﻿54 
  PROCEEDINGS 
  OF 
  THE 
  FOUllTIt 
  ENTOitOLOGICAL 
  MEETING 
  

  

  Idiocerus 
  niveosparsus) 
  are 
  often 
  very 
  destructive 
  to 
  blossoms 
  early 
  in 
  

   the 
  year 
  from 
  January 
  to 
  March, 
  chiefly 
  in 
  the 
  important 
  mango 
  tracts 
  

   of 
  Salem, 
  Bangalore, 
  Chittur 
  and 
  Vizagapatam. 
  The 
  ' 
  Plant 
  Lice' 
  

   pest 
  on 
  tobacco 
  is 
  an 
  important 
  one 
  from 
  December 
  to 
  April 
  in 
  Guntur, 
  

   Coimbatore, 
  Madura, 
  Ramnad, 
  Tanjore 
  and 
  South 
  Kanara 
  ; 
  the 
  leaf 
  

   caterpillar 
  and 
  stem-borer 
  are 
  often 
  reported 
  from 
  the 
  ' 
  Lankas 
  ' 
  in 
  

   Godavari 
  during 
  the 
  cold 
  weather. 
  The 
  groundnut 
  leaf 
  miner 
  " 
  Siirul 
  

   pu<)hi 
  " 
  {Stomopteryx 
  nerteria) 
  causes 
  appreciable 
  damage 
  to 
  the 
  ground 
  

   nut 
  crop, 
  especially 
  when 
  the 
  rain-fed 
  crop 
  is 
  on 
  the 
  ground 
  from 
  Septem- 
  

   ber 
  to 
  November 
  in 
  the 
  two 
  Arcots 
  and 
  Trichinopoly. 
  The 
  cotton 
  

   pests 
  are 
  chiefly 
  noted 
  in 
  the 
  Coimbatore 
  and 
  Tinnevelly 
  tracts 
  during 
  

   the 
  cotton 
  season 
  from 
  October 
  to 
  May. 
  The 
  ear-head 
  bug 
  of 
  cholam 
  

   {Calocoris 
  angustatus) 
  is 
  special 
  to 
  the 
  (*oimbatore 
  and 
  Bellar}'- 
  districts 
  

   during 
  June-July 
  and 
  sometimes 
  in 
  the 
  cold 
  weather 
  also. 
  The 
  Slug 
  

   caterpillar 
  (Parasa 
  lepida) 
  which 
  appears 
  on 
  a 
  variety 
  of 
  plants 
  lil{;e 
  castor, 
  

   mango, 
  palms, 
  etc., 
  is 
  chiefly 
  noted 
  during 
  the 
  months 
  from 
  October 
  to 
  

   January 
  and 
  in 
  certain 
  years 
  causes 
  serious 
  damage. 
  I 
  do 
  not 
  think 
  any 
  

   special 
  remarks 
  are 
  necessary 
  for 
  the 
  other 
  insects 
  and 
  their 
  distribution 
  

   may 
  be 
  gathered 
  from 
  the 
  diagram 
  itself. 
  

  

  Coming 
  to 
  the 
  second 
  group 
  of 
  pests 
  which, 
  as 
  I 
  said 
  before, 
  includes 
  

   insects 
  of 
  minor 
  importance 
  occasionally 
  found 
  in 
  small 
  numbers, 
  but 
  

   which 
  appear 
  as 
  sporadic 
  local 
  pests 
  only 
  in 
  certain 
  years, 
  I 
  have 
  added 
  

   another 
  diagram". 
  Such 
  insects 
  are 
  few 
  in 
  number 
  and 
  during 
  normal 
  

   seasons 
  they 
  are 
  practically 
  of 
  no 
  importance 
  at 
  all. 
  On 
  our 
  knowledge 
  

   and 
  experience 
  of 
  insect 
  pests 
  in 
  South 
  India, 
  about 
  ten 
  insects 
  may 
  be 
  

   brought 
  under 
  this 
  head 
  as 
  displaying 
  the 
  remarkable 
  habit 
  of 
  abnor- 
  

   mally 
  multiplying 
  and 
  appearing 
  suddenly 
  only 
  in 
  certain 
  years. 
  The 
  

   climbing 
  cut- 
  worm 
  of 
  paddy 
  {Cirphis 
  albistigma) 
  may 
  be 
  taken 
  as 
  a 
  good 
  

   example. 
  During 
  some 
  years 
  when 
  the 
  rainfall 
  is 
  unusually 
  heavy 
  and 
  

   the 
  fields 
  are 
  flooded 
  during 
  the 
  North-east 
  monsoon 
  months 
  on 
  the 
  

   Coromandel 
  Coast, 
  this 
  pest 
  begins 
  to 
  appear 
  and 
  often 
  assumes 
  serious 
  

   proportions 
  during 
  January-February, 
  thousands 
  of 
  caterpillars 
  being 
  

   found 
  cutting 
  down 
  the 
  ripening 
  ear-heads. 
  For 
  three 
  or 
  four 
  years 
  in 
  

   succession 
  from 
  1912 
  there 
  was 
  the 
  locust 
  plague 
  in 
  the 
  Ceded 
  districts 
  

   during 
  the 
  months 
  August-November 
  caused 
  by 
  the 
  Deccan 
  grasshopper 
  

   {Colemania 
  sphenarioides) 
  attacking 
  all 
  dry 
  cereals 
  of 
  the 
  tract. 
  Fortu- 
  

   nately, 
  for 
  the 
  past 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  years, 
  it 
  has 
  not 
  been 
  reported 
  serious. 
  

   Of 
  the 
  others, 
  the 
  chief 
  are 
  the 
  black 
  hairy 
  caterpillar 
  {Amsacta 
  lactinea) 
  

   on 
  ragi 
  and 
  cholam 
  in 
  Coimbatore 
  and 
  Salem 
  during 
  August-September, 
  

   the 
  Surface 
  weevil 
  {Atadogaster 
  finitimus) 
  found 
  on 
  young 
  cotton 
  in 
  

   Tinnevelly 
  during 
  November, 
  Blister 
  beetles 
  of 
  sorts 
  (Lyfta, 
  Epimufa, 
  

   spp.) 
  attacking 
  cumhu, 
  cholam, 
  etc., 
  in 
  October-November, 
  the 
  Hawk 
  

  

  