.” These appear to be characters of very second- ary importance, so it may reasonably be inferred that, like O. comma and O. lida, it is very closely related to O. dactea. OrHER InpIAN BomBycrpa, Aristhala sikkima (Moore, P. Z. S. 1879, p. 406, pl. 33. fig. 3) from Sikkim, Aristhala thuwaitesiz (Moore, Lep. Ceyl. II, p. 136, pl. 33, fig. 2, 1882 from Ceylon, and Primosticta fenestrata, Butler (Ill., Typ. Lep. Het. B. M. VI, p. 20, pl. 106, fig. 5, 1886) are usually included in the family of Bombycide ; so, they are noticed here, though nothing is known of them beyond the bare descriptions and figures which have been published of the moths. There are no specimens of them in the Indian Museum, and it is even doubtful whether they spin cocoons; so, they may be neglected in considering the silk-producing species which are to be found in India.? 1The species—Hanisa subnotata (Walker, Journ. Linn, Soc. Lond. III, p. 188, 1859 ; and Moore, P. Z. S., 1879, p. 406)—given erroneously in the Catalogue of the Moths of India as occurring both in Singapore and India, has only as yet been recorded from Singapore; so, it does not enter into the geographical area under consideration in this paper. Govt. of India Central Printing Office, —No. 222 R, & A.~-21-9-91,—1,000.—F, J, B, MAY 22 1897 Vou, 1. ] [ No. 3. INDIAN MUSEUM NOTES. WHITE INSECT WAX IN INDIA, [ With one Plate. | In the early part of 1891 the Trustees of the Indian Museum under- took, at the suggestion of the Government of . India in the Revenue and Agricultural De- partment, to furnish a report upon the subject of white insect wax in India. Attention had previously been drawn to the subject by the authorities of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, as there is said to be a considerable demand for the wax owing to its property of “ breaking the grain” of otherwise crystalline substances and thus rendering them suit- able for candle-making. ‘The following report therefore has been drawn up in the Entomological Section of the Indian Museum, and is founded, partly upon the specimens and replies furnished by the Forest Officers of the Central Provinces and Bengal, in auswer to a circular letter addressed to them by the Inspector General of Forests, and partly upon information gathered from specimens, already preserved in the Museum collection, and from the papers previously published upon the subject. Help in the chemical and botanical examination of the specimens has been kindly afforded by Mr, T. H. Holland of the Geological Survey and Dr. D. Prain of the Botanical Gardens. The white wax of commerce is produced by one of the Coccide insects, he occurrence of the insect in known to entomologists as Eriocerus pela. India. This insect has long been cultivated in China, where it yields a large amount of wax, which is used chiefly in candle- making, though the extent of the industry is said to have fallen off considerably of late years, owing to the introduction into China of kerosine oil, which has largely taken the place of the candles previously in use. So far as our present information goes, the insect which pro- duces white wax in China does not occur in India, but it has long been known that an insect, closely related to it, is occasionally to be met with, especially in the jungles of Southern and Central India. This insect is the one referred to by Dr. Watt in his paper? on candles. It was originally deseribed in the year 1790, under the name of Coccus ceriferus,> and is known to modern entomologists as Ceroplastes ceriferus.* 1t produces a Preliminary. 1 Hosie: Three Years in Western China, London, 1890. 2 Vide Dr. Watt’s Dictionary of the Economic Products of India. 3 J. Anderson: Monographia Cocci ceriferi, Madras, 1790. 4 Signoret: Ann. Soc. Ent, France (5), vol. ii, p. 40 (1872). 92 Indian Museum Notes, [ Vol, If. certain amount of wax, but is very rare and has never been utilised com- mercially. It was shown too, by Dr. Pearson,! as long ago as the year 1794, that its wax is not altogether suitable for candle-making, as both the wax itself, and also mixtures of the wax with olive oil, when made into candles, burn with a dim smoky light, and give off a resinous odour. A good deal of confusion in our knowledge of the matter has arisen from the fact that a totally distinct insect, which is known to ento- mologists as Phromnia marginella, produces considerable quaatities of a white sugary secretion, which has no connection with wax, but on the con- trary, is totally useless for candle-making, thongh it has sufficient super~ ficial resemblance to white wax to have often been mistaken for it. This fact not only accounts for many of what would otherwise appear to be hopeless contradictions in the reports of different observers on the subject, but has also led to the supposition that white wax is to be procured in India in very much larger quantities than is really the case. The mistake seems to have originated in the figures and description given of the White Wax Insect of China, in the year 1797, by Sir George Staunton,’ this being the origin of the more elaborate figures and description published in Westwood’s edition of Donovan’s Insects of China’; in each case an insect closely allied to Phromnia marginella being erroneously described as the White Wax Insect of China. The error was very clearly pointed out in the year 1843 by Captain Hutton,* but the mistake, once made, seems to have cropped up again and again, the belief in it being further extended by some observations made, about the year 1850, by Dr. Charles Murchison.6 Dr, Murchison examined the flocculent append- ages attached to the bodies of the larve of an insect, which, from his description, seems to have belonged either to the species Phrom- nia marginella or to something very much like it, and he found that these appendages consisted of what he believed to be wax. An ex- amination, recently made by Mr, Holland of the flocculent append- ages of larvee of Phromnia marginella preserved in the collections of the Indian Museum, has not confirmed Dr. Murchison’s observations.® 1 “Observations and experiments on a Wax-like Substance resembling the Pela of the Chinese, collected at Madras by Dr. Anderson, and called by him,‘ White lac’ ” : Philos. Trans., Royal Soc. Lond., vol. 84, p. 383 (1794). 3 Embassy to China, London, 1797, vol. i, p. 353. 3 London, 1842, pl. 17. * Journ. As. Soc, Bengal, vol. xii, p. 898 (1843). ® Proc. Linn, Soc. Lond., vol. ii, p. 379 (1848—55). °The floceulent matter attached to the specimens preserved in the Indian Museum collection consists of fibrous matter which not only refuses to melt, but, on the contrary, decomposes When heated, does not dissolve in naphtha, and under the microscope appears to consist of minute curved filamentous particles. ‘That observed by Dr. Murchison, on the other hand, melted on heating into transparent colourless wax, which was readily soluble in naphtha and which crystallised on cooling, into acicular crystals, arranged in stellate masses, this form of crystalisation being one readily observable in the wax secreted by Ceroplastes ceriferus. No, 3.] White Insect Wax in Inihia. i 98 But even in the event of the flocculent appendages being found in some eases to contain wax, the quantity in which they occur is so small that they ean be of no practical value ; and the only reason for calling attention to them in this notice is owing to the fact that the sugary secretion, which is produced in considerable quantities by the insect, is liable to be confounded with the flocculent matter with which the larve are clothed. The scarcity of the White Wax Insect in India is remarkably illustrated by the material which has recently been collected by the officers of the Forest Department. This material, which has been forwarded to the Indian Museum, consists of four specimens, three of them connected with Phromnia marginella, while the fourth specimen is the only one which represents the White Wax Insect, and even it comprises only about a score of individuals, which