WHITE BORER. 



181 



The egg cluster thus has a very characteristic appearance and can be 

 readily found. 



Fm. 152. 



White Sorer. Larva, Male and Female Pupa. 

 Moth, male above. 



Papa in the cane. 



The larvae that hatch are small spiny insects not unlike the moth- 

 borer. They behave in much the same way, eating down into the 

 rolled-up leaves of the cane shoot. They pierce the rolled-up leaves, which 

 have a characteristic appearance when they open, the leaves being 

 spotted with small holes. Eventually they bore into the growing point 

 and straight down the solid part of the shoot. 



In old canes the larva eats down the centre of the young rolled- 

 up leaves above the growing point till it reaches the latter. The grow- 

 ing point is destroyed and the larva continues eating through the soft 

 tissue, travelling downwards. "When it becomes fully fed, it bores to 

 the outside, reaching first the rind of the cane, then perforating the 

 sheathing leaves. The leaf on the outside is not eaten away but a neat 

 round disc is cut and left blocking the tunnel. The tunnel is then webbed 

 with silk, and if there is a space between the rind of the cane and the 

 outer leaf, this is bridged by a silken tube. 



The pupa retires into the tunnel and prepares cross partitions as it 

 goes, webbing the tunnel across with partitions. It then settles down, 

 the skin is cast and pushed behind it, and the pupa lies head downwards 

 in tjie tunnel. 



