14 



Indian Museum Notes. 



[Vol. V. 



NOTES ON INSECT PESTS FROM THE ENTOMO- 

 LOGICAL SECTION, INDIAN MUSEUM. 



BY THE LATE E. BARLOW, 



Late Entomological Assistant, Indian Museum, 



i. TEA PESTS. 



Serica assamensis, Brenske. 

 (Order Coleoptera, Sub-fam. Melolonthini.) 



Plate 111, fig. i. 



Serica assamensis, Brensk. Ind. Mus. Notes, Vol. IV, No. 4, 

 p. 176.pl. XIII, fig. 4. 



In April 1899, from Messrs. Andrew, Yule & Co. were received 

 specimens of a beetle reported to be very destructive to tea plants 

 in one of their tea estates in the Duars, Assam. 



The insect proved to be a Melolonthine beetle and quite distinct 

 from the so-called il orange beetle." It is a new species and has 

 been recently named, Serica assamensis by Brenske ; the Latin de- 

 scription of it will be found in Indian Museum Notes, Vol. IV, No, 4, 

 p. 176. 



This beetle is, no doubt, a new accession to the already large 

 number of known insect pests of tea in India. It was found last year 

 for the first time as doing damage to tea in one of the Duars tea 

 estates. 



It is of a brown \ colour, the head and thorax being reddish brown. 

 Clypeus obscurely three-toothed, broadish, finely punctate and fur- 

 nished with very short spines, the middle line being slightly keeled 

 longitudinally. Thorax broad, sides slightly rounded anteriorly, 

 straight posteriorly ; posterior angles obtuse. Elytra with a series of 

 stripes, the inter-spaces between them being little convex. Femora 

 and tibiae slightly broadened posteriorly. Antenna io-jointed, 2 to 

 7 joints very short, the terminal joint faintly three-lobed in both 



1 Brenske describes the insect as yellow, this is owing to the specimens from which he 

 described the species, having lost their natural colour by being immersed in strong alcohol, 

 E. U. 



