158 



PESTS OP MISCELLANEOUS FIELD CBOPS. 



omnivorous Gram Caterpillar (page 144). This form of attack may be 

 watched for and the caterpillars picked on 3 if seed is required, as these 

 insects may soon clear a plant of the whole of its seed. 



Castor Pests. 



Castor is in general a healthy plant with few pests. Caterpillars 

 are fond of it and sometimes 

 come in vast numbers, clear- 

 ing the plants of leaves in 

 a very short time. Three 

 species are represented, being FIG. 178. 



totally distinct and easily The Smooth Castor Caterpillar. 



recognised. (Magnified twice.) 



The Smooth Castor Caterpillar is a long slender caterpillar of a 

 dark colour, with longitudinal stripes of red and white ; it has the usual 

 five pairs of prolegs, the first being reduced in size ; at the hind end 

 there is a small blunt paired process on the dorsal surface. The cater- 

 pillar walks with a semi-looping motion. This caterpillar pupates 

 in a fold of the leaf in a light cocoon. The life history is short, 

 occupying about five weeks, and there are several broods in the year. 

 The moth 1 is figured here ; it is common throughout India, and the 

 caterpillars often appear in hordes, strip the plants and disappear. 

 The Hairy Caterpillar also feeds upon the leaves and is found in clusters 

 at the base of the stem from whence it climbs up the plant to feed. The 

 full grown insect is over two inches long, clothed in dense hair and look- 

 ing like a piece of blanket. This caterpillar is not so abundant as the 



former species and has other food- 

 plants. It pupates in a cocoon 

 formed of the hairs of the larva, 

 the moths 2 that emerge being 

 green or yellow, the male much 

 smaller than the female. The Spiny 

 Castor Caterpillar is a green cater- 

 pillar, the body covered with 

 branched spines, the head with 

 two long processes bearing spines. 



Moth of Smooth Castor Caterpillar showing It feeds upon the leaves of the 

 lover surf ace of vinos. ^^ ^ pupateg by hanging 



itself from the leaf; the pupa is greyish brown, with a flat hood-like 



1 52. Ophiusa melicerte. Dr. (NoctuicUe.) 



2 205. Tralala vishnu, Lef. 



FIG. 179. 



