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KuTHERFOED (A.)- Some Insect Pests of 1913. — Ceylon Dept. Agric, 

 Peradeniya, Bull. no. 15, December 1914, 8 pp. 

 This bulletin is an extract from the Government Entomologist's re- 

 port for 1913 [see this Review, Ser. A., ii, p. 643]. Included in the 

 present paper are the following insects, which were not identified in 

 time for pubhcation in the report : The moths, Brachycyttarus 

 suhteralbatus, Hmp., and Hotnona cqffearia, Nietn., on tea ; Arbela 

 qiiadrinotata, Wlk., on cacao ; Brithys crini, F. {GloUula dominica. 

 Cram.), destroying lily foliage ; Eiipterote petosiris, Cram., {geniinata, 

 Wlk.), defohating dadap (Erylhrina) ; Dichomeris ianthes, Meyr., 

 defohating lucerne; Phyllocnistis citreUa, Staint., on citrus; and 

 Hypocala moorei, Butl., defoliating Diospyros montana ; the butterflies, 

 Rapala schistacea feeding on flowers of tea, and Catochrysops paiidava, 

 Horsf ., in fronds of Cycas ; and the beetle, Xyleborus fornicalus, Eich., 

 in twigs of avocado pear. 



Rutherford (A.). Some Minor Pests of Tea Recently Reported. — 



Trop. Agric., Peradenyia, xliii, no. 6, December 1914, pp. 440-442. 

 Minor tea pests, recently reported, include : — Euproctis sp., probably 

 atomaria, Wlk., reported from Peradeniya in May ; the weevil, 

 Astycus immmiis, Wlk., recorded as eating the young shoots just 

 sprouting from the stumps, in May ; Callicratides rama, Kirby, a Capsid, 

 reported to cause brown spots on the young flush, also occurring on cotton, 

 and easily collected in small hand-nets. The bugs, Riptortus pedestris, 

 F., and R.fuscus, F., feed on the young unopened leaves or the veins of 

 more mature leaves, seeking shade within the tea bushes during the 

 heat of the day ; R. pedestris is also recorded as a minor pest of wheat 

 and pulses in S. India, and R. linearis, F., has been taken on the foliage 

 of seedling Hevea in Ceylon. Thrips, probably Heliothrips sp., feed 

 in colonies on both sides, chiefly the lower one, of the older leaves, and 

 what is probably the same species occurs on a variety of plants, includ- 

 ing avocado pear and Lit sea zeylanica, but is never numerous enough 

 to do much harm. Pulling the leaves and dipping them at once into 

 water bearing a layer of kerosene, will kill the insects, while in the case 

 of bad infestation, the plants should be sprayed with kerosene emulsion 

 or a tobacco decoction. Another thrips, probably Heliothrips sp., 

 found in large numbers on the leaves of Careya arborea, the Patana 

 oak, at Peradeniya, was seen to be heavily parasitised by a very small 

 Chalcid. Coccus hesperidum, L., occurred on the upper surfaces of 

 citrus leaves in Nawalapitiya, the attack being slight. Saissetia hemis- 

 phaerica, Targ., seriously attacked twigs in June, the leaves being 

 often found covered with sooty mould, a fungus growing on the sugary 

 secretion of the Coccid, the insect itself occurring higher up on the 

 plant. The worst colonies should be cut out and the remainder sprayed 

 with kerosene emulsion, which will also clear away the fungus. Coccus 

 viridis. Or., Aspidiotus rapax, Comst. {camellice. Sign.), Howardia 

 biclavis, Comst., and Lecanium sp., probably discrepans, Gr., were 

 present on plants received in Jime from Lindula. Ripersia theae, 

 sp. n., covers the twigs in the same way as mealy bug ; on one occasion, 

 though the twigs were covered with the waxy secretion, scarcely a 

 Coccid could be obtained, probably owing to the presence of the larvae 

 of Spalgis epius. A sample of made tea infested by a small beetle, 

 probably Lasioderma testacea, was received ; treatment with carbon 

 bisulphide is recommended against it. 