would altogether yield but a minute quantity of the wax. Phromnia marginetla is so entirely different, both in its habits and appearance, from the White Wax Insect, Ceroplastes ceriferus that it is easy in most cases to make out which of the two species is referred to in the papers which have been published on the subject. In order, there- fore, to prevent further confusion between the two insects, they are both included in the following résumé, which is accordingly arranged under the headings of Ceroplustes ceriferus and Phromnia marginella. The specimens of Ceroglastes ceriferus that have been forwarded to the Museum in connection with this inves- tigation consist of about a score! oi scales found by Mr, W. P. Thomas, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Hoshanga- bad, Central Provinces. Mr. Thomas found them in February 1889 on one of the hill spurs of the Panchmari range near Mogra, on saplings of Perminalia chebula, Buchanania latifocia, and Terminalia tomentosa,* and he reports that the insect was very scarce and only found after long search, while the natives knew nothing at all about it. The wax has been kindly examined by Mr. T. H. Holland, who reports on it as follows :— . «The wax occurs on the twigs in small mounds of dull, buff colour and puckered surface, apparently from drying. Under the thin crust the material is light pink in colour and presents a waxy lustre, with, also, a pleasant smell. “The wax melted at 140° F. (60°C.) to a clear liquid, and, on cooling, produced microscopic, spherulitic growths of radially arranged, polarising crystals. © About 20 per cent. of the material dissolved in cold absolute alcohol; but it was almost completely soluble in boiling alcohol, from which it is again precipitated as a CEROPLASTES CERIFERUS. 1Of these three have been preserved in the collections of the Indian Museum for reference. 2The leaves sent with the specimens have been kindly examined by Dr. D. Prain, wh identifies them as belonging to the species Buchanania latifolia, Roxb., and Terminalia chebula, Roxb. 04, Indian Museum Notes. [Vol. [. white opalescent cloud on addition of cold water, and is not again cleared by boiling. The wax is soluble in benzol. “The specific gravity at 84°F. was 1:04 (determined by suspension in a solution of salt). * As anaverageof two determinations, the amount of moisture was found to be 10°4 per cent., but the discrepancy between the two results (9°8 and 11:0) was no greater than one would anticipate from the appearance of tke specimens. “ By the action of strong nitric acid the wax was decomposed to a yellow solution, with a faint aromatic smell; but the quantity at my disposal was too small to determine the products of oxidation, which might be of interest to compare with the results obtained by a similar treatment of Pela, the Chinese wax investigated by Buckton. The few determinations made do not closely agree with the properties of cerotate of ceryl (C,;,H,o30 ). the principal constituent of Chinese wax.” Ceroplastes ceriferus was originally described in the year 1790 by Dr. Anderson,! who found it in Madras. It was afterwards figured and described by Westwood,? whose description, however, as quoted by Sig- noret,? is confined to the mass of white wax, which is irregularly hemi- spherical in shape, of the size of a large split, pea, encloses the shell of the female insect, and was originally found in Madras on the twigs of a species of Celastrus, which is referred to as Celastrus ceriferus. Dr. Anderson’s original paper has not been found, but Dr. Pearson* gives a detailed account of Dr. Anderson’s white wax, which was submitted to him for examination. According to Dr. Pearson, Dr. Anderson procured some pounds’ weight of the wax and sent it in the year 1792 to the Royal Society, at the same time complaining that the children, whom he employed to gather it, were tempted by its sweetness to eat so much of what they collected as materially to diminish the produce of his trees ; the wax was also believed to possess medicinal qualities. Pearson found that the raw wax in its dry state hasa saltish and bitterish taste, and in the mouth is soft and tough, having thus lost the sweetness which cha- racterises it in its fresh state. It contains a large proportion of a watery. liquid, which has a slightly saltish taste. In its raw state the wax is as light, or lighter than as, bees’ wax, but, after being melted and purified by straining, it sinks in water, and is therefore specifically heavier than most bees’ wax. ‘Two thousand grains of the raw article, when melted and purified by straining through fine cloth, produced 1,220 grains of wax. This purified wax was yellow in colour, hard and brittle, with scarcely any taste, melted at a temperature of between 145° and 146° Fahrenheit, was soluble in volatile oil of turpentine, and partially soluble in alcohol. Candles, with cotton wicks, were made of the purified wax; they burnt more rapidly, but were thought to give less light than wax candles of the same size; they alsosmoked aad produced a resinous smell. Saturated 1 Monographia cocci cerifert, Madras, 1790. ? Gardener’s Chronicle, 1853, page 484. 3 Ann, Soc. Ent. France, ser. 5, vol. ii, page 40. * Philos. Trans. Royal Soc. London, vol. 84, page 383 (1794), No. 3.] White Insect Wax in India. 95 solution of the wax ir alcohol, when spread upon surfaces of paper, cloth, and wood, left, on drying, a thin coat of resinous matter, which, however, was not bright or smooth, so this solution does not afford a good varnish. The wax, when united with olive oil, became whiter in colour, and as soft as bees’ wax, but it burnt, as before, with an unsteady heht, smoking and producing a resinous smell. Dr, Pearson concludes that bees’ wax and white wax are homogeneous substances, formed of very much the same constituent parts, the proportion of these parts however being very different in the two substances. According to an account published in the Journal of the Avgri.-Horti- cultural Society of India, Volume V, page 76 (1873—78), the species was again brought to notice in the year 1875, when Mr. Peppe forwarded specimens which he had found upon pepul twigs in Chota Nagpur, and noticed that he had also found it upon mango and arjoon trees. The specimens were identified by Mr. F. Moore, who also had the wax ana- lysed, the following being an abstract of the analysis furnished by him :— “ Wax, of a dull opaque pale brown colour. The outer shell, darker and somewhat translucent. Moderately hard and brittle, of somewhat pleasant smell. On crushing in a mortar minute drops of water made their appearance. On heating it spluttered much, owing to the disengagement of steam. At 55°C. it melted to a clear liquid with -a slightly flaky deposit. 05868 grm., burnt, left an unweighable trace of ash. Absolute alcohol dissolved 34 per cent. Boiling absolute alcohol dissolved 98°08 per cent. In benzine the wax was very easily soluble, with the exception of a little brownish matter. In ether it dissolved freely, but not entirely. In essence of tur- pentine, and also in carbonic sulphide, it was very sparingly soluble. The percentage of water varied from 11-02 to 13:16 in the specimens examined. Organic analysis gave, in 100 parts of the wax, carbon from 78°57 to 78°79, hydrogen 13°46 to 13-08, oxygen 7°97 to 8:13, and the wax therefore was supposed to consist of a compound of 13 atoms of carbon, 26 atoms of hydrogen, and 1 atom of oxygen.” The insect does not seem to have been again noticed until 1889, when a few specimens were sent to the Indian Museum from the Kangra Valley, where they were found in small numbers upon tea bushes. In this case the specimens were identified by Mr. W. M. Maskell, but noth- ing was ascertained regarding the habits or transformations of the insect. There is some confusion in the synonymy of the insect which pro- duces the white sugary secretion in India, but it is undoubtedly the Cigale phalenoide- verte, described and figured in the year 1788 by Stoll. (Cigaé, p. 50, pl. 11, fig. 54), and quoted in 1791 by Olivier (Hncyclop, Meth. Ins. vi, p. 575, No. 43), under the name of Fulgora marginelia, also in 1862 by Stal (Ofvers. K, Sy. Akad. Stockholm, xix, p. 490), under the name of PHROMNIA MARGINELLA. 