NATURAL ENEMIES OF THE GRASSHOPPER 95 
exposure to air or moisture, provided they are kept intact. 
If, however, ege-musses are broken, so that the individual 
egos are exposed to the air and sun, they quickly collapse. 
This, together with the fact that the ege-masses are easily 
broken, gives us a hint as to a possible 1 means of success- 
fully combating the pest. 
NATURAL ENEMIES OF THE JOLA GRASSHOPPER. 
Among the higher animals, the most important enemy 
of the Jola Grasshopper appears to be the common pariah 
kite (Milvus govinda, Sykes). This bird has been observed 
feeding on the grasshoppers and the number it disposes 
of must be decidedly large. Unfortunately, the birds 
themselves are not very numerous in the localities where 
the grasshoppers occur, so it is hardly likely that they 
could make a real impression on the huge numbers of the 
grasshopper to be found in badly infested regions. 
Plate VII, Fig. 9 shows a vomited mass, cast out by 
one of these birds, collected under trees close to the 
Honnali Travellers’ Bungalow, where the birds came to 
perch at various times during the day and night. Such a 
mass consists, almost exclusively, of pieces of the in- 
digestible skeletons of these grasshoppers. These birds 
were frequently observed feeding on the grasshoppers in 
the field, and the stomach of specimens collected revealed 
the presence of the insects in large numbers. Another 
bird observed feeding on the grasshopper is the smaller 
white scavenger vulture (Neophron ginginianus, Lath.). 
Other birds reported by a very intelligent raiyat as eating 
this insect are, the southern orackle (Hulabes religiosa, 
Linn.) and the cattle egret (Bubulcus coromandus, 
Bodd.). Another probable enemy is the common myna 
(Acridotheres tristis, Linn.), which is known to feed exten- 
sively on erasshopper Se 
Among the lizards found in the fields where the 
grasshoppers are prevalent, one species (Sitana ponti- 
certana, Cuv.) seems to feed upon the exposed eges to a 
certain extent. It has been found that, wherever ege- 
masses have been exposed and broken in the fields, the 
great majority of the eggs have disappeared and it is proba- 
ble that they have, for the most part, been eaten by this 
