The Tea insecln of India. 



23 



fig-ure sbows the moth, the cafcterpillar and the cocoon, all natural size 

 from specimens forwarded co the Indian Museum : — 



The first specimens that reached the Indian Museum were forward- 

 ed from Cachar in January 1893. The insect continued prevalent in 

 Cachar for some time subsequent to this date, and was ag-ain sent to the 

 Museum in Septembei- 1893 from Jorhat. In Cachar, according to the 

 information forwarded, the bushes that were attacked were not situat- 

 ed in blocks, but were scattered here and there through the tea. In 

 many cases they were said to have been completely defoliated, and the 

 nature of the damage that was occasioned may be judged from the fact 

 that in one garden alone in Cachar, in the six months ending May 1893, 

 it was found worth while to spend some fifteen hundred rupees in 

 employing coolies to pick the insects off the bushes. In this case no less 

 than sixty-nine and a half maunds weight of caterpillars were said to 

 have been destroyed — a goodly quantity when it is remembered how 

 voracious is the appetite oi; each individual insect. 



Moths emerged in the Museum in March and from caterpillars 

 received in February from Cachar. From caterpillars again, forwarded 

 to the Museum from Jorhat in September, moths emerged in October. 

 This would seem to indicate that development goes on throughout both 

 the rainy season and the cold weather, the number of generations in the 

 year being, no doubt, numerous. The cocoon is a loose silken structure 

 attached to the twigs of the tea plant, so in habits the insect is likely 

 to resemble the Uasychira described above. 



Geometees. 



In July 1890 an obscure Geometrid caterpillar was forwarded to 

 the Indian Museum from Nowgong, Assam, where it was said to have 

 been attacking tea bushes. The material furnished was insufficient 

 for the precise identification of the species, and as the insect has not 