96 Indian Museum Notes. ieViol ale Phromnia marginetia Inthe Asiatic Researches, (Volume 14, p. 182, published in Calcutta in the year 1822, Major-General T. Hardwick describes and figures an insect under the name of Chermis mannifer,? which is probably identical with Phromnia marginella, Oliv. But by far the best account of the insect is given by Captain T. Hutton in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. xii, p. 898, Calcutta, 1843, where the name attributed to the species is Plata limbata. 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 eges hatch in December, and the larve cluster like sheep upon the food plant. ‘hey 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 anterior margins red, the posterior wings are milk white, the body is greenish, and the abdomen is generally covered up with white floccu- lent matter similar to what is found upon the larve. The eggs are laid in considerable numbers in the bark of the twigs, a slight swelling of the wood often taking place where the eggs have been laid. The imagos Jn his Hntomologia systematica published in the year 1794, Fabricius notices that his Cicada limbata from South Africa is identical with Stoll’s species from Ceylon. There would seem, however, to be some doubt upon this point owing to the geographical position of the two lecalities. The references to Cicada limbata are as follows :— Cicada limbata, Fabr., Sp. Ins. ii, p. 322, No. 3 (1781). pe » Ent. Syst. iv, p. 27, No. 3 (1794). Plata limbata, Fabr. Syst. Rhyn., p. 46, No. 6 (1803). Jn the British Museum Catalogue of Homoptera, published in 1851, further confusion has arisen between Phromnia marginella and Flata nigricornis. The latter is a species which differs very markedly from Phromnia marginella in having the forewing brown with black dots along the posterior margin, instead of its being bright green with anterior margin red, as in P. marginella. As far as has been made out, the references to Flata nigricornts are as follows, though the diversity in the localities from which it is recorded, are so remarkable as to seem to point to some confusion in identification :— Flata nigricornis, Fabr., Syst. Rhyng., p. 45, No. 1, 1803, America. A ¥ Donov. Ins. China, p. 40, pl. 17, 1842, China. Cigale portelaine, Stoll., Cigales, p. 101, pl. 26, fig. 145, 1788, Africa. Fulgora pallida, Oliv., Encyclop. Meth. Ins. vi, p. 575, No. 42, 1791, Africa. 2 This insect was found upon a species of Celastrus in the neighbourhood of Pachmari and is referred to by Blanchard (Bull. Soc. Zool. de France, 1883, p. 277) as synonymous with the Scale insect Coccus manniparus described by Khrenberg (Hemprich and Hhrenberg’s Symbole physice, vol. iii, pl. x, 1829) as responsible for the sugary secretion which is collected at the present day by the Arabs from the Zamariz gallica plant in Sinai, and which is supposed to be identical with the manna eaten by the children of Israel in the wilderness. A comparison however of the figures given by Ehrenberg and Hardwick shows clearly that the insects they respectively describe are totally distinct from each other. No. 3. ] White Insect Wax in India. 97 move but little from the food plant and often live on until after their egos have hatched in the cold weather. The larve, and to a less extent the imagos, are covered with masses of white floceulent matter, which is thought to be secreted by small glands distributed over the abdomen, and opening by minute pores in the inteyument. 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 (Fig. 2 d). The specimens, furnished by the Forest Department, consist of larve and pieces of sugary secretion found by Mr. W. P. Thomas, in February 1889 in the Narsingpur district of the Central Provinces. The insects were found on the green succulent coppice shoots of Hleodendron rox- burghii, growing on elevated ground, and the sugary secretion was found coating the leaves below where the larve were feeding. Mr, Thomas ascertained that the Koorkoos and other tribes know the insect, but make no use of the sugary secretion, which they say has a narcotic effect when eaten. ‘To this Mr. RK, H. E. Thompson adds that he has found the insect both in several of the warmer valleys of the North-Western Himalayas, | and also at elevations, ranging from a thousand to fifteen hundred feet above sea-level, in the forest-clad country of the Central Provinces to the south of the river Ganges. He notices that in Garhwal the natives eat the sugary secretion and call the insects Dhaberz, 7 e. “sheep,” on account of their habit of clustering together and jumping away when disturbed. In the collections of the Indian Museum are representatives of the species from Dehra Dun, Sikkim, Naga Hills, Cachar, Margherita (Assam), Tavoy, and Siam. Catcurra : E. C. COTES, 6th May 1891. Indian Museum. Government of India Cential Printing Office —No, 248 R, & A.—5-10-91,—1,000.—F, T. B, MAY 22 1897 Vol. Il. { No. 4, INDIAN MUSEUM NOTES. THE LOCUSTS OF BENGAL, MADRAS, ASSAM, AND BOMBAY. [ With one plate. | A report has recently been issued on the subject of Acridium pere- grinum, which is par excellence the locust of North-Western India, In gathering together the materials upon which this report was based, in- formation was obtained concerning other locusts which have from time to time proved destructive in Bengal, Madras, Assam, and Bombay. The present report, therefore, is intended to record what has been ascertained about these other locusts. To complete the subject, a short résumé has been added of what is known of the chief locusts that are found in other parts of the world. The principal sources of information have been the reports and speci- mens furnished by the Revenue and Agricultural Department of the Government of India and by the Agricultural Sections of the various Local Governments in India, but reference has also been made to the more important papers published in the United States, Algeria, and Europe, on the subject of locusts. A short preliminary sketch of a portion of this paper was submitted in November 1889, since which date a good deal of fresh information _ has accumulated. The writer takes this opportunity to acknowledge the help which has been most kindly afforded by Dr. Henri de Saussure in identifying species. d Locusts In BENGAL. In Bengal, it is chiefly in the comparatively dry country to the west that locusts appear, though occasionally flights traverse the whole of Bengal and even penetrate into Assam, These flights are composed of insects belonging to very different species, and there are at least three distinct sources from which they come. In the first place, flights of Acridium peregrinum occasionally penetrate from the North-West frontier into Bengal. This was the case both in 1863 and 1890. An account of what is known of these flights is given in the report on Acredium peregrinum. Secondly, flights occasionally penetrate into Bengal from 100 Indian Musenm Notes. (Vol. I. the highlands of Southern India, and in these cases they probably belong to some of the various species which occasionally prove destructive to crops in the Madras and Bombay Presidencies and in the Central Provinces!. This was probably the case with the flights of 1877 and 1878, notices of which are given below. Thirdly, flights are believed occa- sionally to arise locally ?. This is probably what happened in 1881, when a flight invaded the Manbhoom district from hills in Hazaribagh. No information has yet been obtained on the subject of the identity of these local species; they may, perhaps, in some cases have belonged to the species Acridium succinctum, Whatever the origin of the flights, the injury done by them in Ben- gal has never been very extensive, and no special measures have been adopted against them. According to a report, dated 14th July 1883, by