198 Indian Economic Entomology. [Vol. I. 



Preparations are being- made in one garden, on a considerable scale, 

 for sprinkling busbes attacked by tbe Red spider with Flour of sul- 

 phur, with a view to the destruction of the pest. Sprinkling with flour 

 of sulphur has been found useful in Florida for destroying the Rust 

 mite Typhloronm* oleivorus, which attacks orange trees. This treatment 

 would therefore be promising for use against Red spider. Washing the 

 orange trees with a solution of whale-oil soap (I lb of soap to 5 gallons 

 of water) has also been found useful against the rust mite; it is there- 

 fore suggested for Red spider, in case the sulphur treatment is not found 

 to be successful. 



Specimens have been forwarded to the Museum of a red-boring cater- 



Teak-borer in Travan- pil^r, probably belonging to the genus Zeuzera. It 



core. is reported as doing very serious injury to teak 



trees in Travancore by boring into the stems. Specimens of the mature 



insect (moth) should be furnished for precise identification. 



The following account is extracted from Mr, T. F. Bourdillon's 

 letters l on the subject :— ■ 



" The teak tree, as you probably know, occurs in Travancore, and is found over 

 considerable areas, botb in the low country and on the hills, up to 3,000 feet elevation. 

 It attains very large dimensions (5 feet in diameter), and grows to a great age at 

 moderate elevations (1,000 feet or so), and on free, well-drained situations, but in the 

 low country it seldom grows much above 15 inches in diameter, the timber here be- 

 ing much heavier, and the concentric rings much closer together, than when the tree 

 grows on the hills. This is probably due more to its growing on a hard laterite soil 

 than on the difference in elevation. 



" This small stunted teak is very much troubled by a species of red borer, not 

 quite an inch long, which perforates the wood chiefly in the neighbourhood of the old 

 branches, and of course very much lowers its value. . . . 



" This boring is entirely due to the dreadful system of lopping teak to manure the 

 paddy-fields which prevails in Travancore. . . . The trees are lopped in May and June, 

 just when they are in full leaf, little snags being left by the people by which to climb 

 up. These snags die back, and as the sap is in full flow a new branch is thrown 

 out at the side of the old branch, which is in turn cut back, so that gradually large 

 spaces of soft rotting wood about 10 inches square are left at intervals all up the tree. 

 This soft wood is seized on by some insect which lays its eggs there, and in time 

 borers riddle the wood. They work in and down to the distance of 8 or 9 inches and 

 are to be found at work about May and June. . . . 



" The trees thus attacked after a time die down from the top, and eventually no 

 part of them remains alive but the base of the stem, from which suckers are thrown up. 

 The very small bee (whose honey is bitter) often takes possession of the abandoned 

 workings of the borer and its combs are found in them. 



" The wood is of course completely damaged for furniture or ordinary work, but, 

 when the trees are not badly bored they can be used for rough work, such as posts, 

 though they are of course permanently disfigured. 



, l The firstof these letters was published iu the Indian Foi-estor of July 1899. 



