48 



COFFEE. 



the insect in tliis island : for we have it here — but, fortunately, not in 

 great numbers. In fact, the only instance in which I have heard it 

 complained of is that of a gentleman in Ouda Puselawa, who, in 

 1869, wrote to me on the subject, sending me specimens of the insect 

 which are now before me, and leave no doubt that it is the real white 

 horer. He said that he had then known it for six years, that lately 

 he had lost Jive acres of coffee by it, and that he kept regular horer- 

 catcliers. He also informed me that the villagers in the neighbourhood 

 professed to have known it time out of mind and called it " Panova" 

 (However, this is a general term for wood- boring insects.) 



The white borer, in its perfect state, is, like its congeners at home, 

 an active elegant beetle, delighting in hot sunshine and old palings. 

 It is from a half to three-quarters of an inch long, black, with whitish or 

 yellowish bands across the elytra, the three latter of the bands forming 

 the inverted letter V. — The four posterior femora are of pink colour. 

 The insect is thus easily distinguished from other species of the genus 

 which occur in this island. 



It is in the larva state that it destroys the coffee trees, the perfect 

 insect laying its eggs upon the stem of the tree, whence the young 

 larva find their way into the inside. 



The nature of the destruction is the same as that of the red borer, 

 but the Xyloirechus is much more numerous, so that dozens of the 

 insects reside in one tree, whereas of the former I have never found 

 more than one or two individuals together. 



Dr. Bidie writes to me that he thinks shade is the only remedy on 

 the South Indian estates. For the last couple of years we have not 

 heard so much about its ravages, which are probably diminishing; 

 but a short time ago the Xyloirechus was undoubtedly the most 

 formidable, tangible enemy the coffee tree had. Hundreds upon 

 hundreds of acres of coffee were totally destroyed by it in South 

 India, and in fact it was at that time feared that the whole of the 

 coffee estates in Coorg and Wynaad might be extinguished by it. 



Arhines ? destructor. — This is a beautiful green weevil, two and a 

 half inches long and one broad, oval, narrowed in front, covered all 

 over with closely set but isolated gold-green scales, winged. The 

 head is rather short and blunt ; antennaD apical, elbowed at the 

 middle, the part beyond the middle being composed of eleven joints, 

 forming a club towards the end, the third joint from the tip being the 

 thickest ; they are brown, hairy beyond the middle ; the thorax is 

 plump, subconical ; the anterior legs are the longest, the second pair 

 the shortest, the tibias and tarsi of all are hairy, the tarsi with hairy 

 brushes underneath, especially thick at the third joint which is deeply 

 two-lobed ; the tibiaa of the second pair are long, serrated inside, 

 curved and two-hooked at the apex. The insect varies considerably 

 in size and colour. 



This pretty beetle is common during the dry weather, but I have 

 never found it do any injury to the coffee. Mr. James Eose, of 

 Maturatta, who first directed my attention to it, wrote to me : — " The 

 mischief they do to the coffee is really frightful, and if they were as 

 plentiful as the bug, they would be our worst enemies. Five or six 

 acres were completely covered with them, and they consumed almost 



