165 



which were finally abandoned owing to military duty. Its publication 

 was delayed in the hope of including an account of the parasites, but 

 the War' has also been the cause of postponing their determination. 

 Various records of damage to toon in India by this species have 

 appeared since 1876, and are briefly reviewed. 



H. pagodella, Rag., is a synonym of this moth, which occurs in 

 India, Burma, Ceylon, Perak, British New Guinea and AustraUa. 

 The food-plants include CedreJa toona, C. australis (in Queensland 

 and N.S. Wales), C. multijuga, Swietenia maliagoni, S. macrophylh, 

 Chickrassia tabularis, Soymida febn'fuga , Rosa sp. and Citrus meclica. 

 All stages of the insect are described. 



There are normally five generations in a year. The eggs of the 

 first generation are laid in early March when the toon is in flower, 

 and the larvae feed on the flowers until the first week in April. While 

 feeding, they bind together individual flowers or adjacent groups 

 of flowers in a loose network of silk threads, and this frequently remains 

 as a ragged mass of debris after the colony of larvae have deserted it. 

 Moulting occurs within a more densely woven silk cell inside the net- 

 work. The life-cycle from egg to moth requires generally from 24 to 

 29 days and the whole generation is complete within 8 or 9 weeks. 

 The second generation is equally short, the larvae emerging early 

 in April, By tliis time the fruits are set and the entire larval develop- 

 ment is passed in the growing fruits, which are bound together much 

 as the flowers have been. Larvae of the 1st and 2nd generation, 

 when mature, hang from the trees by silken threads in the early 

 morning and may thus be dispersed along thoroughfares by vehicles 

 and pedestrians. Pupation occurs generally under flakes of bark on 

 the trunk and main branches of the tree on which they have fed. 

 The cocoons are frequently closely packed in masses two and three 

 layers deep, so that moths of the lowest layer are seldom able to 

 emerge, but die in the cocoons. Pupation frequently occurs near 

 the food-tree on houses, walls, fences, etc. The larvae of the 3rd 

 generation, which are found at work during July, and those of the 

 fourth (August-October) and fifth (February- April) feed only in the 

 shoots of the current year. Saphngs and young trees which, owing 

 to absence of flowers and fruit, are not attacked by the first two 

 generations, are preferred by the later generations owing to the 

 greater abundance of new growth. The eggs are laid on the new 

 unexpanded leaves and the larvae, descending to the thicker portions 

 of the gro\\dng shoot, feed by removing the epidermis in irregular 

 patches and test the shoot for suitable spots for boring into the 

 interior. Sometimes boring is started in \agorously growing tissue 

 and in this case the attack is unsuccessful and causes a flow of sap 

 or gum that may entrap and drown the larvae. Eventually the 

 larva gains an entrance and excavates a central gallery in the pith 

 which is gradually increased during the feeding period, sometimes 

 to a length of two feet. One shoot only is usuaUy attacked, but 

 among rapidly killed shoots one may be abandoned for another. 

 The shoot above the entrance hole dries up and withers, eventually 

 breaking off at the weak spot. Witliin the shoot partitions of silk 

 are constructed at intervals to secure protection from enemies. The 

 combined attacks of the third and fourth generations Idll off the 

 current shoot growth, and the fifth generation attack any new shoots 



