134 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXIIl. 



to mango growing individual trees only here] and there, are seriously- 

 affected, while the remainder are hardly attacked at all. 1 should neverthe- 

 less count it as a serious pest of the mango tree in Western India. It occurs 

 commonly where mango trees are grown, and I have collected it in almost 

 every district. It has been recorded also by I. H. Burkill on Mango trees 

 at Nadiad (Gujarat*). 



This species has been recorded as extremely destructive to cocoanut trees 

 in the Laccadive Islands (Cotes)t but I have not noticed it on these trees 

 on the West Coast of India. 



Aspidiotus-ficus, Ashm. — This scale is distributed almost all over the area 

 we are discussing, and though mainly found on palms, it can feed on a 

 large number of other plants. 



I have received it, for instance, as a serious pest of citrus trees near 

 Khed in the Poona District. The fruits in this case were simply covered 

 by the scales. The insect was first described and determined from 

 specimens collected on orange trees at Poona by Woodrow. It does not 

 seem to be a serious pest, even in the same orchard every year, but is 

 certainly one of the most dangerous pests to have on the trees. In other 

 parts of India it does miich damage to young orange trees, and orange 

 growers in America have often been specially warned against it. 



The insect is also found on the tree Garcinia indica, a plant allied to the 

 mangosteen which grows in the Konkan. In this case it was closely 

 associated with two or three other scales, — Vinsonia stellifera, Westw; 

 Parlatoria proteus, Curtis, and a species of Fiorinia, 



But the main habitat of the species is undoubtedly palm trees. Orna- 

 mental palms in botanic gardens in Poona are subject to serious attack. 

 Betel-nut palms at Sirsi in the Kanara district were found to be attacked. 

 And it has been collected on Areca catechu in Bombay by I. H. Burkill. J 



Aspidiotus lataniae, Sign. — This insect has been obtained from three 

 distinct food plants, the bamboo, the Citrus medica, and the gul inohur 

 {Poinciana regia). On bamboos it attacks both the leaves and the stem to 

 the height of a few feet from the ground. On Citrus medica, a common 

 Konkan fruit, the fruits only were attacked, there was no trace of the scale 

 on the leaves or stems. 



Aspidiotus rosei, Mask. — This scale has not previously been noticed in 

 India to my knowledge. It is not mentioned in Mr. Green's list of Indian 

 Coccids (Memoirs of the Department of Agriculture in India, Entomologi- 

 cal Series, Vol. II, No. 2). It was found on the leaves of Barringtonia 

 acutangula at Poona. 



Aspidiotus orientalis, Newstead. — This coccid occurs on roses in many 

 localities in the Deccan, being found both in Poona and Ahmednagar. It 

 is fairly common on old rose trees in many gardens, and especially attacks 

 the stems, sometimes killing the rose bushes. It would seem to be a pest 

 chiefly of neglected and non-vigorous plants. It has been recorded on 

 Cycas remluta in Calcutta and on many other plants, such as Dalbergia and 

 Tamarindus, but I have not observed it on these plants in Western India. 



Aspidiotus curcumae, n. sp. — This is a species probably new to India 

 named as above by Mr, E. E. Green, who will publish a technical description 

 of it. It is found on an important crop, namely, turmeric. The plants 

 above ground are free from the insect, but the rhizomes were covered with 

 them. As the plants are propagated by means of the rhizomes, they are 

 easily distributed by this means, and it would be a very difficult pest to 



* Memoirs of the Department of Agriculture in India. (Entomolog-ical Series) 

 Vol. II, No. 2. 

 t Indian Museum Notes, Vol. II.. pa^e 188. 



n. c. 



