The Tea insects of India. 



The figure shows the moth and pupa, also a little piece of stem con- 

 taining a full-grown caterpillar, and an empty pupal case protruding 

 from the tunnel, as it appears after the moth has emerged. The speci- 

 mens from which the figures are taken were reared in the Indian 

 Museum from infested sandalwood stems from Mysore. 



Caterpillars thought to belong" to the same species have been sent to 

 the Museum from tea gardens both in Darjiliug and ia Jorhat. 



The insect was originally described in connection with coffee by 

 Nietner in his pamphlet on the enemies of the coff^ee tree in Ceylon, 

 1861. The following is an extract from S, Greenes edition of Kietner's 

 work, page 14 (Colombo, 1880) : — 



" This insect .... destroys many trees, young and old, the caterpillar eating out 

 the heart : for this purpose it generally enters the tree six or twelve inches from the 

 j^round, ascending upwards. Fortunately it is not abundant. It resembles the cater- 

 pillar of the goat-moth of England, is two inches long, and as thick as a goose-quill, 

 nearly naked, of yellowish colour, back red, head thoracic, and anal jilates blackish ; 

 when full-grown the colours are light and dirty. The sickly, drooping foliage, and a 

 heap of globules of conglomerated wood-dust at the foot of a tree soon indicate that 

 the caterpillar is carrjing on its destructive work inside. The chrysalis rests three 

 months, and its skin half protrudes from the hole when the moth escapes, which is 

 about February. The moth measures If" across the wings, which are white, spotted 

 with steel blue ; the upper ones, with one large spot and numerous series of small ones, 

 placed in rows between the nerves ; the lower wings are less spotted. Thorax with 

 four spots near margin. Abdomen variegated with blue. Legs blue, second pair with 

 white femora, third pair with white femora and tibiae." 



An excellent account of the insect in connection with tea has lately 

 been given in a paper by Mr. E. K. Green, which appeared in the Ceylon, 

 Independeiit. According to Mr. Greenes observations it is by no means 

 uncommon on tea estates in Ceylon, though the damage which it does is 

 often ascribed to other causes, as the caterpillar is very completely con- 

 cealed in the interior of the stem. The female moth lays her eggs in 

 the bark, and the young caterpillars tunnel their way into the heart of 

 the wood. They are generally found in the first instance in the smaller 

 twigs, but as they grow bigger they make their way into the main 

 branches and stem, and sometimes kill young tea bushes down to the 

 ground. When full grown they transform into chrysalids in the burrow. 

 Mr. Green adds that the presence of the insect may usually be detected 

 by the heaps of sawdust-like excrement to be found on the ground under 

 the bush. 



The chief points which remain to be ascertained in connection with 

 the life-history of the insect are the dates of emergence and the periods 

 of time spent by it in the egg and larval stages. In the case of coffee 

 Mr. Nietner observed that the moth emerges about Februarj^, and it is 

 noticeable that a moth reared in the Indian Museum in 1892 from 

 sandalwood, forwarded to Calcutta from Mysore, also emerged in this 



