622 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVI. 



But as the area under fruit is increasing gradually and forests are 

 cleared for cultivation, several of these forms might, under favourable 

 circumstances, transfer their activities not only to fruit trees and 

 garden plants but even to food and industrial crops grown in the 

 fields. Nor do the chances for wider distribution stop there ; nursery 

 men and fruit vendors have begun to import fruit and nursery 

 stock from foreign countries and this will be another important 

 medium for the importation of some of the well-known scale pests 

 from abroad. In this manner Coccids have good opportunities of 

 coming into more prominence in the future. 



I have in this paper attempted to list those forms which have 

 so far been noted to be of some economic importance and a few 

 Avhich show promise of playing the role of pests in due course. So 

 far I have noted about 129 species of Coccids inhabiting Sovxth 

 India and of these I have selected the following 33 which are of 

 economic importance and therefore deserve some attention. 



Family— COCCIDS. 



Sub-family — DiASPiNiE. 



1. Chionaspis vitis, Green.* 



Found on Mango in Bangalore, Coimbatore and at the foot of the 

 Nilgiris. The female scales are white and more or less transparent and oval 

 in shape, the male puparia are small and snowy white. The insect is found 

 in colonies on the foliage and infested leaves turn into a pale sickly 

 yellowish colour. It is not at present a very serious pest but it is not 

 unlikely to be so. The alternate food plants on which this insect has been 

 noted are Vitis lanceolaria, Elceaynus latifolia and occasionally Loranthus. 

 Mr. Green who has studied the insecty in Ceylon says " should the grape 

 vine be ever cultivated largely in Ceylon, this insect might prove a rather 

 serious pest." The remark applies equally to South India. 



2. Diaspis echinocadi — Bouche.* 



This is the prickly pear scale. Found in Coimbatore and other localities. 

 The small pale whitish brown oval scales are found in patches on the 

 prickly pear. The colonies are especially numerous near the branches of 

 thorns and flower buds. During the summer months the insect multiplies 

 enormously and considerably checks the vigorous growth of this undesirable 

 weed, but it has not begun to play a very important role as a natural enemy 

 of the prickly pear. 



3. Hemichionaspis aspidistrce, Sign. * 



This insect has been noted on a variety of plants till now. On pepper 

 leaves and berries in Malabar, on Ceara rubber leaves on the Nilgiris, on 

 Citrus leaves in Godavari, on Jak leaves in Mysore, on Ficus leaves in 

 Coimbatore and Cocoanut leaves in Malabar. The female puparium has an 

 irregular elongated shape pointed at one end and more or less dilated at the 

 posterior end. Has a pale brown colour. The male puparia are small, narrow, 

 and clear white in colour. It is curious that in certain cases males predo- 

 minate and in others only female scales are found. 



* Note. — All the species with an asterisk werenamed by Mr. E. E. Green. 



