66 PROCEEDINGS ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



the most destructive of all pests of sugar cane in New South Wales. 

 Spodaptera mauritia Bdv. appears in great abundance on rice and 

 grasses during the rains, or soon after, in India and has also been 

 reported as quite destructive to Batangas rice fields in the Philip- 

 pines. It is known as a pest also in Borneo. This species also 

 attacks tobacco and vegetables. Calamistis fusca Hamp. (gener- 

 ally referred to as Sesamia) is a first class pest of corn in the Trans- 

 vaal, Natal, Cape Colony, Rhodesia, etc., while Sesamia cretica 

 Led. is one of the worst of all pests to corn and sugar cane in Khar- 

 toum. It ranges over Egypt, southern Europe, Asia Minor, etc. 

 The larvae bore into the stems of the young plants, later attacking 

 the ears of corn. 



Toeniocampa incerta Hbn. feeds on apple foliage and fruit in 

 England; willow, oak and sloe are, however, its normal food plants. 

 The species is distributed over much of Europe, Siberia, etc., and 

 is recorded from North America. Two species of Xylina, namely, 

 ornithopus Rott. and soda Rott. injure plums in Europe and have a 

 wide distribution in the Palearctic region. In India, Heliothis 

 assulta injures tobacco. In the same country the green shoots of 

 the egg plant are bored by Eublemma olivacea Walk. Thalpochares 

 scitula Rmbr. is noteworthy among Noctuids as feeding on scale 

 insects in Italy. Plusia chalcytes Esp. feeds on foliage of peas, beans 

 and potatoes in Australia, while P. agramma Guen. feeds on Cucur- 

 bits in India. P. nigrisigna Walk, is also a common pest in India, 

 feeding on lucerne, peas, etc. Cirphis leucosticha Hamp. is the 

 East African cob worm and eats the ears of corn, as does our com- 

 mon bollworm (Heliothis obsoleta). Diparopsis castanea Hamp. 

 is the Sudan cotton bollworm, where it was probably introduced. 

 It is also known from Beira, Delagoa Bay and Uganda. Sacododes 

 pyralis Dyar, an allied species of South America, has similar habits. 

 Larvae of Ontoptera intricata Walk, are said by French to be the 

 most destructive of grass-eating grubs known to him. The females 

 lay from 500 to 700 eggs each. Larvae construct tunnels which 

 they leave at night to feed. Naranga diffusa Moor is a pest of 

 rice and grasses in Formosa. 



One group, of the Noctuidae, (Aphiderince) contains several 

 highly interesting and destructive forms, from the habits of the 

 moths of piercing with their especially adapted probosces, ripe 

 fruits, in order to feed on the juices. 



Mcenas salaminia Fabr. occurs in portions of Australia, as does 

 Orthreis fullonica L. and is further distributed to Africa, India, 

 Ceylon and the New Hebrides. Argadesa maternaL., Cosmophila 

 erosa Hbn., Egybolia vaillantina, Sphingomorpha chlorea, Ophiusa 

 lienardi are other names for fruit piercing moths mentioned in 

 literature as troublesome in Australia or South Africa. C. 

 erosa is also recorded from the United States. 



