182 Indian Economic Entomology. [Vol. I. 



grow, all of which had proved abortive, and a branch that has not 

 yielded a single leaf presents all the appearance of having been very 

 severely plucked. On the tips of the young vigorous shoot being 

 punctured and its juices withdrawn by this insect, it has died as cer- 

 tainly as if nipped off. When the eyes below the leaf-axil shoot out, 

 and before the insect can do serious damage, one or two shoots may 

 attain some size and bear several leaves, but as the insect increases in 

 size, these tips are attacked ; other shoots start from other eyes, attain- 

 ing, however, a less vigorous growth ; these too, in a short time, succumb, 

 aud the shrub becomes leafless. When this occurs growth ceases, as 

 every shoot requires from 40 to 50 days to mature so as to be fit for 

 plucking, and the recovery of the tea is slow unless pruned. 



Dr. C. Aleyboom of Java in the same Journal (v (i), p. 55, 1878) 

 describes the attacks of this insect on the tea-shrub there much in the 

 same manner, except that he states that it attacks the under side of the 

 leaf. He adds that the insect inserts its rostrum and remains for a 

 long time on the same spot, and some hours afterwards the leaf shows a 

 brown puncture that slowly turns black on the very spot where the 

 puncture has been made. If the leaf be punctured closely it becomes 

 black and so dry that it can be pulverised by rubbing between the 

 fingers, and examination shows that the insect has removed all the 

 juices from the soft part of the leaf. As in Assam, so in Java, the insect 

 attacks first the buds and then the young leaves, and last of all the old 

 thick leaves, until the shrub becomes leafless, and to prune it in this 

 state is hurtful. The denuded shrubs seldom make new shoots, for the 

 insects after having destroyed the leaves return to the parts of the twigs 

 where the juices are gathering to send forth new shoots, and by sucking 

 the juices there effectually prevent the development of buds. By re- 

 maining leafless the bark whitens and the wood becomes dry, and if the 

 attacks continue for two consecutive years, the branches become covered 

 with moss and die. 



As already stated, these insects are reported in Assam to occur in all 

 sorts of soils and under all atmospheric conditions. In Java, too, Dr. 

 Aleyboom's researches have led to a similar result. There the soils may 

 be divided into two classes — (a) those containing humus, and (b) those 

 composed of red clay. The first series comprise a mechanical admixture 

 of humus, clay, and sand; it has a black hue, sometimes a depth of eight 

 feet, aud, when heated, it becomes red from the presence of oxide of 

 iron, and gives off an ammoniacal odour. There are several varieties, 

 due to the varying proportions of the constituent 'parts, but they usually 

 contain mineral substances and from eight to twenty per cent, of humus. 

 The humus soils absorb aud preserve moisture, and old shrubs usually 

 thrive on them and produce a rich foliage. Young plants, however, 

 easily fade and perish, and seeds do not develop, but rot. 



