PROCEEDINGS OF THE THIRD ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 435 



nearly three million acres of rice. If we allow only 10 per cent, of the 

 area being affected, we would still have 300,000 acres to deal with." 



The total area under rice in the Chhattisgarh Division of the Central 

 Provinces is 3,315,484 acres. Calculating a loss of six annas in the rupee 

 for the badly infested sub-divisions during 1914, the total loss comes to 

 14 and a half million rupees on the basis of 548 lb. cleaned rice per acre 

 a.t Rs. 3-1-0, the wholesale price. This enormous loss represents* the 

 destructiveness of the hoppers for one season only, and it is unthinkable 

 what the loss would have been, had the pests overrun the paddy crop for 

 a series of years. This also brings into prominence the case of an 

 insect which is not heard of as a pest in the beginning, suddenly it springs 

 into prominence, does considerable damage for a series of years and 

 again sinks into insignificance. The causes which operated specifically 

 in this instance are not well understood up to the present, and the details 

 incorporated regarding the life-history, destructiveness, alternative 

 foodplants, parasites, predators, and preventive and remedial measure, 

 elsewhere represent two years' work against the hoppers. But as far as 

 is known the parasites and predators were not so abundant during the 

 seasons when the hoppers were specially abundant, as to warrant the 

 conclusion that they were materially effectual in the destruction and 

 subsequent disappearance of the pests. It may be possible that in 

 -subsequent years 1916-18 they have appeared in numbers just at the time 

 •when the hoppers were developing and thus circumvented their increase. 

 But in the absence of definite observations or data to substantiate the 

 above conclusion, nothing definite could be put forward to explain 

 satisfactorily the non-appearance of the pests during the years 1916-17 

 and 1918. That the climatic conditions play no mean part in circum- 

 venting or diminishing the numbers of pests requires no explanation, 

 but a critical study of the meteorological data for the years during which 

 the pests overran the paddy crop and damaged it considerably and the 

 subsequent years when they did not appear in numbers does not yield 

 sufficiently convincing facts to explain the abnormal appearance of the 

 pests. 



In 1915 the hoppers appeared late and in small numbers and in 

 consequence no serious damage was done. These were preceded by 

 an unexpected outbreak of Hieroglyphus banian, and the three Delphacid 

 leaf-hoppers. Sogata pusana, Dist., Sogata distincta, Dist., and Sogata 

 fallescens, Dist. These latter were mistaken for the leaf-hoppers and the 

 measures recommended in the previous year against N. bipunctatus and 

 N. apicalis were promptly put in operation, with the result that no 

 tangible results were achieved. It was no wonder that the recommenda- 

 tions should have borne no fruit as the two pests differ profoundly in 



