502 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE THIRD ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 



Mr. Fletcher. 

 Mi. Ramiao. 



Mr. Fletcher. 

 Mr. Jhaveri. 

 Mr. Fletcher. 

 Mr. Ramrao. 



I found it in Poena doing damage to the tur flowers which drop down 

 with the grubs in them. The beetle wanders in unopened flowers, punc- 

 tures them and lays eggs inside. The grubs eat the pollen and stigma, 

 and, before the ovary develops, the flower falls off. 



What is the proportion of damage done ? 



A very large number of flowers is destroyed. It is not possible to 

 state the exact amount of damage done. A very large number of weevils 

 is found if the plant is shaken ; they drop to the ground and afterwards 

 climb up again. 



We have not found this weevil at Pusa hitherto. 



It is also found in Gujarat and was a very serious pest last year. 



Are any control measures practised ? 

 -The only method to apply is the collection of the beetles ; but it is 

 difiicult to check them under field conditions. 



Rhynchcenus mangijerce, Mshll. 

 S. Ind. Ins., p. 334, f. 192 ; Proc. Second Entl. Meeting, p. 220. 

 Mr. Fletcher. This species occurs as far north as Pusa, where it is not common, but 



in Southern India it is sometimes a bad pest of mango, whose tender 

 leaves are damaged by the mining of the larvae. It has been noted at 

 Pusa, Peddavadlapudi (Guntur), Coimbatore, and in Mysore, and is 

 probably widely distributed, although overlooked on account of its 

 small size. 

 Mr. Kunhi Kannan. BhyncJicBnus nmngiferce is bad in Mysore and we have not done any- 

 thing for it. 

 Mr. Ghosh. We bred it here. We do not find it every year and, when it does 



occur, it is found only in small numbers. 



Probably Pusa is at the extreme northern hmit of its distribution 

 and the conditions here do not suit it very well, and so it does not 

 do much damage. 



The adults feed gregariously on the leaves in Mysore, and the leaves 



an appearance like tissue-paper. 

 If you get them in numbers together like that, you might be able to 

 control them. 



Mr. Fletcher. 



Mr. Kunhi Kannan. 



Penipheres affinis, Fst. 



S. Ind. Ins., p. 339, ff. 198, 199 ; Proc. Second Entl. Meeting, pp. 



120, 125, 126, 274. 



This species has been reared at Pusa fi'om larvae in stems of cotton, 



bkindi, Cannabis [? Hibiscus cannabinus] and Triumjetta sp. It is also 



common in cotton and gogu at Coimbatore and has been recorded from 



