Part I. ] 
Stebbing : Note on the Lac Insect. 
23 
Remedies. — The question of protecting the lac insect against these 
pests is at present, owing to the insufficient information available, a 
difficult one. 
For the ants the matter is, however, fairly simple. A ring of some 
sticky substance placed round the tree stems, wood ashes placed round 
their bases, or small heaps of some substance the ants would prefer to lac 
placed in the neighbourhood would all serve effectually to keep a check 
upon them. 
When the predaceous enemies come to be considered the matter 
is much more difficult. Something can no doubt be done by taking 
precautions to avoid spreading the predaceous pests by taking care 
not to propagate lac from seriously infested trees. Lac-bearing branches 
required for propagation should on no accoimt be cut from lac trees 
infested with the predaceous caterpillars. When the lac cells are seen 
to contain large numbers of these caterpillars on any particular tree or 
series of trees the whole of the lac-bearing branches should be cut off and 
burnt at the periods when the cells are seen to contain caterpillars and 
before the caterpillars have changed into moths. This would get rid of the 
moth pest and prevent it spreading and committing damage on a large 
scale in the lac areas. Beyond this somewhat drastic method of checking 
the pest it is impossible to go at present. A study of the lac predaceous 
pests is urgently needed. The insects themselves are doubtless preyed 
upon or parasitised. 
(c) Fungi. 
Several species of parasitic fungi are known to prey upon scale insects 
of various kinds. No reports of any such infestation on lac have yet 
been made. 
[d) Natural Atmospheric Influences. 
# 
Unseasonable heavy rain at the time of the swarming of the young 
larvae often does very great and for the time irremediable damage to 
the lac insect. Frost and hail are also extremely harmful, the latter 
often battering in the cells, killing the insect, and ruining the incrus- 
tation. 
(e) Forest Fires. 
Small low leaf and grass fires running through a lac cultivation area 
would probably do httle if any harm since the insect is protected by 
its scale or shell ; the smoke alone would be unlikely to have a great 
