PEOCEEDINGS OF THE THIRD ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 687 



rice-growing fields, whether high or low. The highlands having only a 

 few inches of water for a comparatively short period, the conditions are 

 unfavourable to the crabs and their natural enemies have better chances. 

 Therefore in such lands only a small number of crabs appear. While 

 in low lands, having deep water for the greater part of the year, the 

 conditions are altered both for the crabs and their natural enemies. 

 Therefore a large number of crabs are found in such lands. Of course 

 much will depend on the habits of particular species. 



2. In North Bihar crabs cannot be considered a pest of rice in the 

 strict sense of the term. In high lands no damage is reported to be 

 done to the crop itself, although a form of indirect harm to it may be 

 caused by the burrowing of holes in the bimds through which the water 

 escapes from the fields. In low submerged lands wliich afford favour- 

 able conditions the number of crabs present is usually large and owing 

 to their habit of cutting across thin long substances some plants may 

 be cut by them. In such lands therefore it would be a gain if some 

 means could be adopted to diminish their number every year as a 

 matter of routine. For this purpose collection by hand is the only 

 feasible and the cheapest method. 



Has anyone got any information about the natural enemies of crabs ? Mr. Fletcher. 



Crows attack crabs. Mr. Inglia, 



I do not know how far you believe the story about the jackal catching Mr. Fletcher. 

 crabs by means of thrusting its tail into the crab's hole but there is 

 rather a curious confirmation of it, in the case of the fox, given by 

 Olaus Magnus, a Scandinavian Bishop who lived in the sixteenth century. 

 He says : — " Sometimes fearing the multitude of wasps, he counter- 

 feits and hides himself, his tail hanging out : and when he sees that 

 they are all busy, and entangled in his thick tail, he comes forth, and 

 rubs them against a stone or tree, and kills them and eats them. The 

 same trick, almost, he useth, when he lyes in wait for crabs and small 

 fish, running about the bank, and he lets down his tail into the water, 

 they admire at it, and run to it, and are taken in his fur, and pull'd 

 out." In this old woodcut [exhibited] you see a fox with his tail in the 

 water and a number of cr ay-fish " admiring at it," to use Olaus Magnus' 

 words. So it seems quite possible that the jackal actually does catch 

 crabs in this way. 



The same tale is current in South India and also in Bombay. 



^ ,x 11 11 111- -. Mr. Ramkrisca 



In Mysore the crabs are usually caught by hanging a rope down Ayyar. 



into the water and, when the crabs get hold of it, they are pulled up. Mr. Kunhi 



But, as they let go their hold when near the surface, a hand-net is used '^^^^^^' 



to net them. 



VOL. II s 



