453 



readily, so that it soon injures itself when caged. For this reason no 

 eggs were obtained in captivity. Both larvae and adults confine their 

 feeding to the flow^er-buds and do not attack any other part of the 

 tea-plant. The infested buds do not appear to suffer. 



H. smaragdinus is of no economic importance in crop tea-gardens, 

 but it may prove injurious in seed-gardens if the buds there are severely 

 attacked. 



It is worthy of note that Lopus sulcatiis, a bug very similar to 

 H. smaragdinus, attacks the flower-buds of the vine and causes 

 serious harm. 



The non-identity of H. smaragdinns, Rpk., with Callicratides (Hyalo- 

 peplus) rama, Kirby, from Ceylon is held to be proved by Distant's 

 description of the latter {Fauna of British India, Rhynchota, ii, 1904). 



Bernard (C). De Zaad-Wants van de Theeheesters, Poecilocoris 

 hardirichii. [P. hardicicki, the Seed-Bug of the Tea Shrub.] — 

 Meded. Proefstation voor Thee, Buitenzorg, no. 67, 1919, pp. 11-20, 

 12 figs. [Received 24th August 1920.] 



A Pentatomid bug attacks the tea berries in Java and is of much 

 greater importance in seed-gardens than the Capsid described in the 

 preceding paper, for both the quantity and quality of the seed may be 

 affected. 



In a note published in 1911 {Qrtly. Jl. Indian Tea Assoc, i, pt. iv, 

 p. 14) Antram records two species, Poecilocoris hardwicki and P. latus, 

 as attacking tea-seed in British India and states that they are but 

 slightly differentiated. The variations in the colouring of the adults are 

 discussed here, and as the description of P. hardwicki best agrees with 

 the Javanese species, the latter has been accordingly attributed to it. 



Two other Pentatomids, Cantos occUatiis and (probably) Lamprocoris 

 lateralis, have also been observed, but little is known of them. 



The eggs of P. hardwicki are laid on the upper and lower surfaces of 

 the leaves ; they are not very numerous, usually 14. They are globular 

 in shape and measure less than 2 millimetres in diameter. The egg- 

 stage lasts about 6 days. There appear to be not more than 4 moults. 

 The larvae and adults usually live in groups on the leaves and dislilce 

 movement. Even the winged adults are not active, so that capture 

 is easy. • ' , .. 



Observations on captive specimens confirm that feeding takes place 

 at the expense of the seed or, rather, of the berry. The leaves are not 

 touched ; according to Roepke ripe seeds are not attacked, the large 

 but still green berries containing unripe seed being chosen. The skins 

 of these unripe seeds are still partly white and not very hard, and the 

 endosperm is still fluid. Roepke states that the bug pierces the hard 

 skin of the green berry with a sawing motion of the rostrum, which is 

 about I of an inch long (nearly as long as the body) and can penetrate 

 three-quarters of that distance into the fruit. Keuchenius has found 

 that the soft endosperm is sucked out. The author's own observations 

 show that the larvae, nymphs and imagines prefer the young tea berries 

 and that they are unable to pierce the very hard skin of the seed in 

 older berries. Captive individuals also puncture the young twigs and 

 the leaves (mostly near the chief veins), but whether the insects do 

 this in nature is not known. 



