Chap. Jan.] caterpillar pests oi Crops. 133 



insect has it-- own peculiar method of attack and bores into similar 

 parts of plants even when these belong to different 1 rops. A tunnel 

 ma> be bored in the interior of the main stem, whether the plant 

 attacked is .1 temporarj crop su< h .is paddy or a large tree such as 

 terpillar may attack the roots or the growing 

 shoots, bul ind method of injury are usually characteristic 



of each -1 iterpillar. 



Stem-borers, from the very nature of their attack, are often diffi- 

 cult to control because it is usually impossible to reach them either 

 with a contact or a stomach poison. In the case ol those tonus 

 Arbela, Azygophleps and Zeuzera), which bore into the main 

 stem of permanent crops (mango, agatlii, coffee, tea), the presence 

 .iterpillar is usually marked bj an a< i umulation oi fragments 

 gnawed wood below the burrow, whose entrance may then be 

 Led and a mixture ol two parts of chloroform and one part of 

 creosote injected into the gallery by mean-- of a syringe. Where 

 temporary crops. such as cereals, are attacked by stem-borers, the 

 only remedj is to pull out and burn the attacked plants, if these 

 are only a few, to prevent extension oi the attack; but, as a rule 

 and in the case of all our important pests of cereals, the damage is 

 so wide-spread that a remedy of this nature is out of the question 

 and moans of control must aim at prevention rather than cure. It 

 lOSsible that the destruction of the adult female moths by means 

 ol light-traps or similar methods may be found practicable in the 

 oi paddy, cholam and ragi. In the case of 

 mi-permanent crop such as sugarcane it certainly does pay to 

 cut out promptly all dead-hearts which indicate the attack of stem- 

 borers, as this practice, if thoroughly carried out. will help to (heck 

 the attack and will at the same time increase the yield because new 

 shoots will be thrown up to rep attacked which are very 



hi mi sugar-content. 



we may quote Phassus malabaricus as an example, 

 but there are few true caterpillars which attack plants below ground- 

 level in India. Pests "t this 1 I ticularly difficult to check 



and the uprooting and destruction eems to be 



the only practical remedy. Main caterpillars bore into the growing 

 shoots of plants. One oi the commonest in Southern India is 

 Terastia meticulosalis which bores into the tender shoots of Erythrina 

 ami seriously stunts the growth. The onl) remedy in such cases is 

 to cut back the shoots beyond the larval burrow and to paint the 

 cut end with Crude Oil Emulsion or other repellent to prevent the 

 moths from ovi em-rally have a withered 



appearance which is characteristic ami are therefore easily re- 

 cognizable. The Cotton Boll-worms (Earias spp.) often bore into 



