27 
20. Butterflies seemed to be unimportant as pollinators. Danais 
genutia was seen to visit the flowers and to touch them with its legs 
and may pollinate, and Hypolimnas bolina and a small brown Hesperid 
were also noted to feed on the nectar. A MWeptis was common amongst 
the coffee but settled by preference on the leaves and was not seen to 
visit the flowers. A few other butterflies, belonging to the genera 
Junonia, Ypthima, Mycalesis and Terias, were also noted amongst the 
coffee but not as flower-visitors. 
21. A day-flying clear-winged Sphingid moth, Cephomodes picus 
visits the blossom and feeds on the nectar with outstretched tongue 
whilst it hovers on the wing, but its rapidity of flight and wariness 
made exact observations difficult. It did not, however, appear to touch 
the stigma at all with its tongue. This moth, it may be added, lays 
its eggs on coffee, the caterpillar feeding on the leaves. 
22. After dusk a few Sphingid and other moths visited the blossom. 
They could generally be heard rather than seen, but their number 
seemed very small—certainly less than I had expected. 
23. A few specimens of a yellow-spotted Cetoniad beetle, Clinteria 
auronotata, were found on the bunches of flowers, where they were 
licking up the pollen systematically by the aid of the brushes on 
either side of the mouth. Probably these beetles thus eat up a good 
deal of pollen (as the bees also collect it) but do good by sprawling 
over the flowers; however, no pollen was visible on the bodies of the 
beetles. 
#4, The other insects noted were in such small numbers that they 
may be regarded merely as casual visitors of little practical importance 
so far as pollination is concerned. 
25. There was no doubt in my mind, from what I saw of the 
insects which were frequenting the blossom, that the bees (Apis dorsata, 
apis indica, Apis florea, and Xylocopa tenuiscapa) are the only really 
important pullinators of coffee. The movements of the Honey-bees 
(Apis spp.) are generally rather erratic, as they buzz apparently at 
random from one flower or branch or bush to another, thus securing a 
large measure of cross-pollination, whilst the Carpenter-bees (Xylo- 
copa) are most systematic in their mode of working over the bush, 
whilst they are literally dusted over with pollen and sprawl about over 
the flowers. 
26. I attach the reports on the insects noted on coffee-blossom in 
the Shevaroys and in Coorg by the two Entomological Assistants sent 
to those localities for this purpose. 
(1) Report on a tour to Yercaud, Shevaroys, by Y. Ramachandra 
Rao, Entomological Assistant (Aprii-May 1913). 
“ Under orders of the Government Entomologist, I started from 
Coimbatore on Sunday the 2Uth April 1913 by Mail for Yereaud via 
Salem. I reached Yercaud the next day at about 9 a.m. The object 
of the tour was to make accurate observations as to which insects 
visit coffee flowers, when they are most active and whether they are 
really useful in the fertilization of the flowers. When I arrived at 
Yercaud the branches of coffee plants were covered with plentiful 