Mr. W. H. Grimley, low-class Mahomedans and Hindoos are said to store the locust, both for food and also in order to extract an oil believed to be useful in the treatment of gout and rheumatism, but upon the whole the pest is of no very great importance. The following is an abstract of the records of the invasions of locusts other than Acridium peregrinum in Bengal :— In 1862 locusts visited Monghyr and did considerable damage to the crops (Report, dated 26th June 1890, by the Commissioner of Bhagul- pore and the Santhal Parganas). We have no clue to the identity of this locust, except that in this, as in the following instances, the year was not one in which 4eridium peregrinum was prevalent in its regular breeding grounds in North-Western India; so, it is pretty certain that the species was not Acridium peregrinum. In 1865 locusts passed over Manbhoom, without, however, doing serious damage to the harvest (Hunter’s Gazetteer) ; they also appeared in this year in Durbhunga (Mr. W. H. Grimley’s Report, dated 14th July 1883). In 1873 they are said to have passed over part of the Burdwan dis- trict (Commissioner of Burdwan’s Report, dated 28th April 1890), In 1877 they visited Monghyr and did considerable damage to the crops (Commissioner of Bhagulpore and the Santhal Parganas’ Report, dated 26th _ June 1890) ; a flight was also observed in this year in the neighbourhood of Patna (Mr. Scott’s Note), and a specimen obtained from it on Ist July 1 The chief of these species are said to be Acridium succinctum, Pachytylus ciner- ascens, Acridium aeruginosum, Acridium melanocorne, Tryxalis turrita, Eierogly phus furcifer, Caloptenus erubescens, Caloptenus eruginosus, Cyrtacanthacris ranacea, Oxya furcifera, Buprepocnemis bramina, Oxya velox, and Chrotogonus sp. 2 With regard to the origin of locusts in the Durbhunga district, the Commissioner of Patna reported (16th July 1890) that the swarms were said to come from the Darjeeling Hills, though some authorities were of opinion that they breed in the large tract of grass jungles that fringe the river Ganges. The supposed iuability of these local species to cross any large body of water is noticed in this report, No 4] Locus!s. 101 1877 bv Mr, Scott has recently been identified by Dr. Henri de Saussure as closely allied to the species Acridium succinctum. In 1878 locusts which had probably strayed from the flights then prevalent in the Madras Presidency, appeared in the Patkour subdivision of the Santhal Parganas from the south, but did not alight (Commissioner of Bhagul- pore and the Santhal Parganas’ Report, dated 26th June 1890). They also appeared in small numbers in Orissa, but did no appreciable damage (Babu C. N, Ghose’s Report, dated 20th February 1890), and passed over Chumparan (Mr. W. H. Grimley’s Report, dated 14th July 1883). In 1881 a flight of local origin appeared in Manbhoom and did some slight injury. The following is an extract from a report, dated 14th July 1883, by Mr. W. H. Grimley on the subject :— “The subdivisional officer of Gobindpore, in the district of Manbhoom, reports that in June 1881 a swarm of locusts visited the subdivision, extending over an arva about ten by five miles, and about a quarter of a mile high. They are said to have emerged partly from the Lagoo Pahar, and partly from the Paresnath hill, in the Hazaribagh district. Considerable numbers alighted on the young dhan seedlings, Indian-corn and gondlee, which had just sprouted, and destroyed them. Much damage is said to have been caused by the insects, but they did not stay for more than four or five hours.” . . . . ‘The insects were “about four inches long w'th heads and wings of a red colour. A large number were destroyed by the people, and some were eaten up by the kites and crows, aiso by low-caste aborigines. They are said to possess the flavour of shrimps or lobsters.” Locusts 1n Manpras. Both in 1889 and 1890 flights of Acridium peregrinum from North- Western India penetrated into the Madras Presidency, and did slight damage over considerable areas ; generally speaking, however, the locusts, which oceasionally prove destructive to crops in Madras, are of more local origin. There does not appear to be any one species which is invariably complained of, but in years of drought numerous species, which are ordinarily present in small numbers, multiply so as to injure the crops, some of them, however, being much more destructive than others. An account of what has been ascertained about the flights of Acridium peregrinum, which penetrated into the Madras Presidency in 1889 and 1890, has been given in the report on that species. The follow- ing is a summary of what is known of the other species of locusts that have proved injurious in the Madras Presidency :— In 1866, a year of scarcity, locusts appeared in one of the villages of the Chingleput district, in the Madras Presidency, and did some damage (Mr. W. R. Robertson’s Report, dated 23rd April 1883). No information has been obtained as to the identity of this insect. In 1878, the last year of the great South Indian famine, locusts invaded the whole of the Madras Presidency, not generally doing a great amount of injury, though in some eases the injury was sufficient seriously 102 Indian Museum Notes. [Vol. II. to increase the distress caused by thefamine. The young locusts began to appear in January, and were found in great numbers in different districts from that date on till September and October, the earlier swarms being found in the west and south of the Presidency, and the later ones in the north and east. The winged locusts were first observed in the end of March and beginning of April in the south-west (Wynaad and Nilgiris), and they afterwards spread over the Presidency to the east and north, not finally disappearing in the north-east until about November and December. They were supposed, at the time, to have originated - locally in hills and waste lands in different parts of the Presidency. The evidence, however, seems rather to point to the locusts having started, in the early part of the year, from the Wynaad and Nilgiri Hills, in the south-west, and thence to have worked their way, with the prevailing wind, over the Presideney to the north and east, occasionally stopping to feed or to deposit their eggs in the ground; for it is otherwise difficult to account for the fact of their appearing so much earlier in the south- west than in the north-east, Little is known of the life-history of the insects, but it may be noticed that locusts were observed pairing in the Salem district in the latter part of June, and also that the you ng locusts, which were found in the early part of May in the Udamalpet taluq were supposed to be the offspring of the large flights of winged locusts which had appeared in the preceding February in the same talug. The connection between the autumn broods of young locusts and those which appeared in the early part of the year has not been made out satisfactorily. Of the measures adopted against these locusts, the most successful seem to have been;—the destruction of the swarms of young wingless locusts by driving them into lines of burning straw; the preventing the flights of winged locusts from settling in the fields by lighting fires, beating drums, and waving branches and cloths in the air, as soon as a flight appeared; and the driving of the winged locusts out of the fields, when they had already alighted, by beating through the crops. It is said that in cases where winged flights were driven persistently through a number of villages, without being allowed to settle, the locusts perished without doing injury. The above account of the Madras locust invasion of 1878 is chiefly taken from the official reports preserved in the Pro- ceedings of the Revenue and Agricultural Department of the Govern- ment of India. With regard to the identity of the insects concerned in the Madras locust invasion of 1878, nothing seems to have been ascertained at the time of the invasion, though the insects were spoken of in one of the reports as belonging to the species Locusta migratoria. This, however may possibly have been due to the fact that the locust of Central Europe is often referred to in old entomology books under this antiquated name ; much importance, therefore, cannot be attached to the identification, and No. 4, ] Locusts. 