40 The Tea insects of India. 



little white fluted scale whieli is often to be seen in colonies on the leaf, 

 where it is comparatively conspicuous ; it eventually transforms into a 

 minute creature which Green describes as bright red in colour with four 

 prominent black eyes. 



As in the case of other species of the same family, the eg-gs are laid 

 beneath the female insect, which never quits the spot on which it first 

 settles down. The larvse are minute six-legged creatures which crawl 

 actively about after leaving the eggs. They eventually settle down and 

 insert a long proboscis into the tissues of the plant. Through this 

 proboscis they gradually absorb the nutrient juices on which they feed, 

 and in this way they weaken the plant. The female insect continues to 

 absorb the juices of the plant throughout the whole of her existence, 

 but the male takes no food after it becomes winged. 



u- — ^u 



The figure shows a colony of male scales on a leaf natural size, also 

 an individual scale enormously enlarged to show the characteristic ridges 

 with which it is covered. 



Male scales have been forwarded to the Museum in December from 

 Cachar and in February from the Kangra Valley, so the winged male is 

 likely to emerge in the early part of the year, Green has noticed 

 that the live female scale is sometimes covered with lichens which must 

 have taken some time to grow, so the life of the insect in this stage is 

 likely to be prolonged. The dates of emergence, also the periods passed 

 at different times of the year in the various stages of development, have 

 yet to be ascertained, . . 



In all scale insects the question of dispersion is an important one, 

 for owing to the adult female being stationary, it is only the newly- 

 hatched larvse which are able to travel from bush to bush, and thus spread 

 the evil. It is important, therefore, to ascertain at what period of the 

 year the larvse emerge and the extent to which they are liable to be 

 carried by the wind. 



Under ordinary circumstances insects of this kind spread slowly ; it 

 is therefore most important to watch them carefully, for, whereas it may 



