PROCEEDINGS OF THE SECOND ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 433 
At Sabour Farm Dvacrisia is very bad and handpicking is done. Mr. 
Diacrisia occurs in Assam also. Mr. 
Cosmophila sabulifera [“ South Indian Insects,” pp. 390-391, fig. Mr. 
256] occurs in all jute-growing districts as a major pest of jute. It is 
known from South Arcot, Godavari, Samalkota, Dharwar, Belgaum, 
Poona, Nadiad, Nagpur, Pusa, Dacca and throughout Bengal and Bihar. 
If the plants are sufficiently young and water is standing in the 
field, control may be effected by running a film of kerosine over the 
water and disturbing the plants, when the larvee drop. 
Cosmophila sabulifera is the worst of all the pests of jute because Mr. 
it checks the growth of the plant and causes sideshoots to grow, thereby 
damaging the length of the fibre. The only thing possible to do against 
it is to disturb them as much as possible by stirring the plants, when 
the caterpillars jump off. The work of killing them is facilitated by 
pouring a little kerosime on the water if it happens to be standing in 
the field. 
In Bengal drageing a kerosinized rope over the affected crop has Mr. 
been found useful. Bagging is not possible because the pest appears 
-at a time when the crop is fairly high, three to four feet in height. 
Such has been our experience in Bihar also. 
rope treatment is carried out on plants up to four to five feet high. 
With regard to the driving away of caterpillars from infested areas, yy. 
1 once tried the following method: I took a wire and twisted it into 
a spiral, which was twisted into a bigger spiral, and this was dipped 
into melted sulphur to which saltpetre was added. This spiral was 
ignited and taken through the affected field and the fumes drove away 
the caterpillars. This method was tried in a field comprising 50 acres. 
I am afraid that it would not be practicable in the case of jute fields mr. 
as these fields are generally adjacent to villages. 
Prodenia litura has been found on jute at Pusa and is sometimes 
quite a bad pest. 
Prodena litura comes second to Diacrisia as a pest of jute, and Mr. 
occasionally does serious damage. It occurs when the plants are three 
to four feet high, and is amenable to the same methods of control as 
Diacrisia. 
Creatonotus gangis is occasionally found on jute but is scarcely a Mr. 
pest. 
Tarache crocata is widely distributed throughout the Plains of India, 
Burma and Ceylon. The larva is sometimes found on jute but it is 
scarcely a pest. 
Mr. 
In Assam also Cosmophila sabulifera is a serious pest of jute, and the yp, 
H. L. Dutt. 
Gupta. 
Fletcher. 
Ghosh. 
P. C. Sen. 
H. L. Dutt. 
Gupta. 
Andrews. 
Fletcher. 
Ghosh. 
Fletcher. 
