20 



Indian Museum Notes. 



[ Vol III. 



In a sample of wheat {'Lriticuiu s.itionm) from Orissa, which was kepi 

 Trojrositid beetle in Indian under observation in the Indian Museum 

 wheat. during' the autumn of 1890, were found nu- 



merous small brown beetles (Trogosifcidse) , which seemed to be associated 

 with the wheat weevil in destroying- the grain. Specimens were sent to 

 Mons. Fairmaire, who kindly examined them and reported that they 



belonged to the species Trogosita maurif-anicu 

 Linn. Mons. Fairmaire adds that this insect 

 has long been known on account of the damage 

 done by its larvse in wheat granaries. The 

 imago is thought to be carnivorous in its habits 

 and feeds on the small Tinied moths which 

 are to be found in granaries. The insect is a 

 cosmopolitan one, having no doubt been dis- 

 tributed over the world with grain. The figure 

 shows the imago with much enlarged diagrams 

 ol antenna and hind leg. The natural size of 

 the insect is indicated by the hair line. 



The "-audilv coloured caterpillar which have been noticed as defoliat- 



ing garden plants in Calcutta and Delira, has 



Crocus caterpillar. ±1 . V „ i • ^l m j 



r recently been reared iu the Museum and 



found to belong to the Noctues moth Poly tela gloriom Fabr. When full 



fed the caterpillars tunnelled into the ground, where they formed for 



themselves typical Noctues cells of hardened earth. The first pupae were 



formed on 19th July, and the moths began to emerge on the 8th August. 



The caterpillar may he observed at work throughout the rainy season in 



Calcutta gardens where it does a good deal of damage to ornamental 



plants, and as the time spent by the chrysalis in the ground is short, it 



is probable that the insect passes through a number of generations in the 



year. 



Some hairy caterpillars of a Lasiocampid moth, not previously re- 

 Lasiocampid caterpillars in presented in the Indian Museum collection, 

 Bnrma. were received in November 1891 th rough 



Mr. De-Niceville from Rangoon, with the information that the insect 

 nad been very destructive. A letter, dated 5th December 1891, upon the 

 subject, was subsequently forwarded from Mr. Noble of the PI i ay re 

 Museum. In this letter the following report from the Northern Divi- 

 sion, Shwebo, Burma, was quoted, but the date of the appearance of 

 the insect was not mentioned :— 



-the rain still holds ofF, and the winds are exceedingly high, unprecedented! y so. 

 Fire people say— front these high winds blowing the people anticipate a heavy monsoon 



