80 CIECULAE 16 8, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



with occasionally a few twigs. The habit of C . destructor is quite 

 similar to that of variegata, but the larval case can be readily recog- 

 nized by the fact that it is largely composed of twigs rather than 

 leaves. In India this species is most destructive, particularly in the 

 Darjeeling areas. When control is necessary the hand picking of the 

 cases containing the pupae is resorted to during the winter, though 

 when the attack is exceptionally heavy the bushes are trimmed nearly 

 to the ground and the branches destroyed by burning. 



The remaining Lepidoptera listed may be considered as minor pests 

 and are of consequence only in occasional isolated outbreaks. 



The mole cricket Br achy try pes portentosics (169, 172) is particu- 

 larly injurious to young plants, as the newly developed leaves and 

 shoots are destroyed, thus affecting the growth of the bush. In the 

 tea gardens the pest is controlled by the use of poison baits, sweet- 

 potato serving as the poison carrier. 



The most serious of the termite species attacking tea in Taiwan 

 is Termes (Cycloternies) formosanus (133, 169, 172). It is injurious 

 to many fruit and field crops as well. It ranges in distribution from 

 Okinawa to Taiwan, China, and the Malay Peninsula. The central 

 nest is from 6 inches to 10 feet underground, depending upon the 

 nature of the soil, and is connected with others by long, narrow gal- 

 leries often extending as far as oOO feet. Damage to tea bushes is 

 often quite extensive, nearly the whole of the plant being plastered 

 over by mud, causing it to wither badly. Control is effected by the 

 destruction of the central nest, though the process of locating it and 

 digging it out is difficult and laborious. 



Leucotermes (Reticulitermes) speratus (172). which occurs in 

 Japan, Chosen, Taiwan, and Okinawa is much less injurious than 

 the above species. 



The leaf hoppers upon tea in Taiwan are represented by Ghlorita 

 ftavescens, Paraholocratus ohinamensis, and Penthimia theae. The 

 first named occurs upon many fruit trees and field crops as well, and 

 its distribution is general from Japan to India, where it is at times 

 injurious. The period of greatest abundance and injury is during 

 May and June, and the loss sustained in localized areas amounts to 

 from 30 to 40 per cent of the crop. The quality, however, of tea 

 produced from bushes attacked by this insect is said to be superior. 



Of the mirid bugs Helopeltis fasckitlcollis and H. cinchonae are 

 the most common in Taiwan, but rank only as minor pests. An ex- 

 tended account of the first-named species is given by Sonan (175). 

 They deposit honeydew upon the foliage, rendering it unfit for use, 

 and severe attacks cause extensive wilting and discoloration of the 

 young foliage, this being attributed by Sonan to the acidity of the 

 insect's saliva. The favored host plants of fasciaticoJUs are tea and 

 Gordonia, but it is found upon many other plants as well. All stages 

 are found throughout the season, and from four to eight generations 

 are produced each year. H. cinchonae does only slight damage to 

 tea and is of more' importance upon other crops. Another species 

 of the genus, H. theivora Waterh.. is the destructive "tea mosquito 

 bug " of India. 



Among the Coccidae probably the most injurious in Japan is the 

 rubv wax scale, Ceroplastes nibens (66), heavy infestations of which 

 have been observed by the writer in Kyushu. This is a pest of com- 



