^( 7 •) 
at that rate— (they are a slow moving species, belonging to the family Limacodidae (slug-like), and could not 
individually travel any great distance)— but from the eggs of an earlier brood having been deposited on successive 
days, starting from the original centre and extending outwards as the moths became dispersed. 
The second (or more properly the third) brood of very young caterpillars observed on the new flush no doubt 
resulted from eggs laid by moths from the survivors of the principal brood. 
The superintendent reports that caterpillars were seen to emerge from some of the cocoons. I can only 
.account for this by suggesting that some of the caterpillnrs may have temporarily sheltered themselves in empty 
cocoons ; or possibly the cocoons may have been accidentally broken open, revealing the caterpillar reduced in size, 
0,3 it always becomes just before pupating. The usual transformations must have been passed through : from egg to 
caterpillar, caterpillar to chrysalis (enclosed in its cocoon), chrysalis to moth ; then another batch of eggs and a 
repetition of the cycle. . , . . , 
Caterpillar pests (of indigenous species), though temporarily very severe, are seldom of such serious importance 
I is many less sensational pests. Their period of activity is usually short, and the »ttack is not often repeated on the 
same spot in the following season. Most of such outbreaks might be prevented if the earlier and smaller broods of 
the insects had been noticed and destroyed. 
Tea Tortrix.—k.n exception to the usual rule (as regards repeated attacks) must be made in the case of the 
Tortrix caterpillar, which has recently been very destructive in the Dikoya and Hatton Districts. I have well- 
authenticated reports of successive attacks in October, November, and December. It is said to come on when the tea 
is in full flush, from four to six months after pruning, and results in a very serious loss of leaf. This pest is now 
being studied, and will form the subject for one of the Botanic Gardens Circulars. 
\ Beneficial Insects. — The little colony of ladybirds (Exochomus nigro macula f us) from the Cape, the arrival of 
; which was "recorded in my report for 1898, at first throve very well. During my absence in England it was well 
' looked after by Mr. J. F. Jowitt, of Craig, Bandarawela, who, after liberating 70 beetles on bug-infested cofEee in 
• Haputale, returned to me 184 insects in various stages, making a total of 250 from the original 5 survivors of the 
! consignment received just twelve months before. They continued to breed freely until about the middle of Novem- 
, ber, during which time 30 more beetles were liberated on an Araucaria tree infested with Eriococcus araucarice, and 
32 were despatched to the Government Entomologist in Java for experimental work there. Since the middle of 
November no more eggs have been deposited. The adult insects have been gradually dying off, and there are no 
; young ones to take their place. It is evident that this is the season at which the beetles naturally cease breeding. 
' The same circumstances were noticed last year. I hope to be able to retain a sufficient stock till breeding recom- 
mences, about March, to further increase the colony, and to liberate larger numbers with a view to their becoming 
naturalized in the Island. 
Though I am not very sanguine that these particular beetles will ever prove an efficient check to the I'avages 
ig of "green-bug"' (Lecanium viride), I am still of opinion that their introduction will be distinctly beneficial. They 
tf feed readily upon many different scale-insects, and may possibly prove more useful against other species than the 
coffee-bug. With regard to its work upon Lec. viride, it does not make a sufficiently clean sweep of the scale-bugs.. 
It picks and choses individuals, leaving others untouched. It is however more efficient than appears on the surface. 
It singles out gravid females and eats out the egg-containing parts. Many of the scales also, that at first sight 
appear to be untouched, have really been punctured and the fluid contents imbibed. 
Disease of Annatto {Bixa orellana). — Early in October specimens of a common cattle fly {Haematopota, sp.) 
were sent into the office, with the report that they were causing serious injury to annatto plants in the Matale 
District. As the flies of this family are known to be blood-sucking insects, it was tliought extremely improbable that 
they could be the real cause of the injury. An official visit was made to the estate for the purpose of investigating 
the matter. It was found, as expected, that the flies, though present in large numbers, had no connection with the 
disease. It was a significant fact that the flies were thickest in the neighbourhood of a cattle-shed. The injury to 
the annatto shoots was referable to a canker disease, aggravated in some cases by Helopeltis, the eggs of which insect 
jTt were occasionally found embedded in the diseased tissues. 
D/se«sefZ ca&&a.(7«^?a/ife were received from Nuwara Eliya in October. The roots were badly affected by the 
[Ijjv:" finger and toe disease" {Plasrnodiophora &rossicce), while the leaves were completely riddled by caterpillars of the 
rjrjl almost cosmopolitan "diamond-back moth" (Plutella cruc/ferarum). 
lij! Tea-mites. — The annual loss inflicted by "red spider " and other tea-mites is engaging the attention of the 
rjii' office. Experiments are being started, designed to mark the effect of pruning in different months with regard to the 
,,,,(;( prevalence or otherwise of tea-mites. A circular on the subject is being prepared, and it is hoped that ready 
issistance will be given in conducting the very simple experiments required and sending in the equally simple reports, 
.jjg. It is only by the recording of abundant data, and its collation, that it will be possible to obtain reliable results. 
Weevils on Tea. — In November a rather serious plague of weevils on young tea was reported from the Boga- 
jij[ii||j|ntalawa District. The beetles appeared in young clearings at an elevation of about 5,000 feet, and caused serious 
j,j|fB|iiry by eating off all the new shoots springing from stumped plants. Specimens were sent to England for 
. ■ identification and proved to be Brachyaspistes tibialis, Jekel, MSS., a species hitherto represented in the British 
II iluseum collection by a single example only. Live beetles were kept under observation. They fed freely on young 
j^ji,,^ tea leaves and remained alive for more than two months. Small batches of eggs were laid by the beetles just below 
ijIjI the surface of the ground, which hatched out as minute yellowish grubs, but did not thrive under the artificial 
conditions of a breeding cage, and soon died. It is probable that in nature the grubs feed upon the rootlets of plants, 
pither of the tea itself or of some weed. 
, Quarantine experiments, in the form of fumigation of plants received in Wardian cases, have been attended 
vith most satisfactory results. The hydrocyanic acid gas treatment has been employed. It has been ascertained 
hat subjecting the plants to a high density of the gas for a comparatively short period is more effective than using 
lower strength of gas for a longer period. For an ordinary Wardian case, with cubic contents (above soil level) of 
bout 10 feet, gas was generated from f oz. cyanide, | oz. sulphuric acid, and | oz. water, and the plants kept under 
