August 1, 189S.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
63 
confined so far to a twenty-mile circuit of Kandy 
and is tliei e found on lantana cliiefly if not alone ? 
(Have any other planters seen it on tlieir tea 
in the way described by Mr. Green ?) We call 
then on every estat ; proprietor and nian\r(er, — 
within the prescribed circuit especially — to cutdown 
ami burn the lantana in his immediate ueir;hbour- 
hood it only for his own protection ; and we call r>n 
Government to issue orders through its A<^ents to 
every Headman in tiie districts concerned, tiiat 
wherever lantana is alf'ected, tliey are to cut 
down and burn the same. We quote the in- 
structions given in Mr. (Jreen's pam- 
phlet — which by-the-way includes li;^'ures in illus- 
tration of the bug and twijjs atiected — as to the 
best mode of proceilure. liad as a visitation of 
these minute and active little insects can be, it 
is very dilTerent from a well-developed fungus, 
like iieiuilein ra^talrir, the spores of which 
were blown about everywhere by the wind in 
millions. Still, without being in the least alir- 
inist, the occasion is one to be "up and doing," 
and we think the Planters' Association and 
Chamber of Commerce shouM call on the Go- 
ve'-nment to lose no time in t ikinj; effective 
action. 
It will be observed that Mr. Green further 
indicates the necessity for following the 
example of other Colonies— frightened by the 
Ceylon coffee pest— in establishing an in- 
spection (if not quarantine) of all plants and 
saeds imported. This is certainly proved by the 
case of the present pest to be most neces- 
sary : for we see that Dr. Trimen referred to 
the insect in 1893, but spoke of it as mainly 
a " garden pest" and made light of it then, Mr. 
Green s warning in 1895 was specially distinct 
and outspoken ; but it passed by unheeded. 
Let there be no mistake and no procrastina- 
tion now, on the part of either the Planting 
public or the Goverment. 
A new impoitance too must henceforth be given 
to uhe question of importing " lady-bird beetles" of 
the species known as the deadly enemy of the 
coccus or bug tribe. The interest in this im- 
portation will now extend to our tea, as well 
coffee, planters and to the Goverment itself in a 
special degree. Meantime we give a few ex- 
tracts bearing on the subject from Mr. Green's 
pamphlet : — 
AN IMrORTANT IN.SECT ENEMY : 
and the need fok planters to guard against 
its spread. 
By E. B. Gbeen, Eton, Pundaluoya. 
In Dr. Tiimen's annual report on the Botanical 
Gardens for 1893, mention was made of the occur- 
rence in the Peradeniya Gardens of a serious inaect- 
pest which was most destructive to the ornamental 
ahurbs there. As this pest has been increasing very 
rapidly and has already spread beyond the limits of 
the Garden?, it is important that general attention 
should be drawn to it. Within the Peradeniya Gardens 
efforts are being made to keep it in check, but it 
-has appeared on lautana in the neighbourhood, and 
there is no knowing where it will stop. It has for- 
tunately as yet sho.vn no taste for ei her of onr two 
most important products — tea and cacao. Coffee, 
however, does not share this immunity, for trees of 
Libeiian coffee have been observed to be infested 
with the insect, and we have no reason to suppose 
that the Arabian species will be less liable to attack. 
Dr. Trimen is of opinion that this is m;iinly a 
garden pest, and does not except that it will spread to 
estates. It is to be hoped that this prediction will 
prove correct ; but it would be unwise to ignore the 
fact that, if unchecked, the pest might spread en- 
ormously and might possibly develop a taste for 
other plants; as was the case with the "Fluted 
Scale" (Icerya /jwchasi) which, at first practically 
confined to acacia and orange trees, finally became 
almost omnivorous. "Forewarned is forearmed"; 
and, though it would be most imprudent to create 
a scare, it is still most advisable to point out a 
possible danger. 
As mentioned above, the insect has obtained a 
foothold upon lantana. Should it once become widely 
and firmly established, it will be extremely difficult 
to deal with, and wherever lantana flourishes there 
will be a stronghold of the pest. Though most accom- 
modating in its tastes tfiis bug at present shows a 
preference for plants belonging to the natural orders 
AcauthaceJE, RubiaceiB (which includes coffee and 
cinchon i), and Verbenaceae (ot which lantana is a 
memberj. To the first of these orders belong our 
numberous species of " Nelu " (Strohilanllies) which 
might form another possible breeding-ground as 
extensive and even more impregnable than the lan- 
tana scrub.' 
The insect is known to Entomologists by the name 
of Orlhe~ia iiisi;ini.f, Douglas, being first described by 
Mr. J. W. Douglas from specimens found in Kew 
Gardens, where it is now said to be doing an enormous 
amount of damage in the plant-houses. It has mora 
recently been figured and Oescribed by Mr. Buckton 
under the name of Orthezia naerea, ("Indian Museum 
Notes," Vol. III., No. 3, p. 103). The specimens sub- 
mittsd to Mr. Buekton were unfortunately damaged in 
transit ; his figures are consequently not very satis- 
factory. Comparison with specimens from Kew proves 
the two insects to be specifically identical. 
Originating as it does in the Peradeniya Botanical 
Gardens, there is little doubt but that we owe the in- 
troduction of this pest to plants received from Kew. 
Its native country has not been determined. 
Like so many our insect enemies, this is one of 
the "scale-bugs" [Coccido!;, but is more active than 
many of the better known members of that family. 
The accompanying figures (on our frontispiece) will 
be of assistance in the recognition of the enemy : — 
(Then follow descriptions.) 
IlEMEDIES. 
Determined efforts should be made to stamp out the 
pest upon its first appearance in any locality. Infected 
plants should be treated on the ,?^io^ regardless of ex- 
pense and, if necessary, with complete sacrifice of the 
plant. Too great s'ress cannot be laid upon the im- 
portance of " Treatment upon the spot " in all cases 
of serious insect-pests. The pruning of affected plants 
and subsequent carriage of the cuttings to some spot 
where they might be burnt or buried would only 
serve to sow the pest broadcast along the route of 
transport. However much a fixture the adult insect 
may seem to be, as in the case of many of the 
scale bugs, it must be remembered that the young 
are very minute, very active, and usually very 
numerous. Should a colony of the insects be dis- 
covered upon any plant, a good-sized hole might be 
dug beside it, in which a fire of dry brushwood 
anJ grass coull be lighted. The plant" should then 
be cut down or pruned to bare poles, the prnninga 
thrown directly on to fire, and all dead leaves and rub- 
bish from below the plant swept into the hole. The 
hole should afterwards be filled with earth to prevent 
the escape ot any possible survivors. In places where 
the pest has estaldisbed itself on lan'ana or other 
waste land, such patches should be fired. On culti- 
vated land such extreme measures will usually be im- 
practicable. In this case repeated and thorough 
spraying with insecticides will be the only available 
course. 
[Details of emulsion, etc., followed.] 
Mr. Green winds up with the following im- 
portant paragraph : — 
"Mr. Albert Koebele, the celebrated discoverer of 
the Australian beetle (Veihdia canninalis) ahich 
cleared the Californian fruit orchards of the dreaded 
' Flute! Scale ' is now on a visit to Ceylon. He 
has seen thi^ Orthezia at work in the Feradeniye 
Gardens, and has made the acquaintance of the 
