T, BAINBRIGGE FLETCHER 131 
in all the forests from which we have obtained lac, with the exception of 
Hoshangabad. In the latter forests we have only bred out six examples 
from eleven separate consignments of lac. Its larva... .. is predaceous, 
devouring both the Zachardia and the lace incrustations and may be found 
in the lac during the greater part of the year. During the cooler months of 
December to March the moths are scarce and not often to be met with, but 
they are abundant during the whole season of April to November. Out of 
1,714 moths bred out from lac obtained from various forests in both the United 
and Central Provinces, only 47 emerged during the months of December to 
March. The largest number that emerged during any one month was 492 
during September. 
“The larve of this insect are extremely destructive to stick lac and do 
not appear to be dependent upon living lac growing on the tree. The Hypatima 
larve may be found, and the moths bred out, three months after the lac has 
been removed from the trees.......... and it by no means follows that 
once the lac is gathered it may necessarily undergo no further destruction by 
insects, unless of course it is utilised very shortly after removal from the 
trees *’(8). 
We have this from Kumaon (larve on brood lace on arhar), Pusa (larvee 
on lac-insects on ber tree and on stored lac), Pratapgan}, Bengal (larva on lac), 
Berar, C. P. (larva on lac on Butea frondosa), Palamau (larve on lac on 
Schleichera trijuga), and Coimbatore (reared “from galls ’’). 
The larva is about 10 mm. long and 2 mm. broad, cylindrical, slightly 
tapering posteriorly, dirty brown ; head bilobed, brown, with fairly long dark 
hairs, labrum, and region immediately above it dark grey or black, frons with 
an inverted Y-shaped figure brown interiorly but on edges black or dark- 
grey ; prothoracic shield dark with a narrow medial brown stripe ; thoracic 
legs ringed with black ; spiracles oval, brown, ringed with black ; five pairs 
of well-developed prolegs, on which the crochets are arranged in circles. 
When full-fed the larva pupates in a thin white silken cocoon in which 
it sometimes rests for ten days or more before pupating. The actual pupal 
period is about seven days. Pupa about 5 mm. long and 2 mm. broad with 
six cremastral hooks and with other hooks with recurved tips on abdominal 
segments, these hooks entangled in the silk of the cocoon. (Insectary Cage- 
slip No. 665.) 
The genus Hypatima, Hb., in which this species has been placed hitherto 
in Indian literature, belongs to the Gelechiadw,; Holcocera, Clemens, is iden- 
tical with Hypatima, H. 8. (nec Hb.) ; see Walsingham, Ent. Mo. Mag. 1909, 
pp. 48-51, 
