o4 MONTHLY. 
Vol. XVIII. 
COLOMBO, JANUARY 2nd, 1899. 
[No. 7. 
VISITATION OF SPOTTED LOCUSTS- 
Circular from Royal Botanic Gardens, 
Ceylon. 
TTENTION was called to this 
visitation by a resolution of 
the Planters' Association dated 
October 18, 1898, to the follow- 
ing efiect : — •" That the atten- 
tion of Government be drawn 
to the visitation of locusts in 
Kuruuegala, Matale, and Ka- 
dugannawa, with a request that the Director of the 
Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya, be asked to 
advise as to the best treatment." Further informa- 
tion has since been obtained through the Planters' 
Association, and the districts affected have been 
visited by Mr. E. E. Green. The following report 
may be quoted as illustrating the usual history of 
the affected estates : — 
To the Secretary of the Planters' Association. 
Locust Pests— These I first observed in 1895, and 
did not take very much notice of, as they merely 
ate the leaves of jungle shrubs. In 1896 they 
appeared again, and had increased to about double 
the number, and then they ate the dadap leaves and 
bark on voung shoots, to which they did a good 
deal of damage. In 1897 they increased very much 
and were about four times the number I saw in 1896, 
and it was during this }-ear I first noticed where 
thcv laid their eggs, which is in the ground. 
This- year the increase was very great, I should 
think as much as ten times the number I noticed 
in 1897, and must have numbered some millions. 
They made their appearance in IMarch or April, and 
the dadap, cacao, coffee, and in fact all kinds of 
growth were bent down and quite black with them. 
Although so numerous they have this year diminished 
more rapidiv, still a considerable number remains. 
The damage done this year is great, dadaps being 
prettv well stripped of their leaves and bark ; cacao, 
of which they prefer mature leaves, suffered con- 
siderably, but the food they seemed to prefer most 
was the leaves of coconut and arecanut trees, which 
V^^Ce Qopajilctcly stripped. This year the wild pigs 
took to eating the locusts, to the damage of the 
cacao, the branches of which they broke down to 
get at them ; so far I have not noticed any other 
animal or bird preying on them. The locusts go 
steadily along eating up all the leaves there are, 
and leaving the trees bare skeletons. Tea they eat, 
but do not seem to care very much for. When their 
wingc develop they do not seem to use them very 
much, their flights being short and individual. I 
think the only time to destroy them effectually is 
when they are depositing their eggs in the ground. 
By the way they increase, serious attention should 
be turned to getting rid of this pest. — Nov. 13, 1898. 
The following account of the insect, report of visit 
to infected estates, and recommendations for treat- 
ment, are extracted from Mr. Green's full report : — ■ 
I found the locusts very abundant on an estate in 
the Kadugannawa district ; they proved to be the 
Spotted Locust (Phymateus xiunctatus). This is a 
very conspicuous insect, easily distinguished from 
all other locusts by its brilliant colouring. 
The head is black, with a broad yellow band 
across the front. The upper part of the fore-body 
(thorax) is curiously roughened, of a shining black 
colour with a bright yellow border, and an irregular 
tubercle immediately behind the head. This 
roughened part of the back gives to the insect the 
appearance of wearing a cape. The front wings are 
of a brownish-green tint, irregTdarly spattered with 
large bright yellow spots. The hind wings arc of a 
dull smoky hue, except towards the tips, where they 
are greenish. The under parts of the body aro 
bright red with broad black transverse bands. 
The male locust differs in general appearance 
from the female only in its rather smaller size. 
In the early stages the insect is more soberly 
coloured, being chiefly of a dull brownish tint. It 
can progress only by hopping, as the wings do not 
appear until the insect is full-grown, though rudi- 
ments of them can be distinguished in the two pre- 
vious stages. The black and yellow markings 
become more prominent in each successive stage. 
Evidence of their work was very noticeable upon 
areca and coconut palms, the leaves of these trees 
being eaten quite bare in some parts. The dadap 
trees (Enjthrina) used as shade for the cocoa had 
also been badly attacked. A few breadfruit trees 
were more or less completely deprived of leaves. 
The locusts were also observed to be feeding upon 
ciuchoua and arnatto plants. It was uoticcabl(j 
