14<8 



PESTS OF LEGUMINOUS CBOPS, 



leaf-minor l of groundnut in South India and Ceylon is a pest which becomes 

 Q importance only when the climatic conditions are abnormal and favour it. 



Pests of Satin Hemp. 



The Sann hemp (Grotalaria juncea) is very commonly attacked by 

 three species of hairy caterpillars which come 

 in large numbers and eat the leaves. These 

 caterpillars are much alike with slender bodies 

 covered in short hairs, the usual colour being 

 black or brown with yellow or white (fig. 168). 

 The life history is much the same in the three 

 species; the moth lays a mass of small white 

 eggs in clusters on the lower side of the 

 leaves ; these hatch in three or four days to 

 small dark caterpillars which feed voraciously 

 on the leaves. They rapidly grow larger and 

 in a fortnight are full grown, when they 

 bury themselves in the soil with a light 

 cocoon round them in order to pupate. The 

 moth emerges after four to six days. The 

 moths are characteristic ; all are bright 

 coloured and they can be seen in the fields 

 clinging to plants or fluttering about in the 

 daytime. The commonest species 2 is white, 



speckled with red 

 and black ( figs. 

 166-67); another 3 

 is a brilliant 

 orange with 

 black speckles ; 

 the third * has 

 the fore-wings a 

 dull red with 

 black speckles 

 edged with gold, 

 the hind-wing 

 red with black 

 spots. 



FIG. 166. 

 The Red Spotted 



Ermine Moth. 



(Magnified two and a 



half times.) 



FIG. 167. 



The Red Spotted Ermine Moth. 

 (Magnified two and a half times.) 



1 273. Anacampsis nerieria. Meyr. (Tineidse.) 



2 137. Utetheisa pulchella. L. (Hypsidse.) 



8 56. Argina cribraria. Cl. (Hypsidse.) 



4 55. Argina syringa, Cr. (Hypsidse.) 



