96 Indian Museum Notes. [ Vol- III. 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 



In April 1S9:Z some galls found upon spruce fir [Abies Suriihiana) 



trees near Chakrata in the North- Western 

 Galls on spruce ni*. tj- 1 > > xi i\,t i xt 



1 Himalayas, were sent to the Museum by the 



Director of the Dehra Dun Forest School. The galls were superficially 



very much like small fir cones. They were inhabited by aphids, which are 



believe 1 to cause the abnormal growth by irritating the tissues of the 



shoot in feeding. The insect appears to be closely allied t > the species 



Chermes coccineus, Ratz., which attacks fir trees in Europe in a similar 



manner. The Museum does not possess specimens of the European form, 



so some of the Chakrata galls have been sent to Europe for comparison. 



In an interesting communication received in May 1892, Mr. E. E. 



_ T , ~ , Green writes that an ant which has been 



JNotes from Ceylon. . , .,, , 7 . . 



lnaentiliea as Dwylus longicorms some- 

 times attack potatoes [Solatium tuberosum) to such an extent in Ceylon as 

 to make it impossible to grow this vegetable. Mr. Green found that the 

 some ant also attacks the roots of other garden plants, working so insi- 

 diously that the damage usually remains undiscovered until ib is too late 

 to save the plant. Mr. Green suggests that the ant noticed on page 4 2 

 0l Volume II of these Notes, attacking potatoes in Burma, may perhaps 

 have belonged to the same species. Mr. Green also forwards some scale 

 insects (Coccida) found on Tasmaniau apples which were being sold in. 

 Ceylon. The scale contained living eggs, which wculd, no doubt, in 

 due course have hatched out producing active larvae capable of establish- 

 ing themselves in any place where they happened to light upon a suit- 

 able plant. As Mr. Green points out, the find is an interesting one as 

 showing how easily insects of this kind may be introduced from enormous 

 distances. The scale insect in question is likely to have been Mijlilaspis 

 pomorum Bouche, which often does much damage in orchards. As, however, 

 the specimens of this species in the Museum collection are very poo^ 

 ones, there is some little doubt about the identification^ 1 ) 



With regard to the identification of the Aphid noticed on page 46 

 . T , ,., of Volume II of these Notes as very iniur?ous 



Mustard aphid. # J 



to the mustard (Brassica) crop in Hoogiily, 

 Mr. G. h, Euckton, F.H.S., who has kindly examined the insect, writes 



1 The insect has since been kindly examined by Mr. W. M. Maslcell. who confirms the 

 identification, and notices that the species is one which attacks se\cral trees in the temperate 

 /-ones; it is specially common upon apple trees and hawthorn in New Zealand. 



