14-6 



PESTS OV LFXJUMINOUS CROPS. 



tur (Gajanm indicui), the fruits of tomato and the seeds of bajra 

 (Pennisetum typhoideum} and sunflower (tteUanthus sp.). 



FIG. 164. 



Pupa and Moth of Or am Caterpillar. (Magnified tivice,} 



The leaves of the indigenous indigo (Jndigofera8umatrana) y <A lucerne 

 (Medicago sativa), of maize and the wild dhatura are its food-plants at 

 different seasons of the year ; it is believed to be the caterpillar attack- 

 ing the ganja plant (Gannabis sativa), and there are many records of 

 rather doubtful food-plants, in Indian Museum Notes. The above is 

 only a partial list of its food-plants, the moth having been actually 

 reared from caterpillars found feeding on each of these plants. 



With this great list of food plants, the moth presumably finds little 

 difficulty in laying eggs, and the pest can thus live at all seasons of the 

 year. In America the insect attacks the bolls of cotton, a habit never 

 recorded against it in India. Its attacks on gram, on opium and perhaps 

 on ganja are important on the whole, though perhaps rare. The cater- 

 pillars are noticeable for their colour variations, and it is impossible to 

 describe them. Green is the basis of the colouring with brown stripes ; 

 or brown almost obscures the greens or blends to form a variety of 

 neutral tints. Another feature is their carnivorous habits ; they devour 

 one another readily when shut up together or when food is scarce, and 

 the artist has attempted to depict this (fig. 163). They are also note- 

 worthy for their feeding habits. As a rule they feed on pods or capsules, 

 stretching in from outside to reach the seeds and never going inside 



