220 



LOCUSTS, HOPPEKS, RTIRPACE BEETLES, ETC. 



eat locusts and destroy their eggs and the ' rosy pastor ' or pcari bird is 



supposed to destroy a large number of winged locusts. 



It is probable that other species of grasshoppers will be found to 



form swarms and behave as 

 locusts under exceptional 

 circumstances, but no 

 species are known to do 

 so at present in India, 

 There has been great 

 confusion on this point 

 owing to the difficulty 

 of identifying insects 

 believed to be locusts. It 

 is probably correct to say 

 Fig. 259. that, except in the case of 



Fhj parasitic upon Locusts. ^^^^i Iqq^\ SWarms, no 



insect except the two discussed above can be regarded as a true locust in 

 India, 



Surface Beetles and Grasshoppers. 



A number of insects confine their attacks to young plants just out of 

 the soil, destroying the germinating plants as they push above the 

 surface and preventing the crops from becoming established. These 



Fig. 260. 

 Fly parasitic on the Ff/t/s of the North-West Locust, (Magnified) 



