No. 4. ] Locusts. 103 



the only clue which we possess lies in the specimens preserved in the 

 collections of the Central Museum, Madras. From this museum a set of 

 specimens, which are supposed torepresent the Madras locust of 1878, 

 have been kindly furnished by Mr. Edgar Thurston. They have been 

 identified by Dr, Henri de Saussure and prove to comprise no less than 

 six very distinct species, which are as follows : (1) Acridiam arugino- 

 sum, Burm., represented by five or six specimens, which vary a good deal 

 in the arrangement of the wing markings, (2) Acridium melanocome, 

 Serv., var., (3) Tryxalis turrit a, Linn., (4) Mecopoda sp., (5) Eupre* 

 pocnemis sp., represented in each case by one or at most two specimens, 

 (6) a specimen, in a very poor state of preservation, which belongs either 

 to the species Pachytylus migratorius or to Pacliytylus cinerascens. 



In July 1890 locusts were noticed in the Ganjam collectorate, the 

 following being the Collector's report to the Revenue Board, Madras, on 

 the subject : — ■ 



" I have the honour to inform you that on the 24th instant I visited Purashotta- 

 pur in order to see whether anything could be done to destroy the locusts reported to 

 be doing so much mischief there. 



"I had two large * hag nets' made of bamboo matting, 15 feet long; and hoped 

 that I might have been able to do something with them ; but am sorry to say that 

 all attempts ended in failure. I also attempted to drive the insects into trenches, but 

 without success. The reason for the failure is, that the insects, which are of four or five 

 different kinds, succeed in evading the net or the drive, the large ones by flying away 

 when approached, the smaller ones by dropping to the ground and clinging there, so 

 that nothing would remove them which would not at the same time root out alto- 

 gether the crop. The number of large brown insects which seem to be really locusts 

 is comparatively small, the great bulk are small brown and green grass-hoppers, which 

 are in myriads. A great deal of damage has undoubtedly been done. The pest extends 

 over about 10 square miles, chiefly in the Pubbakhandam mutah of the Berhampore 

 taluk. Of one hundred and four villages (including Agraharams and Mokhasas) in 

 the mutah, fifty-five are more or less affected and ten have suffered seriously. 



'* All the villages most affected are near the Dalibhillo Tampara, the embank- 

 ment of which breached in the floods of last year and has not yet been repaired, in 

 consequence of which a large expanse of ground, usually under water, has been lying 

 dry. The ryots report that the insects first made their appearance in the vicinity of 

 the Tampara, and I think it probable that they were brought out in unusual quan- 

 tities owing to the unusual extent of dry ground there. Steps are being takenlnow to 

 repair the embankment, and I trust that next year the Tampara will not afford so 

 convenient a breeding ground, and that the insects will either not re-appear or do so in 

 diminished numbers." 



Specimens were forwarded to the Indian Museum and were found to 

 consist of (1) ten adults and eight larvse of Pachi/ti/lus cinerascens 1 , (2) 



1 These specimens were identified by Dr. Henri de Saussure ; the species is so closely 

 allied to Pachytylus migratorius, which is the common migratory locust of Central 

 Europe, that it is very doubtful as to whether the two forms are separable. Koppen indeed 

 {vide Zool. Record, 1872, page 398) considers that P. cinerascens is only a variety of 



