March, 1909.] 



217 



Saps and Exudations. 



In this locality there are two broods, 

 and the lac is collected during the first 

 half of July and from the last week of 

 October to the end of the first of 

 November. The young swarm generally 

 by the end of the second week of July 

 and of the first week in November, but 

 the time of swarming varies consider- 

 ably in different seasons. A good deal 

 depends on the weather, for a normal 

 season the broods swarm during the 

 periods mentioned above, but should 

 the season be a dry one, and the rain 

 hold off, the swarming will be delayed. 



About six weeks to two months after 

 swarming the males appear, but they 

 are few in number in proportion to the 

 females, so that in order to fertilise 

 every cell, each <J must be able to im- 

 pregnate 100$. Males without wings 

 are to be seen in both broods, but they 

 are scarce in proportion to the winged 

 forms. It is erroneous to contend that 

 one brood is winged while the other is 

 not. 



The cells are attended by several 

 species of ants, some of large size, and 

 these swarm over the branches in 

 myriads, but appear to do absolutely no 

 damage to the insects. On the contrary 

 they afford the cells a considerable 

 amount of protection by attacking and 

 driving off any insects that happen to 

 alight on the branches. As a proof of 

 my statement I would ask the reader to 

 grasp a twig containing lac and note 

 the behaviour of the ants. I think he 

 would not care to repeat the experiment. 

 It would serve no good purpose to 

 attract the ants from the trees by 

 placing something more toothsome at 

 the roots, and the cost would probably 

 take away all the profit. The presence 

 of ants is an indication that the lac is 

 healthy, and vice versa. 



The pests most to be feared are moths, 

 and of these I have noticed species 

 Gab via and Enblema. The larvae of 

 these are to be found in both broods and 

 practically all the year round. There 

 appear to be several generations of 

 these moths in the year, for I have 

 found larvae in several stages of develop- 

 ment as well as pupae in a single stick 

 of the lac and at different times of the 

 year. In the first week of April I got a 

 group of twelve white eggs, which were 

 laid on the side of my rearing jar by a 

 Enblema sp. moth which issued in the 

 third week of March. A new species of 

 Ichneumon fly has been i-eared from 

 infested lac and has been sent to England 

 to be named. This fly, it is hoped, is 

 parasitic on the Enblema sp. The 

 damage done by these moths is very 

 28 



considerable, and 1 have known them to 

 entirely destroy the cells on a tree. 

 These moth pests are certainly on the 

 increase, and given favourable con- 

 ditions they may entirely destroy the 

 lac in a forest. The next greatest enemy 

 to lac is frost, In the Dun lac is pro- 

 duced entirely on B. frondosa which is 

 badiy affected by frost, and almost all 

 the tender twigs are killed by it 

 during the winter, so that only one 

 good crop can be expected annually. 

 Fire does a great deal of damage, 

 if the area is not carefully pro- 

 tected. Wind may do serious damage 

 at the time of swarming, and violent 

 wind is always harmful ; a gentle breeze 

 though greatly helps in the spreading 

 of the young from tree to tree. In the 

 case of drought, the insects may be 

 killed at the time of swarming. Monkeys 

 do not, as is supposed, eat the lac, but 

 if they are watched it will be noticed 

 that the damage done is only out of 

 curiosity and wanton mischief. 



At Pathri in the Saharanpur district 

 there is a large forest area which is 

 composed almost entirely of B. frondosa, 

 which would yield a large quantity of 

 •lac were it taken in hand. Some experi- 

 ments have lately been carried out 

 by private individuals, but owing to 

 the adverse conditions made by the 

 Forest Department they have been 

 compelled to abandon the experiments. 

 One of the conditions laid down was 

 that grazing be allowed, and this re- 

 sulted in the forest being burnt and 

 entailed a heavy loss on the experi- 

 menter. 



Brood lac should be cut from the trees 

 about a week before the swarming 

 begins. In order to fix on the correct 

 time it is only necessary to break open 

 a few cells and examine them with an 

 ordinary magnifying glass, when if the 

 young can be clearly seen and if the 

 colouring matter has become of the 

 consistency of treacle, they are within a 

 week of swarming. 



When infesting trees, say, of an 

 average height of 25 feet and well 

 branched, it is sufficient to apply 4 lbs. 

 of brood to each tree. The brood should 

 be tied lightly in bundles, each bundle 

 to contain three sticks, about a foot 

 long. These bundles should be tied on 

 the upper surfaces of the branches, and 

 about three-fourths the way up and 

 near the tender twigs. It is not of any 

 advantage to use straw with the bundles, 

 but care should be taken that the sticks 

 of brood lac lie along the upper surfaces 

 of the branches to which they are tied. 

 The bundles of brood should be fixed by 

 a tie at either end and not in the middle, 



