8 H. W. Peal — " Green Bug " and other Jassids as food. [No. 1, 



exceedingly plentiful in the various plots around Calcutta devoted to 

 the cultivation of the Bhindi (Hibiscus esculentus). This insect ia 

 clothed in a uniform coat of green, is far softer than the two jassids just 

 referred to, and would, if anything, prove an even more palatable addi- 

 tion to the above two species as a bird food. These three species taken 

 together would, I am sure, make it worth one's while to take the matter 

 up. (There are in addition several other species of jassids occurring in 

 abundance on various plants which could also be systematically collected). 



It will be seen from Mr. Finn's paper that ' ants' eggs ' sell from 

 about Is. to Is. 6d. per lb. retail in the English market. Presumably 

 about 4 to 6i. would be about the correct wholesale rate it could be sold 

 at. I have no data to hand which would give one an idea as to how much 

 each lantern trap could be counted on to catch in a night during the 

 season. As a matter of fact, it must be admitted that it would vary 

 enormously with the state of the weather, the wind, and to a certain 

 degree the type of lantern used. I have myself gathered considerably 

 over a pound of the green fly from off an ordinary lamp in about two 

 hours' time. 



A suitable lantern trap would consume about an anna's worth of 

 oil per night and it would require to catch some two or three pounds of 

 insects per night to make it pay. 



Last year the insects were plentiful from the 27th October to the 

 5th November. Giving an estimate of two pounds of dried insects off 

 each lantern trap, the total catch for a hundred lamps would be nearly 

 2 cwt. per night or a ton for the ten days' work. 



As for the mango jassid I did not know at first if it would prefer 

 immolation in a lantern trap to the allurements of the mango shoots. 

 I find, however, that like the rest of its family it has a strong fascina- 

 tion for light. 



One can count on ten days or a fortnight for the " green bug," a 

 period of nearly three months for the mango jassid, and two months on 

 the " bhindi " jassid. This would mean at least 150 working days for 

 each lamp and the total catch for each lamp would be almost 3 cwt. of 

 insects. This on 200 lamps would represent an outturn of about 30 

 tons. On a basis of 4<d. a pound, this would mean some £1,120. 



For drying the insects Mr. Finn's idea of cheap coarse cloth 

 stretched on frames is both inexpensive and efficient. The frames should 

 be double to prevent the insects while drying being eaten up by other 

 birds, like the crows. If, however, the work was taken up on an exten- 

 sive scale, it would pay to use a dryer, such as is used for drying fruit 

 in the United States or tea in India. 



I could never understand before where the insect hid itself during 



