50 1 MANTAL OF THE \il,AOIRI DISTRICT. 



CH. XXVIII. trifling. High culture, he also remarks, has the effect of throwing off 

 the pest, and tar applied to the roots of the tree seems to be a valu- 



Cultivation', able remedy. The bug has at times been very prevalent in Coorg 



and Wainad, but is not so well known in Mysore, and does not appear 



to be common or destructive on shaded estates." 



—the borer The attacks of this insect created so much alarm that Dr. 



quadruj)es\ Bidie, M.B., P.R.G.S., vfas in 1867 instructed by Government 

 specially to report on the ravages caused by the borer in the 

 different districts of Wainad. This report, which contains a 

 mass of valuable and interesting information, was published in 

 1869 by Messrs. Gantz Brothers, and should be carefully read by 

 every planter. Dr. Bidie ascribes the alarming increase of 

 the borer which took place some years ago to drought, want of 

 shade, bad culture, destruction of forest trees in which the insect 

 used to live, and departure of some of its enemies ; and whilst 

 warniag planters that high cultivation was essential, he suggested 

 that shade should be tried, which recommendation has of late 

 been very generally followed. The borer proved most destruc- 

 tive on bamboo lands and in very dry, hot climates, and in such 

 situations, notably in Coorg, many plantations died out altogether; 

 but of late years not so much has been heard of the borer, 

 though there are rumours that it is appearing again in Coorg, and, 

 as Dr. Bidie remarks, the insect, being indigenous to India, may- 

 appear again at any time owing to exceptional seasons, and 

 consequently it is well to be prepared by having the plantations 

 well shaded and well cultivated. The following is Dr. Bidie^s 

 description of the borer : — 



" This is a very pretty insect, being slender and elegant in form and 

 beautifully colored. The female is distinguished from the male by 

 her superior size and by the ovipositor being often partially protruded. 

 She is generally from six to seven-tenths of an inch in length and 

 measures from eight to nine-tenths across the wings. The male is 

 considerably smaller, head depressed and flattened in front, posterior 

 portion lustrous black, anterior portion pale greyish green from 

 numerous hairs of that color ; labrum slightly exserted and rounded ; 

 mandibles horny, robust, sharp- pointed, and incurved ; maxillary 

 palpi somewhat slender and clavate, the last joint long and 

 thick ; labial palpi clavate, with the last joint thick and slightly 

 truncated ; eyes lunate, curved round the angles of the head, large 

 and brilliant ; antennae of moderate length, eleven-jointed, filiform, 

 first joint longest, thickest, and curved — third, fourth, fifth, and 

 sixth joints slightly dentate ; prothorax round or slightly oval, 

 globular, covered with greyish green minute hairs and marked above 

 with a black spot and on each side with a black dot ; cly trie sometimes 

 scarcely covering the abdomen, broad at their base and very slightly 

 tapering, convex, rounded at their extremities, black, marked with 

 white or yellow transverse, diagonal, and curved lines, the last of 



