PROCEEDINGS OF THE SECOND ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 277 
Sucking insects. found on mustards melude :— 
Bagrada picta. 
Eurydema pulchium. 
Aphis brassicae. 
Bagrada ee is described and figured in “ South Indian Insects,” 
p- 473, tab. 2, fig. 10 and we have since issued a plate showing its life- 
history. It is widely distributed throughout India and sometimes 
occurs in large numbers on mustards when grown as field crops. Damage 
is done chiefly in the later stages of growth of the plant, by which time 
the bugs have multiplied into large numbers, which are seen massed 
especially on the seed-pods. Control, when the bugs are in large numbers, 
is not easy, as the bugs are active and the adults readily take to 
wing. They may be collected in hand-nets and the immature stages 
shaken into pans of oi] and water. 
Eurydema pulchrum [ Fauna of India, Rhynchota, Vol. I, pp. 
190-191, fig. 114] occurs in Assam and Burma and has been reported 
to attack mustard in Burma. It is probably similar to Bagrada picta 
in habits and control methods will be the same. 
Eurydema Pere is a bad pest of mustard in the Hill Districts of Mr. Shroff, 
Burma. 
Aphis brassicw is a serious pest of mustards throughout India. Its Mr. Fletcher. 
abundance is often reported as correlated with dull weather and 
possibly this is'‘so and due to the fact that its natural enemies, chiefly 
Coccinellids, become inactive in dull, wet or cold weather. I have already 
called your attention, under the heading of wheat, to the importance of 
the increase of these predators on the Aphids on mustards. As regards 
means of control, other than by natural enemies, I do not see that much 
is possible on a field-scale. 
Against Aphids on mustards the most important thing to do is to keep Mr, Ghosh. 
up the vigour of the plants. Vigorous plants have been observed to 
escape the bad effects due to attack by Aphids as well as by Crocidolomia 
when adjacent less vigorous plants were badly attacked. 
The seed-pods of mustards are attacked by Crocidolomia binotalis and Mr. Fletcher. 
Plutel'a maculipennis, both of which we noticed as eating the leaves also. 
The main damage, however, is done to the pods and this may be serious 
especially in the case of Crocidolomia which also attacks the flowers. 
The only means of checking this seems to he in prompt measures im com- 
bating the caterpillars as soon as they are noticed on the crop ; if they 
can be checked whi'st still on the leaves, there is less likelihood of their 
being present in destructive numbers when the pods are formed later 
on. Varieties which flower late, so that the pods are formed late, are 
