876 PROCEEDINGS OF THE THIKD ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 



to rear it iiito au adult in order to know what it is. And a knowledge 

 of early stages and life-histories (in the fullest sense of the word) of any 

 insect pest is a necesi^ity in any consideration of control methods. 



The necessity for such knowledge, however, is by no means equivalent 

 to its acquisition, and those who have attempted the rearing of large 

 numbers of insects under tropical conditions will doubtless agree that 

 such rearing is decidedly an art only to be acquired by dint of much 

 trouble and patience, often accompanied by numerous set-backs and 

 disappointments. 



In order to assist those who wish to rear insects in India, therefore, 

 we have in the following paper jotted down a few notes based on our own 

 experience m the hope that it may be of some use to others. 



The main condition of success in rearing all insects is to provide them 

 as far as possible with absolutely natural conditions of life. A caterpillar, 

 for example, under natural conditions lives in the open air on a growing 

 plant, whose leaves remain constantly fresh ; when it is full-fed it may 

 burrow uito the ground and pupate under the soil which remains at an 

 ojjtimum degree of moisture. If we catch that caterpillar and shut it 

 up in a cardboard box or glass bottle with some leaves of its food-plant, 

 the leaves will wither and dry up, or their contained moisture may be 

 condensed on the sides of the glass bottle, and the caterpillar is at once 

 placed under unhealthy and unnatural conditions of existence and food ; 

 similarly, if it pupates in earth in a box, the earth may dry up or become 

 too moist, with the result that the pupa dries up also or is killed off by 

 mould. The above may be an exceptional case. It is really wonderful 

 under what adverse conditions many caterpillars will live and (apparently) 

 thrive. But in any case it is necessary as a first condition of success 

 that, to ensure successful rearing, insects should be provided with :— 



(1) fresh food, 



(2) fresh air, or at least sufficient air, 



(3) correct conditions of moisture, 



(4) sanitary surroundings. 



Growing flants, if they can be utilized in this way, provide the most 

 natural and therefore most satisfactory means of rearing all insects 

 feeding on such plants. The plants may be grown ux pots or other 

 receptacles containing earth and the potted plants with the insects 

 living on them may be enclosed in cages. Or the plants may be grown 

 in large cages- provided with a sufficiency of soil. Or, in the case of plants 

 growing out of doors, the plants themselves may be covered over with a 

 cage pressed down into the soil around them, or they may be "sleeved," 

 i.e., the plant or a branch is covered with a single or double-ended bag 



