PROCEEDINGS OF THE SECOND ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 7} 
Schanobius bipunctifer is far the most important pest of paddy, which 
is itself the most important crop in the Indian Empire, whether reckoned 
by acreage or value of out-turn. I have estimated the damage done by 
this one insect in Southern India alone as one hundred millions of Rupees 
annually and this figure may well be doubled or trebled when we consider 
the areas under paddy in other parts of India and Burma. Its life- 
history has been described briefly in “ South Indian Insects ”’, pp. 426- 
427, tab. 29, and the control methods suggested there are (1) use of 
light-traps, (2) collection of egg-masses, (3) destruction of paddy- 
stubbles. With regard to (1), we have made some experiments with 
light-traps in paddy-fields at Pusa, and similar experiments have been 
made at Coimbatore and Poona, and the general result is that, whether 
the lamps used are ordinary small oil lamps or powerful incandescent 
lamps, although the moths may be attracted in thousands, there is 
no perceptible diminution in the severity of attack, and the use of light- 
traps as a means of control seems to be a failure. As regards (2), the eggs 
are laid in masses on the leaves and may be hand-picked in small plots 
but this is not possible on any large scale. As regards (3), the destruc- 
tion of stubble after harvest seems to offer a promising solution of the 
difficulty of control, in some districts at allevents. In Bihar, for example, 
at any rate around Pusa, the stubble is often left in the ground during 
the winter months ; we have collected and examined this stubble and 
found about 40 per cent. of the stalks containing borers, largely hibernat- 
ing larvee of Schenobius. Destruction of the stubble at this time of 
year should do a great deal towards reducing attack on the next rice- 
crop and such destruction, if continued on a sufficiently extensive scale, 
should do something towards permanently reducing the attack in a 
district. But, before advocating such measures, we must make an 
extensive study of the insect concerned. We want to know, for example, 
if any parasites are carried over in these larve resting in the stubble and 
what will be the effect on parasitization of destruction of the 
stubble. 
In Madras light-traps have been tried to attract the moths, and large Mr. Ramakrishna 
catches have been secured ; but still the pest has been observed to be Ayyar. 
as bad as before. 
On'the Farm at Coimbatore the affected plants are uprooted from the 
beginning ; this was tried and found quite practicable. To estimate 
the cost of this measure it was applied to a plot of one acre last July ; 
it was found that, in order to remove all attacked plants, four coolies 
were required for four days, and therefore this method would appear to 
be prohibitive as regards cost and labour. The cultivators themselves 
do nothing to check the pest. 
