ENEMIES. 123 



see with the naked eye the tiny mouths along the midrib, 

 wide open, sucking in the humus arising from the weeds. 

 Look at a leaf now, and all that can be seen are a few knots. 

 The humus was kept up in dry weather by the fall of dew 

 at night." 



Then there is the white or mealy bug, and 

 the brown or scaley bug. The first (Pseudococcus 

 Adonidum) is of a light, dirty brownish colour and 

 slightly downy. Both larva and pupa are active, 

 i.e., move about. Propagation goes on amongst 

 them all the year round. They affect hot dry 

 localities, and are found not only on the branches 

 of the trees, but also on the roots to a depth of one 

 foot. The white bug of the Ceylon Coffee trees 

 seems to be identical with the species which is 

 neutralized in the conservatories of Europe. 



The brown, black or scaley bug (Lecanium Coffece), 

 is a minute, dark-coloured insect, attaching itself 

 to the tenderest shoots of plants; " the females 

 have the appearance of small scallop shells adhering 

 to a leaf or twig in the same manner as a scallop 

 to a rock. In a short time the whole of the green 

 wood of the tree will become covered with these, 

 and coated over with a black, soot-like powder, 

 which is an excretion of the insect." These bugs 

 are usually most troublesome at elevations of 

 3,000 feet in cold, damp localities. They have a 

 host of enemies and parasites of their own amongst 

 the Hymenoptera, yet contrive to thrive amazingly 



