Uo. 4.] Notes on Insect pests from the Entomological Section. 186 



a deal of damage to the tea bushes in Darjeeling. The following 

 is an extract which he forwarded regarding the pest :— 



*" A new sort of this blight has developed. A blackish-brown hairy species, 

 they attack the old leaves and strip the trees. This pest does all its ravages at 

 night and hides itself under clods and stones during the day. I have boys on catching 

 some thousands daily. They appear on the dry ridges and are not found in any 

 damp hollows. They have stripped some 50 or 60 acres on an adjoining garden 

 and are now attacking the bark. On lower portions of Lebong and M. S. they 

 have now appeared and are doing considerable harm. lam sending you a bottle- 

 full in spirit. I fancy they will disappear with rain, but of this there is no sign." 



The specimens appeared to be the larvae of a L)'mentriid moth 

 probably of the genus Euproctis^ ar.d not unlike the tea caterpillars 

 sent in by Messrs. Andrew Yule & Co. from the Darjeeling 

 district. (See p. 180). 



9. Psyckid caterpillar, — In July 1897, specimens of a bag-worm 

 said to be doing great injury to tea plants in the Golaghat district^ 

 Assam, were forwarded to the Museum through the Secretaryj 

 Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India. 



The specimens proved to be the larvae of a Psychid moth 

 probably belonging to a species hitherto undescribed. We have 

 oniy a few examples of the larva-case of this insect in our collection, 

 but unfortunately we possess no moths, and Sir G. F. Hampson 

 does not mention this species in his catalogue of moths of British 

 India, Ceylon and Burma. 



The most curious thing noticeable in this interesting group of 

 moths is their larva-cases or protective coverings, which are usually 

 composed of a silk lining with twigs, grass, and bits of leaves or 

 vegetable matter attached on the outside, and are so constructed 

 as to resemble little bundles of dried sticks, leaves, etc. In this 

 insect, however, the larva-case is smooth and is covered with a coat- 

 ing of very finely divided vegetable matter and exactly resembles 

 a thorn. 



10, Coleopterous larvse.—\x\ July 1897, Mr. D. Hooper, Curator of 

 Economic Museum, sent to the Indian Museum specimens of grubs 

 reported as tea pests for identification. He wrote: — 



" A correspondent in Nazira Division, Sibsagar, has sent me the accompanying 

 bottle of white grub {Lachnosterna hnpressa) as a tea pest. Most of the smaller 