103 the only clue which we possess lies in the specimens preserved in the collections of the Central Museum, Madras. From this museum a set of Specimens, which are supposed torepresent the Madras locust of 1878, have been kindly furnished by Mr, Edgar Thurston. They have been identified by Dr. Henri de Saussure and prove to comprise no less than six very distinct species, which are as follows: (1) Acridium a@rugino- sum, Burm., represented by five or six specimens, which vary a good deal in the arrangement of the wing markings, (2) Acridium melanocorne, Serv., var., (3) Tryaalis turrita, Linn., (4) Mecopoda sp., (5) Hupre pocnemis sp., represented in each case by one or at most two specimens, (6) a specimen, in a very poor state of preservation, which belongs either to the species Pachytylus migratorius or to Pachytylus cinerascens. In July 1890 locusts were noticed in the Ganjam collectorate, the following being the Collector’s report to the Revenue Board, Madras, on the subject :— “‘T have the honour to inform you that on the 24th instant I visited Purashotta- pur in order to see whether anything could be done to destroy the locusts reported to be doing so much mischief there. “T had two large ‘bag nets’ made of bamboo matting, 15 feet long; and hoped that I might have been able to do something with them; but am sorry to say that all attempts ended in failure. I also attempted to drive the insects into trenches, but without success. The reason for the failure is, that the insects, which are of four or five different kinds, succeed in evading the net or the drive, the large ones by flying away when approached, the smaller ones by dropping to the groand and clinging there, so that nothing would remove them which would not at the same time root out alto- gether the crop. The number of large brown insects which seem to be really locusts is comparatively small, the great bulk are small brown and green grass-hoppers, which are inmyriads. A great deal of damage has undoubtedly beendone. The pest extends over about 10 square miles, chiefly in the Pubbakhandam mutah of the Berhampore taluk. Of one hundred and four villages (including Agraharams and Mokhasas) in the mutah, fifty-five are more or less affected and ten have suffered seriously. “ All the villages most affected are near the Dalibhillo Tampara, the embank- ment of which breached in the floods of last year and has not yet been repaired, in consequence of which a large expause of ground, usually under water, has been lying dry. The ryots report that the insects first made their appearance in the vicinity of the Tampara, and I think it probable that they were brought out in unusual quan- tities owing to the unusual extent of dry ground there. Steps are being takennow to repair the embankment, and I trust that next year the Tampara will not afford so convenient a breeding ground, and that the insects will either not re-appear or do so in diminished numbers.” Specimens were forwarded to the Indian Maseum and were found to eonsist of (1) ten adults and eight larvee of Pachytylus cinerascens', (2) 1 These specimens were identified by Dr. Henri de Saussure ; the species is so closely allied to Pachytylus migratoriws, which is the common migratory locust of Central Europe, that itis very doubtful as to whether the two forms are separable. Koppen indeed (vide Zool. Record, 1872, page 398) cousiders that P. cenerascens is only a variety of 104 Indian Museum Notes. (Vol. I. four specimens of 7yxalis turrita, Linn., (3) one specimen of Oxya velox Burm., (4) one specimen of a species which is probably Epacromia dorsalis Thumb., (5) one larva of a grass-hopper probably belonging to the genus @dalus. Of these the immature specimens are probably the “small brown and green grass-hoppers, ” alluded to by the Collector as present in myriads, while the full-grown specimens of Pachytylus cinerascens are likely to have been the “locusts” mentioned as present in comparatively small numbers. Now, Pachytylus cinerascens is one of the chief migra- tory locusts of Europe, where it sometimes does a great deal of damage. The insect is essentially an inhabitant of the temperate zone, and this would make it appear probable that its permanent breeding-ground lies somewhere in the Nilgiri or other hills, whence it might easily be carried upon the south-west monsoon across the presidency. The presence of nearly full-grown larve shows that the original flight must have remained in the district sufficiently long to have laid their eggs, and for the eggs to have hatched, and for the larve ,to have passed through most of the early stages, a process which probably occupied some months. In the Palearctic zone P. cinerascens is said to lay its eggs in the autumn, the young hatching out in the following summer, but we are as yet en- tirely in the dark as to the habits which the insect acquires when it passes out of a temperate climate into a tropical one. Locusts in Assam. Assam is not generally troubled by locusts, though in the cold weather of 1890-91 a stray flight of Acridium peregrinum from North- Western India penetrated into it. In 1879 also both the antumn and winter crops in Nowgong were reported by the Director of Agriculture to have been largely destroyed by locusts, which were said to have come from the tall grass jungle at the base of the Khasi and Mikir Hills, where they breed permanently. Nothing is known of the identity of this P. migratorius, and the specimens of the two forms in the Indian Museum (as determined by Dr. Henri de Saussure) seem to point to this being the case. According to the synopsis given on page 119 of Dr. Saussure’s Prodromus Cidipodiorum, in P. cinerascens the male is smaller than the female, the punctation on the pronotum is somewhat coarse, the notch in the carina is well marked, and the teeth on the posterior femora are large ; while in P. migratorius the male is much the same size as the female, and the punctation on the pronotum, the notch on the carina, and the teeth on the posterior femora are less marked, To these characteristics Mons. Frey Gessner adds that the carina on the thorax of P. cinerascens is elevated into a well-marked ridge, while that of P. migratorius is much less distinct. These characteristics however seem, in the absence of any well-marked geographical boundary between the areas in which the two forms occur, to be of scarcely sufficient importance to justify their separation into two species, this being especially the case, as Dr. de Saussure writes that the females of the two forms are often almost indis- tinguishable. # No. 4, ] Locusts, 105 locust, though it may possibly have been the insect Phymateus miliaris, which was sent to the Indian Museum in September 1890 by General Collett with the information that it was common in the neighbourhood of Shillong. The following 1s taken from a report, dated 15th February 1883, by the Director of Agriculture in Assam :— “T spent three weeks marching in the Nowgong district, and visited most of he district, except the hill tracts. The Kakotiphoring, or Paper grass-hopper, as the locust is called, is very well known. It is said to attain a length of six to seven inches. It breeds in the tall reed and grass jungle, especially in the jungle at the foot of the hills along the south of the district (the Khasia and Mikir Hills). The time of the appear- ance of the insect is in the early spring, and it continues to feed till July. * Local visitations of locusts are common enough. I found it generally stated that they took place every two or three years. But one general invasion was well vemembered everywhere; the date was 1879: it began early and ended late, so as to include both mustard and rice in the area of