PROCEEDINGS OF THE SECOND ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 271 
The frass is quite prominent on the leaves and the caterpillars can yr, ghosh. 
be traced easily and picked by a man walking among the plants. 
Prodenia litura [‘‘ South Indian Insects,” p. 377, tab. 19] is a serious Mr. Fletcher. 
pest of tobacco in many localities, especially in Western India and 
Madras. We have examples reared on tobacco at Nadiad, Anand, 
Surat, Rangpur, Muzaffarpur, and Pusa, but it is a polyphagous species 
which we have dealt with already under castor, maize, jute and various 
other crops. In the case of tobacco, the caterpillars may be hand- 
picked, especially when they are young and before they have dispersed. 
In Madras Prodenia litura is very common on tobacco. Mr. Ramakrishna 
Ayyar. 
Prodenia does a good deal of damage to tobacco in Bombay also. Mr. Jhaveri. 
Plusia signata [“ South Indian Insects,” pp. 392-393, fig. 259] has Mr. Fletcher. 
been recorded on tobacco in Southern India, but there is some doubt 
regarding identification and the species concerned may be P. chalcytes. 
We have, however, no record of P. chalcytes on tobacco. In any case, this 
Plusia is unimportant as a pest. 
Plusia nigrisigna occurs throughout India and is a sporadic minor 
pest, chiefly of gram. It has also been reared on tobacco at Pusa but 
is not known as a pest of this crop. 
Atractomorpha crenulata is described and figured in ‘“‘ South Indian 
Insects,” p. 528, fig. 421, but this figure is a poor one and we have lately 
issued a coloured plate showing the complete lifehistory. The eggs 
are laid in the ground in a mass, and the young hoppers feed on the 
leaves until they are full-grown. Atractomorpha crenulata is widely 
distributed in India and is chiefly a pest of young plants, attacking, 
besides tobacco, cabbages, cauliflower and various other plants. Tobacco 
in its later stages of growth is not exempt from attack, however, and 
the grass-hoppers, both immature and adult, may be seen commonly 
on the plants, eating patches out of the leaves. In the case of a crop 
such as tobacco it is comparatively easy to catch the hoppers either 
by hand or in small nets. 
The seed-capsules-of tobacco are damaged by :— 
Heliothis assulta. 
Heliothis obsoleta. 
Nysius ticonspicuus. 
Gallobelicus crassicornis. 
Heliothis assulta has just been considered as a leaf-eating pest, but 
the caterpillars sometimes bore in the seed-capsules also and may do 
damage in this way. If they are picked systematically from the leaves, 
the damage will be reduced. 
