214 



Ramakrishna Ayyar (T. V.). Notes on the Life-history of the PoUu 

 Flea-beetle {Longitarsiis nigripennis. Mots.) of Pepper. — Rcpt. 

 Froc. 3ni Ent. Meeting, Pusa, February 1919. Calcutta, iii, 1920, 

 pp. 925-928. 

 Longitarsus nigripennis, Mots., is one of the causes of " Pollu " 

 disease of pepper {Piper nigrum). The eggs are laid singly under the 

 skin of the green berry near its attachment to the spike. The 

 larvae feed on the contents of two or three berries for about 40 to 50 

 da3^s, and then drop to the soil for pupation ; this occurs at a depth of 

 from 2 to 3 inches and lasts about 10 days ; the adults remain in the 

 soil a day or two longer. After emergence from the soil, they feed 

 voraciously on the tender leaves of the pepper plant. There are appar- 

 ently two generations a year, the adults of one appearing in October, 

 and of the other in January. As the result of investigations still in 

 progress, it is hoped to prove whether a third generation exists, or 

 whether the insect aestivates in the adult stage from March to June. 

 No other food-plants have yet been found. This pest is most commonly 

 found in shady, damp and cool plots. 



Remedial measures suggested include hoeing in September-October 

 and December-January for the destruction of the pupae. Spraying with 

 deterrents to prevent oviposition appeared to be successful in some 

 plots. Investigations on these lines are being continued. So far no 

 natural enemies have been noticed. 



Kasergode (R. S.) . On some of the Bionomics of Bruchidae (Lariadae) . 



— Rept. Proc. 3rd Ent. Meeting, Pusa, February 1919, Calcutta, 

 iii, 1920, pp. 928-931. 



As many Bruchids breed in the field, methods of storing to prevent 

 external infection are not in themselves sufficient to avoid the destruc- 

 tion of pulse seeds, and it may be necessary to fumigate the seed directh'' 

 after harvest. 



In 1914 various pulse seeds were collected with the object of investi- 

 gating the nature and extent of injury by insects alone to stored seed. 

 The seed was kept in sealed tins, and when inspected after a year, peas, 

 Dolichos lablab and Cajanus indicus were found to be infested with 

 Bruchids, thus proving that infection need not necessarily come from 

 old infested seed of previous years, but may originate in the field. 



There is no doubt that Bruchids breed in the green pods in the field. 

 The species dealt with during these observations were Bruchus {Pachy- 

 merus) chinensis, B. theobromae and B. a/finis. The last-named is not 

 able to breed in dry seed and has but one generation a year. The other 

 two, however, can totally destroy dry seeds in store. An unidentified 

 Bruchid was found breeding in pods of Crotalaria juncea. It has one 

 generation a year ; the eggs and larvae are found in green pods, in which 

 pupation also occurs. 



Ramakrishna Ayyar (T. V.). On the Insect Parasites of some Indian 



Crop Pests. — Rept. Proc. 3rd Ent. Meeting, Pusa, February 1919, 



Calcutta, iii, 1920, pp. 931-936. 



This list of insect parasites is arranged in tabular form, showing the 



insect host and its order or family, as well as the group or family to 



Avhich the parasite belongs, with remarks concerning its distribution, 



•etc. The object of the paper is to draw attention to the importance of 