devastation. The mustard ripens in January, " : “The direction in which the locust swarms moved was somewhat different in different places. Near the Khasia and Mikir Hills they seemed to come from the south, ze. from the submontane jungle. In the Chapari Mahals, between the Kalang and Brahmaputra, the direction of their course was eastwards. They seem to have moved with great regularity from west to east along this tract, a distance of some 50 miles. The ryots, moved perhaps by rumours of the Afghan war, which had penetrate ed thus far, told one another that they came from Cabul. Their numbers were such that the reeds and grass of the jungle were bowed down by their weight when they alighted, and they made a clean sweep of all the fields in their way. The Mikirs and Lalungs eat locusts after parching them in the fire. Locusts can commonly be had in the month of Bohag (April-May). The only remedy adopted against locusts is one which the people appear to have invented for themselves. They sprinkle the threatened crops with water in which salt has been dissolved, and in which onions have been steeped. This remedy is said to have been effectual in 1879, after some time; probably the locusts would have moved on in any case.” Locusts IN THE BomBay PRESIDENCY, EXCLUDING SIND. In the autumn of 1890 flights of Acridium peregrinum from North- Western India penetrated into the Bombay Deccan and Konkan, and did slight damage over con- siderable areas. An account of these flights has been given in the report on Acridium peregrinnm, and we are now chiefly concerned with the locusts which invaded the Presidency in 1882-88, though it should also be noticed that, according to Hunter’s Gazetteer, locusts appeared in 1878 in Kolaba and damaged the cold weather crops of 1878-79, nothing further, however, being recorded about them. In 1882-83 locusts proved destructive throughout the whole of the Bombay Deccan and Konkan, and though the identity of the insects concerned was not altogether definitely ascertained, the history of the invasion was very completely recorded in numerous official reports. The General. 106 Indian Museum Notes. [Volt a sections, therefore, on the history of the invasion and on the remedies adopted have been taken, much of them, verbatim from the reports of the Bombay Government by Mr. J, Nugent, as recorded in the Reeords of the Revenue and Agricultural Department of the Government of India. The section on the life-history of the insect is from a report by Mr. Hatch, as reprinted in the Zndian Forester, Volume X. In May and June 1882 locusts were noticed in the south-west of the The history of the inva. Presidency (Dharwar and Kanara Collectorates), sion. but they attracted little attention, as such swarms are annual visitors of the Kanarese forests, and neither in Kanara nor in Dharwar did they cause any material injury. With the setting in of the south-west monsoon however, they spread in flights over the Presidency, to the north and north-east (Satara, Poona, Nasik, Ahmednagar, and Khandesh), and early in the rains proceeded to lay their eggs and die, These eggs hatched in the end of July, or begin- ning of August, and the young locusts did a large amount of damage, over a wide area, through the months of August and September. In the early part of October, with the setting in of the north-east monsoon, the young locusts, which had by this time acquired wings, took flight and travelled with the prevailing wind in a south-westerly direction, doing some injury in the Poona collectorate as they passed. They then struck the Western Ghats, and spread slowly over the Konkan in Novem- ber, and thence travelled into the Native State of Sawantwari, and the Kanara district. During the remainder of the cold season and the hot weather (December 1882 to the end of May 1883) the flights clung to the line of Ghats, occasionally venturing inland into Belgaum, Dharwar, the Kolhapur state, and Satara, and devouring the spring crops in the coast districts, but ordinarily returning to the vicinity of the hill ranges. With the commencement of the south-west monsoon however, in the latter part of May 1883, the flights began to move in a north-easterly direction, as they had done the preceding year, but in larger numbers. At the commencement of the rains they began to alight in vast numbers over au immense tract of country comprising the six Deccan collectorates of Sholapur, Poona, Khandesh, Ahmednagar, Satara, and Nasik, and also in the three coast collectorates of Ratnagiri, Kolaba, and Thana. They deposited their eggs, and died, and early in August the young locusts hatched out in countless numbers, but were apparently more backward and possessed of less strength and stamina than were those of the preceding year. The unusually heavy rainfall killed vast numbers of these in different parts of the country, and elsewhere the insects seem- ed stunted and feeble, and grew but slowly. They were destroyed in vast numbers by the vigorous measures initiated by the officials, and were also said to be diseased and attacked by mites and nematode para- No. 4.) Locusts. 107 sites, As late as November the mass of the young locusts appeared un- able to fly and made no gereral movement to the south-west, as they had done the year before, The invasion was, in fact, at an end, and though (according to Hunter’s Gazetteer) swarms appeared in Sawantwari in 1883-84, no further injury of a serious nature seems to have occurred. The injury occasioned to the rain crops by the locusts was very con- siderable, over a great portion of the Deccan and Konkan both in 1882 and 1883. But though some relief works were started, especially in the coast districts, it was found, at the end of the invasion, that the abundance of the cold weather crops had compensated to so great an extent for the injury occasioned to the rain crop, that no widespread injury had been occasioned. cahehirelistony, of oko Mr. Hatch describes the life-history of the lo- locust. cust, as observed in the Konkan, as follows ! :— “Tn the Konkan locusts coupled in great numbers between the 15th May and the 15th June 1883, and died off naturally immediately after the eggs had been deposited. The eggs are deposited mostly in flat and gently sloping land of soft friable soil, rocky and sandy soil being avoided, and land which has been ploughed up, and the lee side of banks, where the soil has accumulated, are mostly selected. ‘ihe eggs are piled ina small cylindrical hole, parallel to its sides, and are attached to one another by some cohesive siccable substance. Filling the mouth of the hole is a plug, consisting of a soft fibrous substance, and below it the eggs, arranged as described, averaging 70 in each hole. The holes are from 1°5 to 2 inches in depth, and in a good locality four might be found ina span. They are not easily visible, but when one is found, others are generally near ite Brushing off the loose dust and digging here and there faci- litates search. “The eggs themselves are of adirty ochre colour, in length ‘2 to°3, and in diameter ‘08 to ‘08 ef an inch, rounded in section, with a slight curve, and tapering very slightly towards the rounded ends. . . When fresh, the contents of the eges are of a dirty orange colour, liquid but slightly viscous, with a somewhat acrid taste. The envelope apparently consists of two layers, the outer one coloured and tough, and the inner one white and fragile. When broken, the eggs give off an odour like a broken root. As the eggs approach maturity, they assume a distinctly greenish hue, and the young locust bursts the shell down the middle on issuing into life. I experi- mented on some eggs by placing them in damp and very damp soil, but the water did . not affect the hatching. “The young locusts appeared in myriads in my district (Chiplum taluka) between Ist and 20th August, so that the period the eggs required to hatch was a little more than two months, say seventy days. “ The yonng locusts vary somewhat in colour, most being a dullish light green, some iight green, but hardly verdant, and a few almost white and only tinged with green. A few minutes after hatching they are strong enough to jump . a - The antenne are darksome and short, whilst on the thigh cases small black spots, and on the upper side of the abdomen a faint black line, are just visible . . . . “The young locusts generally cast their slough for the first time about 15 days after birth, and in their new skin the black line and spots become darker and the green colour of a deeper hue. They now leave the grass land and seek the shelter of the crops, and are in length °8 of an inch. ! From his report, as reprinted in the Zedian Forester, vol. X, p. 425. 