Mr. M. M. Lal. 
Mr. Kunhi Kan- 
nan. 
Mr. Fletcher. 
Mr. Ramachanéra 
Rao. 
Mr. Fletcher. 
320 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SECOND ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 
a é a Be: 
Sphenoptera gossypii occurs in the Punjab also, but is a minor pest. 
It is found in Mysore also, near the Dharwar side. 
Pempheres affinis. The life-history is described and figured in “ South 
Indian Insects,” p. 339, fig. 198, and the damage done to cotton is shown 
in figure 199. It is ‘referred to under the name Phylaitis 
sp. in Bulletin No. 10, page 6. At Pusa it has been found in cotton, 
bhindi (Hibiscus esculentus), and there is also a record of it as found 
in Cannabis stem, but it seems doubtful whether this was really Cannabis 
or Hibiscus cannabinus in which it has been found at Coimbatore. 
The distribution of this insect in India seems to be very little known. 
We know it from Pusa in Bihar and from Coimbatore and Cuddapah 
in Madras. Probably it is more widely distributed but has been over- 
ooked. 
As regards damage, this may be serious. At Coimbatore in 1912-13 
a large proportion of the Cambodia cotton plants on the Farm was 
attacked and about twenty-five per cent. succumbed, being broken off 
by the wind. More recently, the attack has been much reduced but the 
cause of this reduction seems rather doubtful. It may perhaps be a case 
of selection, the seeds of the unattacked or less attacked plants surviving 
each year being used for the next year’s crop; or it may be due to a 
reduction of the numbers of the insect in the area, owing to regular 
destruction of attacked plants—but on the other hand the areas under 
lceal cottons all around the Farm are full of this insect ; or it may be 
merely a reduction in numbers due to natural causes. 
As regards control, no really satisfactory method has yet been 
found. The badly attacked bushes, which break in the wind, should be 
removed regularly and destroyed. Painting of preventives, such as 
Crude Oil Emulsion, on the stems of young plants, is impracticable on a 
field scale. We tried the effect of Crude Oil Emulsion on the young 
plants at Coimbatore but the results were not very conclusive. 
Some work on this weevil has been done at Coimbatore during the 
last two years. Will you ¢ell us about it, Mr. Ramachandra Rao ? 
Pempheres affinis is a specific pest of cotton. It is chiefly found at 
Coimbatore. The egg is generally laid in the stem just below the epider- 
mis. The grub bores into the stem and, due to the irritation caused, 
a swelling is formed. The young plants succumb to the attack and plants 
with these swellings often break down in high winds. Cambodia cotton 
is more liable to attack than other varieties. 
A larger percentage of Cambodia plants break off as the result of attack. 
And as regards control ? 
