THE 



COCCID^ OF CEYLON 



CHAPTER I 



Introductory. 



The Coccidae, or ' Scale Insects,' subsist upon vegetable sap, 

 pumping it up by means of a proboscis or long hair-like tube 

 which they insert deep into the tissues of the plant. They may 

 all be classed as either actual or potential insect pests. Many of 

 them are at present rare and local in Ceylon ; long may they 

 remain so ! Others, unfortunately, are amongst our worst enemies. 

 I need only mention the * Green-bug' {Lecanium viride), that 

 worked such havoc in our coffee plantations some ten years ago 

 and still remains with us. In the earlier days of coffee, the ' Black- 

 bug ' {Lecanmm nigrum) and * Brown-bug ' {Leca?iium coffees) were 

 only a little less destructive ; and the latter is still sometimes very 

 troublesome on tea plants. At the present time a small insect, 

 known in America as the 'Greedy Scale' {Aspidiohis canielluE), 

 has found its way into our tea estates, and is responsible for many 

 weakly plants. There is scarcely a single cultivated plant that is 

 not subject to the attacks of one or more species of Scale Insects ; 

 some few plants seem particularly attractive to these pests. The 

 common guava tree, for instance, is never free from 'bug.' On one 

 small tree of this kind I have counted as many as seven distinct 

 species at one time, and such a tree growing in the midst of a field 

 of tea or coffee will form a stronghold for such pests, and a source 

 of infection, unless speedily eradicated. Ornamental plants — 

 especially those grown in sheltered places, such as palms and 

 ferns in pots — are particularly subject to attack. It will often be 

 noticed that a creeper growing under the eaves of a house may be 

 thickly covered with scale, while a similar plant grown in the open 



B 



