PROCEEDINGS OF THE SECOND ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 395 
Mysore lately I will ask Mr. Kunhi Kannan to give us some information 
about it. 
This insect passes through three moults before attaining the adult Mr. Kunhi 
stage. A peculiar habit in moulting has been observed in the case of Kannan. 
this insect, that it casts off only the ventral skin and not the dorsal. 
‘The individual lifehistory takes about four months, about one-and-a- 
half months of this time being required to reach the adult stage. 
What is the length of period during which young individuals can live Mr. Fletgher. 
before reaching a suitable food-plant ? 
_ They live for three or four days. Mr. Kunhi 
, Kannan. 
When I was in Coorg in May 1914 I collected some coffee-leaves infest- Mr. Fletcher. 
ed with this Scale and young ones emerged in the boxes in which the 
leaves were. These boxes were carried by me when I left Coorg, and 
young ones were still alive and active ten or eleven days afterwards, 
although I was then at Poona where the weather was extremely hot and 
dry and the conditions apparently very unfavourable. 
The adults may live for more than twenty days without food. Mr. Kunhi 
Kannan. 
The adults in my boxes were apparently dead. Anyway, these Mr. Fletcher. 
figures show how this Scale may be carried for long distances even on 
dried leaves affected by it. 
Another peculiarity noted in this Scale-insect is in regard to the number Mr. Kunhi 
of antennal joints. Mr. Green, when describing this species, mentioned Kannan. 
seven segments of the antenna, butI havefound in the case of bred 
specimens that this number may be reduced to three. Further observa- 
tions have shown that there is great variation in this species. No less 
than five different forms have been obtained from different parts of the 
World. The number three in the antennal joints of most of the South 
Indian forms is constant. It has therefore been described as a new 
species in a paper read by me last month before the Science Congress. 
The abundant rainfall in Mysore helps to check this pest, because during 
the monsoon months a white fungus, which is very destructive to this 
Scale insect, propagates very easily. A dark fungus, which appears to 
resist dry weather better, is also effective. 
A paper, recently published in Java, gives interesting results of Dr. Coleman. 
experiments conducted to show the relation between Ants and this 
Scale. Coffee-plants were grown in pots and fifty bugs were put on each 
plant and ants introduced into some pots whilst others were kept free 
of ants ; in the ant-infected pots the number of Scales doubled, whilst 
in the pots without ants their number was reduced. These ants keep 
parasites also from the Scales. 
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