PROCEEDIIfGS OF THE THIRD ENTOMOLOGICAl, MEETING 361 



also mention in this connection Tipiilid and Asilid maggots. Many 

 kinds of these grubs abound among the roots of wild and semi-cultivated' 

 grasses as well as of sugarcane, maize, jiuir, wheat, barley, oats and similar 

 crops grown in soils having a tolerable amount of moisture. When 

 a crop is in the soil for the full year hke sugarcane, or more or less per- 

 manently hke the semi- cultivated grasses mentioned later on, these 

 grubs increase to an enormous extent. As mentioned in the Imperial 

 Entomologist's Annual Report for 1917-18, among the roots of sugarcane 

 and semi-cultivated and wild Saccharum spp. we have so far found the 

 larvae of no less than sixteen different species of beetles including Anomala 

 bengalensis, A- biharensis (PI. 24), Adoretus cahginosiis (PI. 25), 

 Autoserica STp. (PI. 26, fig. 1), Myllocerus discolor, M. blandus, Monolefta 

 signata, Forrnicomus sp., Pachnepjionis spp., Alissonotum piceum, A 

 simile and Apogonia sp. To these we may add Anomala polita,. 

 Adoretus versutus, Myllocerus 1 1-pustulatus and Drasteriiis sp. 

 (C. S. 1211, Elaterida3 ; PI. 26. fig. 2). Of all these the giubs of 

 Anomala bengalensis have been definitely observed at Pusa as well as 

 at Dacca to gnaw new shoots of sugarcane under the soil surface from 

 the side much in the same manner as mole-crickets do and as somewhat 

 diagrammatically shown in Plate 27. The result is the " dead heart" 

 characteristic of borers. The other Melolonthid grubs are similar in 

 habit and are capable of damaging the shoots in the same way although 

 they have not yet been observed to do so. The amount of damage 

 however has so far been small. If the damaged shoots are examined 

 after some days, the gnawing by these grubs is easily confused with that 

 of mole-crickets. 



The Red Ants (Doryhis) have also been observed to gnaw the base 

 of sugarcane shoots in a few cases. 



Cheiving. One form of damage quite common in new sugarcane 

 shoots and also in young as well as somewhat advanced wheat, barley 

 and oat plants, is the chewing of the external layers of leafsheaths on one 

 side at a point just below or at the soil surface. Such plants invariably 

 show " dead heart " and in some cases may become dry. Although the 

 chewing does not extend into the core of the shoots, the part of the heart- 

 leaf near about the level of the point of damage becomes discoloured and 

 withers, causing "dead heart", and frequently the base of the heart- 

 leaf below the point of discoloration grows rather sideways. The shoot 

 however is permanently injured and ultimately dies. Five sugarcane 

 shoots showing " dead hearts " of this nature were submitted for exami- 

 nation to the Imperial Mycologist who reported Red Rot in two of them. 

 In wheat, barley and oats the chewing is frequently carried further 

 the entire base being converted into a fibrous mass and leading to the 



