CHAPTER IX. 



PESTS OF RICE AND WHEAT. 



THE area occupied by these crops is so large that it has not been possible 

 to study adequately their pests in detail. The four chief insects 

 that attack rice and one that attacks wheat are described. There are 

 in addition many insects which appear occasionally, especially those 

 caterpillars which attack rice. In general these are not formidable nor 

 sufficiently abundant to make any impression on the very large area of 

 this crop. The method recommended for dealing with the Rice Grasshop- 

 per should in many cases give good results against these Rice Caterpillars. 



Wheat appears to suffer from few pests ; the stem-borer is a specific 

 pest of wheat, cane, etc. The wheat aphis is a serious pest dealt with 

 under the heading "Green Fly and Plant Lice" (page 237). Young 

 wheat suffers from ground insects as do other young rabi crops. Many 

 pests of wheat probably remain to be discovered and any extension of the 

 area under this crop to fresh districts will probably produce new pests, 



The Rice Hispa ,* 



A small blue-black beetle, covered with spines, which feeds upon 



the leaves of rice; an infested field _, 



becomes yellow, the leaves dying and 

 the plants withering. This pest is 

 a familiar one to cultivators of 

 Bengal and Assam, known by many 

 vernacular names. The small flattened 

 beetle is easy to recognise and the 

 peculiar effects of the attack are fairly 

 characteristic. 



Life History. The eggs are laid 

 singly, each egg being inserted in 

 the tissue of the leaf, almost exposed 

 and easily visible. The egg is oval, 

 about one-thirtieth of an inch long, 

 and when in the leaf is detected by the 

 white spot and the bulge in the slit 

 epidermis. It is laid in the upper part 

 of the leaf, not far from the point. The 



Fia. 131. 

 The Sice Hispa. (Magnified seven times.) 



1 41. Hfopa anescens, Baly. (Chrysomelidae.) 



