PEOCEEDINOS OF THE THIRD ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 927 



of the berries one after the other. Not more than four berries are attacked 

 b.y one grub before it is full-fed. At the initial stages of infestation one 

 has to examine the spikes more carefully to find berries that are just 

 getting attacked, since, at the beginning, the berry that is first attacked 

 simply shows a pale sickly yellowish surface and a minute hole^ through 

 which excrement might be seen thrown out ; the characteristic dark 

 group of berries begins to show itself only when the grub has finished 

 with one berry and has entered the second. In certain cases another 

 phenomenon is noted in infested pepper-berries and that is the darkening 

 of the whole distal portion of a spike. This happens when the grub 

 in tunnelling through one berry to another encroaches on the main stem 

 of the spike and scoops out a good portion of it ; this damage to the 

 stalk at the middle arrests the flow of luitrition to the distal portion and 

 the berries beyond this spot turn black and do not ripen, although 

 they remain attached to the spike ahnost throughout the season. 



Life-history. Observations made in the field go to show that the 

 eggs are laid singly. Each egg is carefully thrust and glued to the tissue 

 just underneath the skin of the green pepper-berry, commonly near the 

 attachment of the berry to the spike ; only one egg is generally deposited 

 in each berry. To find out the egg one has to open the berry skin very 

 carefully in very thin slices. The egg is ovoid in shape and mea8iu:es 

 1'5 mm. in length ; it has a pale brownish colour. It has not yet been 

 possible to get the eggs hatched out in captivity although several 

 methods were tried. The grub is pale to cream-white in colour with the 

 head and prothorax dark ; it is comparatively short and stout in build. 



The grub goes on growing by feeding on the inner contents of two 

 or three berries for about forty or fifty days, after which it stops feeding 

 and drops down into the soil to pupate. It goes down into the soU two 

 to three inches and before the final moult to assume the pupal stage 

 builds an oval cocoon of soil around itself. The pupa is pale white in 

 colour. In thie condition it remains for ten cfays — the period noted in 

 captivity. 



After this period, the adult form is assumed, but the beetle remains 

 in that condition for a day or two in the soil and comes out only after 

 these one or two days which are apparently necessary for the insect to 

 get its body hard and become active itself. 



The adult insect readily and voraciously feeds on the tender pepper- 

 leaves, biting numerous small holes in them. 



Seasonal history. The investigations with regard to the habits, etc., 

 of this insect are stil incomplete. But. so far as work has been done, 

 it appears that there are two clear broods in the year, one generation of 

 beetles emerging in October and another in January. It is thought that 



VOL. Ill H 



