FEOCEEDINGS OF THE TIllIiD ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 637 



No. 18. — Lecithocera formosana, Shir. {Taiwan- Shiro-Hamaki.) 



This Gelechiad may be a rather rare species even in Formosa, and 

 the larva lives in a folded leaf of orange or tea, feeding on the margin 

 of the leaf. The full-grown caterpillar pupates in a whitish cocoon- 

 hke shelter in the fold of the leaf, and about a week after the greyish- 

 white moth emerges. Its occurrence is almost always in April in 

 northern Formosa. 



No. 19.—Homona menciana, Walk.=^fcAtj!)s asiaticus, Shir, [nee 

 Wlsm . ] (Taiivan-AtoJci-Hamahi) 



This insect in Formosa was first wrongly determined as ArcJiips 

 asiaticus, Wals., by Mr. K. Hori, and this was followed by the present 

 writer. After careful study he has found that it was quite a mistake, 

 and now he corrects it as above. 



This tortrix is a well-kno^^^l tea-pest throughout the Island of 

 Formosa. The outbreak is not a regular one occurring annually but is 

 rather spasmodic, the pest giving trouble on some particular gardens 

 for a few months especially during the late winter and then disappearing 

 for a considerable period. But in the Anpeichin-district of Toyen- 

 €ho it is of a rather permanent character, and is responsible for a con- 

 siderable annual loss of crop, the yield being sometimes only a half 

 or much less. The eggs are laid on the upper side of the mature leaf 

 and, from their pale yellow colour, form conspicuous objects on the 

 deep green surface of the tea-leaf. They are deposited m compact 

 masses, and are flattened disc-shaped objects, overlapping each other 

 like the scales of a fish, the whole mass covered with a film of a 

 gelatinous substance. After the emergence of the young caterpillars, 

 the eggmasses lose their yellow colour and appear white. A single 

 egg-mass is about 8 — 10 mm. long or about 5 — 8 mm. wide and 

 contains about 200 eggs on an average from 20 masses. The eggs 

 usually hatch in five to seven days in March to May. 



The newly-hatched caterpillar is dull green, with a shining black 

 head, and looks rather hairy. Soon after hatching it begins to wander 

 about in search of suitable food, here and there, scraping the surface 

 of the leaf on which the eggs were laid and from which it sometimes 

 eats the chlorophyll. It is not satisfied to remain on that leaf, and 

 very soon arrives at a young leaf or shoot. It does not stay there long, 

 liowever, and is soon again on the move after a short interval. If it 

 finds a young leaf which has not been attacked by another larva, it at 

 once fastens two or more leaves together and lives beneath the shelter, 

 ■either by itself or with others, feeding on the enclosed surfaces of the 



