PROCEEDINGS OF THE SECOND ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 145 
In the Central Provinces Scirpophaga is only serious as a pest in Mr. Ratiram. 
the Chanda District. The variety of cane particularly attacked is 
Sonapali variety. 
In the United Provinces Scirpophaga is generally found in cane from Mr. David. 
July to October. 
The other caterpillar borers found in cane-stems are Sesamia inferens Mr. Fletcher. 
and S. uniformis. Their identity has been considerably confused in the 
past and I pointed out the differences between them in Entomological 
Note 62, Bulletin 59, and since that note was published we have reared 
uniformis from cane at Pusa. 8S. inferens seems to be the commoner 
species, but the habits of both are similar, so we can consider them 
together. Neither is confined to cane but both occur in maize also 
and we know inferens from paddy, wheat, jwar, guinea-grass, rag? and 
tena. 
Sesanva in cane is a minor pest in Bihar. It usually occurs in the Mr. Ghosh. 
later stages of growth of sugarcane. 
In the Punjab Sesamia is not found to attack cane much but is noticed “it. M. M. Lal. 
in “ Sarkanda” (Saccharum ciliare). 
In the Central Provinces Sesamia is bad in Seoni and Bhandara. ™. Ratiram. 
Oryctes rhinoceros is very rare in India as a éane-borer but that it Mr. Fletcher. 
does occasionally occur is shown by figure 69 in “‘ South Indian Insects,” 
which represents a beetle caught in the act of boring into a cane-stem. 
T should not have included this in our Pest List on the strength of a 
single specimen obtained in this way but, in reviewing my book in the 
“ Zoologist,” Mr. W. L. Distant referred to Oryctes as having been a 
serious pest of cane in the Malay Peninsula when he was there some 
forty years ago. So it is quite possible that Oryctes may have a cane- 
boring habit in India more regularly than has been noticed. 
The roots of sugarcane are attacked by various insects :— 
Papua depressella. 
Anerastia ablutella. 
Termites. 
Dorylus orientalis. 
Myllocerus discolor. 
Serica indica. 
Pentodon bengalensis. 
Anomala polita (varians). 
Papua depressella has already been considered in its new aspect of 
a shoot-borer The larvae occur commonly in cane-roots, especially of 
the ratoon crop, at Pusa, but do not seem to do much damage as a rule. 
It occurs throughout Bihar and the United Provinces and inthe Punjab. 
Tt has also been bred occasionally from Sorghum and maize. 
M 