108 Indian Museum Notes, [Vol. Il, “‘ After another interval of 15 days they again cast their slough aud enter on the third state. In this the black line becomes very intense, as also do the spots, which lengthen and form the so-called ‘ Koranic verses ’"—they do show acerta‘n similitude to some letters of the Arabic alphabet vernacular. They are now 1:2 of an inch in length. “They enter the 4th stage by casting their slough after another 15 days, and assume, including the antenne, a yellow colour, which, towards the end of the stage, becomes pinkish grey. The black line and the‘ Koranic verses’ are now very intense in colour, and the insect attains the length of 1°6 of an inch. “A creat transformation is witnessed on entry into the 5th stage after 15 more days. ‘The female is now 2 inches long, whilst the male issomewhat less. The colour of the head, prothorax, and abdomen is a grey or drab, speckled on the prothorax, and darker along the upper side of the abdomen. The ringed antennz are a deep yellow, the eyes chestnut and striated, whilst for the first time appears an oblong mark under each eye, indigo green in colour, and bordered on each side by yellow. The Arabic letters have now disappeared, whilst the spots on the thigh cases are obsolescent. The young wings, too, now first appear. At first very small, they grow during the period of this stage—20 days. ‘The contents of the wing-sprouts are at first liquid, and the young wings may be seen forming within the semi-transparency. When they are fully formed, the insect is of a dark brownish grey colour, whilst on the prothorax and else- where may be distinguished the colouring of the next stage. “Tn its 6th and perfect stage the insect presents a brilliant appearance. The female is now 3 inches, and the male 25 inches, in whole length, from head to tips of wings which overlap the abdomen by °5 of an inch, andare rounded. On casting the slough, the wings dry and unfold, and the body of the insect, at first soft and moist, gradually hardens in the sun. The antenne are ‘8 inch in length, and ofa bright yellow colour; the head is a brownish yellow, and the eyes, finely striated, are of a deep chestnut. The prothorax is alternately banded with a bright yellow and a rich brown, parallelwise to the body, and the legs are of an ochreish hue. Along the upper rim of the femur ruus a deep brown stripe, aud the knee-caps are of the same colour. The tibia, tarsus, and foot are a bright ochre, and the first is armed with 8 black-tipped spurs on the outside and 11 on the inside, while there are a pair of spurs on each side of the ankle-joint and on each side of the foot. The outer wings, or wing cases, have the colours on the prothorax extended to them, and on the back they form a flat surface, tapering to the extremity. They are strongly veined and finely reticulated, and towards the extremities are irregularly brown marked. The inner wings, which are expansive, are hardly coloured. The abdomen is a light brown, darker along the ridge, and in the female there are four spiky processes at its extremity, the upper pair curling up and the lower pair downwards. In the male the lower pair is replaced by one spiky process, larger and stronger. “The locust now packs with its kindred, and they form the swarms which : ravage the couatry. After a month or so they assume a red tinge, which gradually deepens and continues until their death, which takes place after the sexual function has been performed in May or June. The proportion of males to females appeared to me about 1 in 6. “The whole life of the insect, including the egg-period, is exactly one year.” Various methods were employed in the Bombay Presidency in 1882-83 to destroy the locusts, which were to a large extent kept under by the energetic measures taken against them. The Cyprus screen system,! was found utterly inapplicable and Remedies. 1 The Cyprus screen |system consists in erecting a long line of screens, each two to No. 4] Locusts. 109 had to be abandoned. The search for evgs also was not found successful as a means of destroying the pest. A plan was tried of marching lines of beaters, armed with bundles of twigs througk the fields beating the ground so as to crush the young locusts. This was to some extent suc- cessful in short grass, but could not be made use of with growing crops. The plan of dragging country blankets rapidly over a field where locusts were to be found, and squeezing up the cloth every few yards to kill the insects which had been caught, was found useful in bushy tracts, but required, for its successful working, a good deal of activity and intel- ligence. The most successful method consisted in dragging over the fields a capacious bag, five or six feet deep by eight or ten feet long and much like a huge bolster case, but open at the side, instead of at the end, This was held by two men, one at each end, and was run along over the grass or young crops, to catch the locusts, which tumbled in, and, being unable to escape, could, from time to time, be killed by twisting up the bag. This was found to be a simple and easy means of destroy. ing the locusts, and the people took to it readily all over the locust- affected area. Little or no injury was done to the crops by the men working it, and millions of insects were killed. With regard tu the numbers destroyed during the locust invasion, the Collector of Nasik reported the destruction. in his collectorate alone of some forty-five tons of locusts, which he estimated must have repre- sented about a thousand millions of individual locusts. Similarly in the Satara collectorate one handred and eighty tons were reported to have been destroyed by the local officials, The numbers destroyed in these two collectorates were no doubt greater than in most of the collectorates which suifered from the locusts, but the figures give some idea of the extent of the invasion. With regard to the identity of the locust of 1882-83 Dr. Macdonald in his report, reprinted in the Jdzan Forester, Vol. hee AU SEEE yg the, lee X, advanced the supposition that the insect was Acridium peregrinum, and this name was adopted in most of the official, reports which subsequently appeared. There seems, however, to be conclusive proof that the insect belonged to some other species, In the reports, both of Lieutenant Colonel Swinhoe and three feet high, in front of an advancing swarm of young wingless locusts, pits being dug at intervals, close to the screens and at right angles to them, on the side towards the ad- vancing swarm, the object being that the young locusts, on arriving at the screens, may turn to the right and left, and thus pour into the pits, where they can be destroyed. The chief advantage of the screen system is, that it enables a series of pits, dug at intervals, to take the place of the continuous trench that would otherwise be necessary to catch the whole of aswarm. The material hitherto chiefly used for the screens has been cloth, bound along the top with a strip of slippery oileloth about four inches wide to prevent the locusts elimbing over, but smooth mat screens are likely to be cheaper for use in many parts of India. The pits are usually furnished with overhanging zinc edges to prevent the locusts escaping. 110 Indian Museum Notes. (Vol. If. of Lieutenant Colonel Bradford, the locust of Rajputana, which is un- doubtedly Acridium peregrinum, is spoken of as distinct from the Bombay locust of 1882-83. 