448 PKOCEEDIKGS Of IHE THIHD ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 



(Ji) Besides the trap-crops and the introduction of parasites, trial 

 of meclianical measures which may be effective in reducing 

 the affection of cotton by Bollworms. 



(k^ The relative immunity of varieties of cotton recommended for 

 adoption in the Provinces. 



(a) The Life-history of the Bollworms. 



The two species of Earias, E. fahia and E. insulana, occur at Pusa 

 along with Plalyedra gossypiella and Earias' cupreoviri(hs (chromataria), 

 Avhich last has not hitherto been found in cotton, although it is found in 

 Hibiscus ahelmoschus along with the two other species of Earias. In 

 Pusa the number of Earias fabia is much larger than Earias insulana, 

 which is found more in Hibiscus abehhoschus and Abutilon indicum. 

 The adults are active at dusk and night and have been especially noticed 

 to flit in numbers about the fields at dusk. During the daytime they 

 remain in hiding below plants, under fallen leaves or other weeds in the 

 fields. The adults are attracted to strong light and are occasionally 

 found to come to light within houses. But the number so attracted is 

 not large and experiments made to attract them to light have not been 

 successful. It is possible that the light put up was not sufficiently 

 strong to attract them. What we used was the ordinary hurricane 

 lamp (Junior Dietz) hung over a pan containing water with a film of 

 kerosine. Occasionally an acetylene (Meduse) lamp-trap has also been 

 used, but no moths were trapped in it. ' 



The adult female becomes active after dusk and lays eggs on the 

 flowers and leaf-buds, tender top-leaves, capsules and flowers and their 

 bracts. The eggs have not been seen laid on old toughened or seared 

 leaves. At times the eggs are seen laid in the axils of leaves but this is 

 rare. The larva on hatching moves about and bores into the buds, 

 bolls or the top-shoots. At Pusa the larvae as well as the adults are 

 present throughout the year and, practically speaking, there is no hiber- 

 nation, although activity is considerably restricted during the winter 

 months — December, January dnd the first half of February. When 

 the temperature rises the moths begin laying eggs either on cotton, if 

 any is available, or on other malvaceous food-plants available in the 

 locality. The larva bores into the shoots, flowers and buds and the 

 characteristic appearance of the withered shoots is very prominent. 

 In Bihar as well as in the United Provinces, the winter vegetables are off 

 the ground arid are generally replaced with Hibiscus escidentus, gourds, 

 etc. The bollworm moths have, therefore, no difficulty in finding 

 their alternative food-plant, hhindi, and breeding in this. In Sind they 



