300 Remarks on an East Indian Turnip-fly. 



thorax, thickly and minutely punctated. Elytra minutely punctated 

 in lines ; but appearing, as well as the head and thorax, smooth to 

 the naked eye. Antenna, tibia', and tarsi brown ; the antenna hirsute ; 

 tibia and tarsi clothed with short stiff hairs. Thighs black ; minutely 

 punctated; clothed with coarse distinct hairs. Under surface, black, 

 slightly iridescent. 



Sexes alike. 



Length 0.10 inches ; breadth of elytra 0.05 inches. 



Inhabits Darjeeling in the Himalayan mountains. Found in gardens 

 on the young plants of the cabbage, cauliflower, turnip, radish, and 

 others of that order. 



Obs. This destructive little insect differs from any species of the 

 genus Haltica, of which I have met with a description. Its ravages are 

 but little, if any, inferior to those of the celebrated "Turnip-fly," or 

 flies, the Haltica nemorum and concinna of entomological authors ; com- 

 plete rows of the young plants being sometimes destroyed by it soon 

 after they appear from the ground : its attacks are particularly destruc- 

 tive to the two first, or seed leaves ; but it preys also upon the succeed- 

 ing ones, though not to the same extent, eating a few holes in them 

 only, and not destroying the plant. 



Mr. C. D. Russell informs me that last year (and never before) this, or 

 a similar insect, committed great ravages on the Indigo throughout 

 the whole district of Rungpoor ; first attacking the young plant, and 

 after the rains, the crops for seed. He has promised to try to furnish me 

 with the specimens ; and should he be able to do so, I shall have the 

 pleasure of laying a description of the insect, together with such informa- 

 tion as I may collect, before the Society. Perhaps other gentlemen in 

 the district will favour me with communications on the subject. 



Among the expedients to get rid of the plague of " the fly" the 

 chief have been dressing the land with lime, with wood ashes, and even 

 with sulphur; but all without the least success. Mr. Le Keux, in 

 an excellent paper in the Transactions of the Entomological Society, 

 says, that in one instance he tried watering the ground on the fourth 

 day after sowing it with turnips, with a mixture of one ounce of tar, one 

 ounce of olive oil, and two ounces of strong caustic potash, shaken 

 up with a quantity of water (how much is not very clear) with apparent 

 success. Carbonate of Ammonia succeeded in killing the insect, but it 

 destroyed the plant also. Steeping the seed, as is done against the 

 vegetable parasitical destroyer, " the smut" in corn, would probably do 

 no good here ; but it might be tried. In short, of all the expedients 

 hitherto resorted to, none have succeeded in keeping off "the fly," 

 unless we may except the above quoted single experiment. 