68, 92, 106, 118, 119, 120, 123, 124, 132, 140, 144, 154, 155, 170, 174, 214, 221, 225, 226. Panicum miliare (Small Millet) 225. Papaver somniferuwm (Poppy) 18, 19, 30 35, 53, 120, 129, 180, 213, 228, 229, 238, 236, 239. Pea, see Pisum sativum. Pennisetum typhoideum (Bajra) 213. Phaseolus radiatus (Mash) 213. Pisum sativum (Pea) 51, 128, 129. Poppy, see Papaver somniferum. Potato, see Solanum tuberosum, Rabi crops generally 118, 120, 168. Rape seed, see Brassica glauca. Rice, see Oryza sativa. Ricinus communis (Castor-oil) 110, 119. Saccharum officinarum (sugarcane) 44, 89, 119, 186, 137, 215, 218, 230. Safflower, see Carthamus tinctorius. Sembi, see Dolichos Lablab. Sesamum indicum (Gingelly) 109, 213. Small Millet, see Panicum miliare. Solanum Melongena (Brinjal) 71, 119, 137. Solanum tuberosum 132, Sorghum vulgare (jowar or cholum) 4, 20, 26. Standing crops generally 108, 110,117, 120, 128, 129, 182, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 218, 216, 217, 221, 222, 228, 224, 225, 226, Sugarcane, see Saccharum officinarum. Sweet potato, see Ipomea Batatas. (Potato) 72, 129, No. 6. J A Conspectus of Insects. 175 Tea, see Camellia theifera. Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) 107, 175. Tobacco, see Nicotiana Tabacum. Trapa bispinosa (Water Caltrop) 65, Triticum sativum (Wheat) 3, 6, 20, 23, 27, 129, 132, 144, 213. Turmeric, see Curcuma longa. Tur, see Cajanus indicus. Vigna Catiang (Lobia), 213, Vine, see Vitis vinifera. Vitis vinifera (Vine) 162, Water Caltrop, see Trapa bispinosa. Wheat, see Zrvticum sativum. Zea Mays (Maize) 187, 151, 221. IT.—Table to show the Forest and Fruit Trees and their Produce reported as attacked by Insects in India, [The name of the tree is followed by the serial numbers of the insects which attack it. ] Acacia Catechu (Khair) 15, 58. Almond, see Prunus communis. Apple, see Pyrus Malus. Apricot, see Prunus armeniaca. Areca Catechu (Suparee Palm) 197. Bambusa sp. (Bamboo) 21. Bombax malabaricum (Cotton tree) 61, 121. Buk, see Quercus lamellosa. Butea frondosa (Dhak) 33, 56. Ceara Rubber, see Manihot Glaziovii, Cedrela Toona (Toon) 141. Charcoal tree, see Sponia orientalis. Citrus Aurantium, (Orange) 90, 96, 192. Citrus decumana (Pummalo). 148. Citrus medica (Lemon) 90, 148, 192. Cocoanut, see Cocos nucifera. Cocos nucifera (Cocoanut) 12, 28, 38, 59 91, 198, 202. Cotton tree, see Bombax malabaricum. Date, see Phenix dactylifera. Dead wood generally, 230. Deal, see Pinus, Dendrocalamus Hamiltonit (Hill Bamboo) 29. Dhak, see Butea frondosa. Lryobotrya japonica (Loquat) 87. Erythrina suberosa (Roongra) 61. Ficus Roxburghii (Fig.) 154. Gall-nut tree, see Terminalia Chebula ? Guava, see Psidium Guava. Hill Bamboo, see Dendrocalamus Hami l- tonit, Hill Oak, see Quercus. Jingham, see Odina Wodier. Khair, see Acacia catechu. Lemon, see Citrus medica. Loquat, see Eryobotrya japonica. Mahogany, see Swietenia Mahagoni. Mangifera indica (Mango) 17, 31, 104 112, 139, 164, 179, 188, 189, Manihot Glaziovii (Ceara, Rubber) 191, Moringa pterygosperma (Soangna) 61, Morus (Mulberry) 32, 126, 3 2 Mulberry, see Morus. Odina Wodier (Jingham) 56. Orange, see Citrus Aurantium, Peach, see Prunus persica, Phenix dactylifera (Date) 428, Pinus eacelsa 46. Pinus longifolia (Chir) 17, 32, 49, 208, 2138, 214, Pinus sp. (Deal) 58. Pomegranate, see Punica Granatum. Poplar, see Populus euphratica, Populus euphratica (Poplar) 17, 93. Prunus armeniaca (Apricot) 181. Prunus communis (Almond) 181. Prunus persica (Peach) 165, 181. Pyrus Malus (Apple) 180. Psidium Guava (Guava) 22, 87, 96, 192. Pummalo, see Citrus decumana, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) 87, 142 Quercus incana 49, Quercus Lamellosa (Buk) 118. Quercus pachyphylla 42, Quercus sp. (Hill Oak) 7, 45, Roongra, see Erythrina suberosa. Saj, see Terminalia tomentosa. Sal, see Shorea robusta, Salix tetrasperma (Wild Willow) 60. Sandalwood, see Santalum album. Santalum album (Sandalwood) 25, 94. Shorea robusta (Sal) 13, 41, 49, 53, 56, 57, 99, 111, 118, Sponia orientalis (Charcoal tree) 96, Soangna, Moringa pterygosperma, Supari Palm, see Areca Catechu. Swietenia Mahagoni (Mahogany) 40, 106. Tamarindus indica (Tamarind) 52. Teak, see Tectona grandis. Tectona grandis (Teak) 14, 57, 58, 62, 96, 132. Terminalia Chebula ? (Gall-nut tree) 97, Terminalia tomentosa (S4j) 57. Toon, see Cedrela Toona. Wild Willow, see Salix tetrasperma. 176 Indian Museum Notes. [ Vol. II. Til.—Table to show the miscellaneous products veported as ination by ansects in India. [The name of each product is followed by the serial numbers of the insects reported to attack it. ] Reer Casks 43, 44. Convolvulacez 66. Croton Tigliwm (Croton-oil plant) 191. Crocus sativus (Saffron) 19, Garden plants 123. Hibiscus Abelmoschus (Musk Mallow) 171. Hibiscus, sp. 34. Kibu, see Strobilanthes pectinatus. Lagerstremia indica 97. Leather 5. Musk Mallow, see Hibiscus Abelmoschus, Rosa sp. (Rose bushes) 97. Saffron, see Crocus sativus. Ships’ Biscuit 4, 20, 24. Silk Cocoons 5. Silk-worms 76, 157, 158, 167. Strobilanthes pectinatus (Kibu) 39. Warehouse goods 38, 4, 5, 6,18 19, 20, 24 27, 30, 50, 51, 52, 15%, 152, 153, 154, 230, 236. Woollen material 152, 153. E. C. COTES, Officiating Deputy Superintendent Indian Museum. CacuTta, 17th May 1892. Govt. of India Central Printing Office.—No. 103 R, & A,—8-2-93,.—1,5050.—P, Fig 9 a Se i] \ { - CHIONASPIS THBAE. | iy SE aN S) JE LID) MOWING, Sy 1040" Wales et 7 Fig dg BRIOCHI VON (CAWANT: PLATE Ny | | Photo-etching from the origmal Drawings Survey of India Offices, Calcutta, July 1891. © 1s JAC US) GAIL IANS), ATTACUS EDWARDSIL. Photo-etching from the original drawings, Survey of India Offices, Calcutta, June, 1891. amet tt 149 on iter eee iy sgh Be - JMVADACIUES) : (CNANEIPIELIAN, PLATE IIL. Photo-etching from the original drawings,Survey of India Offices, Caleutta, June, 1891. i 5 5 5 ou PLATE IV. ACTIAS SELENE. Photo-etching from the original drawings, Survey of India Offices, Calcutta, June,1891. Aside if Se PLATE, “V. ACTIAS LETO, . Photo-etching from the original drawings, Survey of India Offices, Calcutta, June, 1891. ANTHERAEA FRITHIL Photo-etching from the original drawings, Survey of India Offices, Calcutta, June,1891. ANTHERAEA PERNYI. AFTER GUERIN-MENEVILLE Photo-etchin§ from the original drawin irvey of India Offices, Calcutta, June, 1891 PLATE VIII. ANTHERAEA YAMAMAT. AFTER WESTMAAS. Photo-etching from the original drawings, Survey of India Offices, Calcutta, June,1891. = Sine Sat 2 = Pe eens é taste Peek aN ee SF oR ef. aD = ae faa) natta, June, L £ India Offices, Calc (o) U ROYLEL. urvey 5 és, § ar ANTHERABA origin: Photo-etching from th 4 CRICULA DREPANOIDES. | @lGHENVANRIAG VANC IEW AN Photo-etching from the original drawings. Survey of India Offices, Caleutta, June. 1691. J heumg vet RHODIA NEWARA. Photo- etching from. the original drawings, Survey of India Offices, Calcutta, June.18 Gi: SS aie tlio sees oe ene oe ee pesos piicsassiasssascessero= ¥ . s: 4 = : sv : = ete aie: 2 : = 5 coy xf x S Sars : ot: a « = 3 > * * Pie Se A se 7 : ; : : ee : 2 z e e ea gat 3 " io x i a eee a3 : = pe g gq Bo 2 S @ pe) (e) | ea SATURNIA STOLICZKANA. Photo-etching from the Original Drawings Survey of India Offices, Calcutta, August 1891. PLATE XIV. CpACiG Ui A SMe AS RINACA ZULEIKA. Photo-etching from the original Drawings ~Survey of India Offices, Calcutta, August 1891. x Eel i (Q) ter Tet IE iby AV Ti et LILA BRAHMAEA AE WINE IL TS alsin ON CHAS VEAP ASIN Sic: Photo-etching from the original Drawings - Survey of India Offices. Caleutta, August 1891. ols PLATE XV Piee QUT UROL Isai ANTS) BEM) is AC: inte) La bsO i sity PE ROVE NEA Ve ARG PING TolisA:. L G.C.Chulrabotty, del. Fhoto-etching from the original Drawings- Survey of India Offices, Calcutta, August 1891. PLATE XVII. INAS IRL DIEU I) IS) UU CAL NEC WE Oe Oy Ly INT AN G.C.Chulcabotty, del. Photo-etching from the original Drawings - Survey of India Offices Calcutta, August 1891. vey, Ne re io Ay) 3 2044 118 635 127