mOCEEDlNGS OF THE THIRD ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 881 



care and delicate handling although they are not affected very much by a 

 little dryness or moistness of conditions in which they are kept. 



External Parasi'es on other animals, such as the lice and bugs found 

 on vertebrate and the dipterous parasites of birds and bats, require to 

 be reared on their special hosts as a rule. Fleas, however, do not imdergo 

 their transformations on their hosts and are easily reared under dry 

 .conditions. 



Internal Parasites of vertebrates, such as (Estrids, when full-fed 

 larvae are obtained on expulsion from their hosts, can be reared easily 

 if they are kept in moist earth and not allowed to dry up. The same 

 procedure is followed with Tachinid parasites of insects. 



When internal parasites emerge from eggs, larvae or pupae which 

 tappen to be under rearing in the glass jars, they are easily observed 

 and collected. When perforated covers are used for the jars in which 

 minute parasites are expected the wire gauze of the covers should either 

 be very fine or be protected with silk gauze or muslin. 



When it is intended to rear out parasites especially we use the cage 

 •shown in PI. 13-5, fig. 2. It is made of wood. Parasites appear in the 

 tubes when they can be collected. The door is on the end opposite to 

 that in which tubes are fitted. Another pattern is the one shown in 

 figure 3 and this kind of cage has been largely used for the introduction of 

 the bollworm parasite in the Punjab. It is made of wood and has two 

 ■covers, one of wire gauze and the other of glass or wood. The glass 

 remains above the wire gauze. When parasites come up through the 

 wire gauze they are visible through the glass. When too much green 

 stuff is placed inside the box, a quantity of moisture collects under the 

 glass. The parasites are caught in the drops of moisture and are 

 drowned. Without the glass cover the box works fairly well when it is 

 intended to let out the parasites, a wooden cover being used in this case. 

 The leaf-eaters form the most numerous group of those insects which 

 feed upon living plants. Some of them feed openly on leaves, biting 

 them from the top or margin, or gnawing holes in their surface. It is 

 unnecessary to quote examples as this form of feeding is quite common. 

 Some roll individual leaves and feed while living inside the rolled leaves, 

 for instance, Sylepta on cotton, Eublemma on brinjal and Margarodes 

 (Glyphodes) indica on cucurbitaceous plants. There are others which 

 bind several leaves together and feed similarly whUe living inside them, 

 for instance, Chapra mathias on rice, Phycita infusella on cotton and 

 Eucosma critica on Cajanus indicus. Among the leaf-eaters we can 

 include those which nibble the leaf surface like the Efilaclina grubs. 

 All these require a supply of fresh leaves. The ideal condition woidd be 

 to keep them on living plants growing in soil and covered witli cage : or 



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