Mr. M. M. Lal. 
Mr. Fletcher. 
Mr. H. L. Dutt. 
Mr. Fletcher, 
128 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SECOND ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 
(3) it is not specially attractive to Gelechia gossypiella. 
As regards our experience in using it as a foodplant for rearing Harias 
and its Rhogas parasites, 
(4) the Earias larve first of all attack the shoots of H. abel- 
moschus, before flowers or seed-capsules are present, and 
can therefore be reared early in the season, 
(5) these Earias larvee in the shoots are parasitized by Rhogas 
to a much greater extent than they are in cotton-bolls. 
In the Punjab Hibiscus abelmoschus is found very useful to breed 
bollworms during February and March, when cotton is not available 
in the parasite-breeding plots. 
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis. 
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis is @ common garden plant, grown all over 
India, and is chiefly of importance to us as possibly affording an alter- 
native foodplant to some cotton-pests. You may also be called on to 
treat it for other pests as an ornamental garden-plant. 
The flowers are often seriously eaten by Meloid beetles, of which 
there are numerous species not clearly differentiated as yet. At Pusa 
we get Zonabris phalerata commonly about November and Z. pustulata 
occurs at Coimbatore. These beetles are easily caught by hand or in 
handnets. 
A few beetles, mostly weevils, also eat the leaves. 
Hypomeces squamosus occurred on the leaves at Myitkyina, in Upper 
Burma, in September 1914. It seems to be common in Burma but we 
have no specimens from India. 
Desmidophorus hebes has occurred in large numbers in Darbhanga 
on at least two occasions, once in or previous to 1888 (as recorded in 
Indian Museum No’es, Vol. I, No. 1, p. 58) and again in July 1906. 
On one of these occasions this weevil occurred on Hibiscus but there 
seems to be no record of the species of Hibiscus concerned ; it may have 
been H. rosa-sinensis. 
Dysdercus cingulatus oceurs on H. rosa-sinensis but is not very common 
as a rule. 
Aphids also sometimes occur in small numbers. 
At Sabour Aphids are very bad on this plant in the early spring. 
Abutilon indicum. 
Abutilon indicum is a common weed found in most parts of India. 
It is of some importance to us as affording an alternative foodplant 
for cotton-pests. 
