162 SOME SOUTH INDIAN INSECTS, ETC. [CHAP. XVIII. 



iracteristic large round hole of exit. Owing to their com- 

 paratively large size these beetles may do very considerable damage 

 t (stored pulses. A few species attack growing plants in the field 

 and may be found in ripening pods of grams and of some wild 

 leguminous plants such as Crotalaria, but the species which attack 

 living plants are apparently distinct from those which damage 

 stored products. There are numerous species of these beetles, all 

 very similar in general appearance and difficult to distinguish from 

 one another, although differences of habit may prove that their 

 discrimination is of practical importance. 



Sitodrepa panicea is an insect of truly catholic tastes, feeding 

 indifferently on almost any substance of animal or vegetable origin 

 and even having been recorded as biting holes through sheet lead. 

 Even the most pungent substances, such as red pepper, do not come 

 amiss to it and it is therefore scarcely a matter for surprise that 

 this little beetle is often found as a serious enemy of dried products. 

 especially of dried roots and similar dried vegetable substances 

 commonly found in bazaars. It is also a very serious enemy of 

 books, boring a long tunnel which may often run straight through 

 several volumes in a row ; an annual painting with book solution 

 (see Chapter XIX) will avert such damage. 



The Cheroot Beetle (Lasioderma serricorne) needs no introduction 

 as its ravages are sufficiently well-known in Southern India. To 

 the ordinary smoker it is sufficiently annoying to find a cheroot 

 reduced to a combination of holes and dust, but to the manufacturer 

 this beetle may be a cause of heavy loss by riddling bales of 

 tobacco leaves of good quality which are used for the making of 

 outer wrappers of cigars. The only reliable method of control in 

 these cases is by careful fumigation and subsequent storage of the 

 bales in rooms or receptacles which are proof against the entrance 

 of the beetles, though this is by no means easj on a large scale, and 

 probablj frequenl and regular fumigation of all unmanufactured 

 stock will prove the best safeguard as a rule. If the made cigars are 

 fumigated wiih Hydrocyanic Acid gas or Carbon Bisulphide and 

 boxed immediately afterwards, so that the beetles have no oppor- 

 tunity til ovipositing in them, they should be and remain free from 

 attack, as the beetles are unable to penetrate into the boxes it these 

 are properlj sealed up with strips of paper. The present wholesale 

 lo^-rs are quite preventable if the manufacturers will take reason- 

 able precautions, and it may be added that the slight cost of 

 treatment will be more than recouped In saving in damage. 



It stocks ot stored grain, such as paddy or maize, are examined 

 and turned over, numbers of small greyish moths will generally be 

 seen flying and running over the grains. These are the adult 



