No 1. ] 



M ' ISPellil neon R No/ PS. 



fields. It was therefore recommended to keep down the self-sown paddv 

 and large grasses as much as possible, with a view to reducing the 

 number of moths that would be liable to lay their eggs on the paddy 

 crop. The efficiency, however, of such measures will obviously be much 

 reduced if the wheat fields prove to be a breeding place of the insect. 

 Even if this should turn out to be the case, however, the clearing of the 

 fields during- the hot weather, when neither wheat nor paddy are being 

 grown, would seem likely to be useful. 



A good deal of damage was done in the early part of the tea making 



n fl , .,. .. season of 189 1 in Assam bv an insect which 



Green fly tea blight. 



is known as the green jiy or blister blight. 

 Specimens were sent to the Museum from several gardens in Assam, and 



some were also obtained, through 

 the courtesy of the Calcutta 

 Agri.- Horticultural Society, from 

 the Darjeeling tea district. The 

 specimens from the different locali- 

 ties were all identical, and proved 

 to belong to a species of leaf 

 hopper which is included in the 

 family Jassidae. The insect 

 therefore is allied to the Jdiocerus 

 niveo*parsus } Leth. which has pre- 

 viously been reported as injurious 

 to mango (Mangifera indica) 

 blossom in India. Specimens of 

 the tea insect were sent to Mods. 

 Lethierry of Lille tor precise 

 identification. Mons. Lithierry 

 very kindly examined them and 

 reports that they belong to the 

 species Chlonta flave-scens of 

 Fabricius and Fieber. He adds 

 that the insect is fairly common 

 in Europe, and that he has also 

 received specimens of it from 

 Algeria, Brazil, and Siberia, so it 

 may be looked upon as practically 

 cosmopolitan. 



From the accounts that have 

 been received from Assam, it ap- 

 pears that the insect attacks the 

 young tea shoots and sucks their 



