LIEE-niSTORt OF A MONOPHLKBUS. 113 



Present observations point to the subfamily confining itself 

 to the woody portion of trees and shrubs only, feeding upon the 

 leaves and green twigs in the younger larval stages. In forest- 

 regions it can, as will be subsequently shown, increase in vast 

 numbers, and is thus a source of considerable danger to the 

 trees it infests. In this connection it will be profitable to 

 consider shortly the food-plants and distribution of the at present 

 known species of the genus in the Indian Eegion. "We ha^^e 

 seen that previously to 1901 but five species had been named ; 

 and four of these, M. atripennis, King, M. Burmeisteri, "Westw., 

 M. Leachii, Westw., and M. Saundei^si, "Westw., from the male 

 insect only. The excessive feeding and consequent damage is 

 the "work of the female, the male being a minute two-winged 

 insect in its adult form, with no mouth-parts. Consequently, in the 

 case of four out of the five species known before 1901, the food- 

 plants are unknown. The fifth bears the name M. zeylanicus, 

 and was discovered by Green feeding upon the trunks of 

 Antidesma Buiiius at Punduloya in Ceylon. Of the three species 

 (one at present doubtful) added in 1901, M. Stehhingi, whose 

 life-history, so far as at present known, is treated of in this 

 paper, lives upon the woody branches of the S41-tree (^Shorea 

 robusta, Gaertn.) in the Siwalik Hills and adjacent areas to the 

 west of the Jumna Eiver and east of the Ganges ; M. DalhergicB 

 upon those of the Sissu {Dalhergia Sisso, Hoxb.) in the Sutlej 

 Valley in the N.W. Himalayas ; whilst M. Tectonee (?) feeds upon 

 the teak-tree {Tectona grandis, Linn.) in Berar and the Central 

 Provinces. The additional species discovered in 1902 require 

 further study. M. Stehhingi var. mangifercs feeds upon mango 

 trees in orchards in the Shalimar Gardens near Lahore and in 

 the Public Garden at Bareilly. A species also lives upon mango 

 in the Tirhoot State in IN". Bengal, and at Dharbanga. This 

 insect (or insects, if the Bengal one is a different species) is not 

 unlikely to cause serious loss to fruit-growers when numerous, 

 since the large amount of sap absorbed from the branches and 

 twigs has an injurious eff'ect upon the setting of the fruit*. 

 Females of undetermined species have been obtained from the 

 Prosopis spicigera in Sind (by Mr. F. Gleadow), and from teak, 



* In a letter just received (12th May, 1903) from Lahore a correspondent 

 informs me that the coccids are more plentiful than ever this year at Shalimar, 

 and that the inflorescenceB of the mango trees have heen sei-iously affected by 

 their attacks. 



10* 



