Tlie Indian Wheat and Bice Weevil . 



and even after the grain has been baked, unless the granary be thorough- 

 ly cleared out and disinfected, there is every probability that it will be 

 again attacked. 



Vast numbers of the pest may probably be destroyed l)y sifting, the 

 meshes of the sieve being large enough to allow the weevils to pass, while 

 at the same time retaining the grain; only such weevils, however, as are 

 running about, will be got rid of by this operation, the ones that have 

 taken refuge in excavated grains and all the eggs, larvae, and pupae 

 escaping. 



Refracting is no doubt useful, but here also many grains, containing 

 larvae and eggs, which are not yet sufficiently light to be refracted out, 

 will remain to propagate the evil. 



The ventilation of grain has been successfully used in Europe for 

 C. granaria, as the insect is unable to develope when the temperature 

 falls below a certain point. This method, however, effective as it has 

 been found in a cold climate, does not seem promising in India. In fact, 

 Messrs. Ralli Brothers write that wheat stored in sacks, where it is more 

 exposed to the air than wheat stored in bulk, is also more affected by the 

 weevil. 



Rags, or sheep skins spread, wool downwards, at the foot of the heaps 

 of grain, which is then turned over, have been found useful in the case of 

 C. granariay as the beetles creep out in vast numbers when the grain is 

 disturbed and take refuge in the nearest shelter, so that by immersing 

 the rags and wool in boiling water great numbers are destroyed. 



'Miss Ormerod suggests "the plan of trapping by setting vessels of 

 water," which, she says, attract the beetles in great numbers from the 

 grain. 



The question of prevention is an important one, but the extent to 



„ ,. which it is possible is a good deal mixed up with 



Prevention. . ^ '^ . ' 



the question of whether the Indian weevil, like 

 the European one, is confined to granaries, or occurs also in the fields. 

 In the first ease fresh grain, brought in from the fields, and stored in 

 disinfected granaries, would necessarily be free from weevil ; while in the 

 second case, it would be necessary to clear the fields of the insect as well 

 as the granaries, an operation which would obviously be very much more 

 difficult. Entomologists, with some exceptions, seem to incline to the 

 belief that the weevil is confined to granaries ; there is, however, some 

 evidence on the other side, and it is of great importance that this ques- 

 tion should be settled definitively. It has been seen (p. 4) that grain can, 

 and probably in the majority of cases is, affected, in the first instance, 

 when lying in the granary, and it seems to be the general opinion, as 

 gathered from Natives questioned on the subject in Calcutta, and from the 



' Entomologist, Vol. XII (iS7'J). 



