GREEN BUG IN CEYLON 63 



by the heavy mulch of leaves. Even with these advan- 

 tages, the course of the pest has been erratic. On the 

 Pulneys several estates have had to be abandoned. On the 

 Anamalais, while coffee has suffered little on one slope, on 

 the other it has been badly attacked. On the Shevaroys, 

 above 4,000 feet, there are estates where the coffee borer 

 (XylotrecJms quadripes) is looked upon as far more serious 

 than green bug, while on the Nilgiris constant attention 

 appears to be necessary to prevent the bug from getting 

 out of hand. In the Wynaad it has not been taken 

 seriously at all. In Mysore the outbreak in the coffee 

 districts took place after several years of deficient rainfall, 

 when the immediate danger of further drought had by no 

 means disappeared. The two years that followed the 

 infestation were dry years and would have been sufficient 

 for serious injury, if vigorous measures had not been taken 

 immediately. With the return of more normal rainfall, 

 the efficiency of the two fungi has considerably increased, 

 so that, while the necessity for spraying and other reme- 

 dial measures has not disappeared, no serious injury need 

 be apprehended, provided the continuity of the bug multi- 

 plication is year after year interrupted by the visitation 

 of its vegetable parasites. If this varied behaviour of the 

 pest is any guide, it would seem that coffee does not 

 stand in serious danger in those localities in South India 

 where the South-West monsoon is abundant or is followed 

 by a liberal precipitation in the North-East monsoon, so 

 that both the fungi are effective and the multiplication of 

 the bug is restricted practically to the summer season. 



Summary. 



Green bug was almost certainly introduced into the 

 coffee estates in Mysore from Bangalore. 



It is spread by the agency of wind, fallen leaves, 

 birds, ants, higher animals and human beings. 



Green bug is variable in its behaviour and virulence. 



The term "green bug " now stands for a number of 

 distinct species, of which the Mysore form is one. 



The Mysore form (C. coleviaiU) has larger reproduc- 

 tive powers than the Ceylon form {C. viridis). 



There are two fungi which act as very effective 

 checks to the multiplication of the pest in Mysore, pro- 

 vided the monsoons are regular and normal. 



