No. 2.] Notes, 105 



straight hair all over the body, which made them exceedingly disgusting to look at. 

 In this form the grubs are known to us as a species of Shooa poka, i.e., ' spiny worms,' 

 which are rather dangerous to touch, as the sharp spines enter into the skin and set up 

 irritation and thereby cause inflammation. Prom the time the eggs were hatched, the 

 caterpillars took, on an average, three weeks to quiet down into chrysalides. The 

 average period of the ' pupa ' stage is much shorter than the larva stage, being about 

 ten to twelve days. The few specimens of chrysalides sent for identification are the 

 only ones I have now with me, and these are forwarded in the hope that they will 

 reach Mr. Cotes before undergoing their final metamorphosis." 



The specimens received are Bombyces moths belonging to the genus 

 Spilarctia, and probably to the species rubilinea of Moore — see Catalogue 

 of the Moths of India, Cotes and Swinhoe, No. 842. A report on a pest 

 known as Shooa poka in Basirhafc is given on page 69 of No. 1 of these 

 Notes ; the insect is reported as very injurious to jute, sometimes entirely 

 destroying extensive fields of this crop. 



With reference to the Sorghum-borer moth described on page 28 of 

 Indian Museum Notes, I, No. 1, Mr. G. Marshall 

 Woodrow, of Poona, wrote on 22nd January 3 889, 

 that in the Deccau one -half to three quarters of the crop on some fields 

 is destroyed, while other fields escape injury. He estimates that about 

 one per cent, of the total jowaree crops {Sorghum vulgare and Sorghum 

 saccharatum) is yearly lost through the ravages of this pest. 



The following is an extract from a letter, dated 3rd February 1889, 

 from the Director, Land Records and Agriculture, Assam :•— 



" I have forwarded to you by parcel post a small bottle, containing certain cater- 



. ' .„ pillars which cause much destruction to mustard crops in 



Mustard caterpillar. f . . r 



this province. 1 saw this morning an entire field com- 

 pletely ruined. The caterpillar is called Bhur by the Assamese, who appear to 

 know nothing about its historj-, and say they have never seen either the eggs or the 

 chrysalis. They allege that it only attacks mustard, and a few vegetables ; that it is 

 more prevalent when the crop springs up in cloudy weather in Aghan (November 15th 

 to December 15th) than when the young shoots appear in bright sunlight. The 

 Kacharis imagine it is deposited by rain. If the crop has grown a little, it is not 

 liable to be injured, as apparently the young caterpillars require tender leaves to feed 

 on. It is thus not uncommon to see one field quite ruined and the one next it, sown 

 earlier, in capital condition. The fact of the Bhur having done harm in one year 

 does not prevent the people from growing mustard in the same field the following year* 

 " I may add that the Bhur is often associated with a kind of green fly, exactly 

 like the Aphides of rose bushes. This green fly is called Mowa or Mewa by the 

 Assamese, and often appears alone. It clusters in large numbers on the stalk, and 

 appears to affect the flower. The Bhur eat the leaves, and probably the flowers too." 



The specimens were found to be the larvse of a small moth (probably 

 one of the Pyrales), which cannot be precisely determined without 

 specimens of the imago. It would be useful to obtain specimens of the 

 chrysalis, and also of the larva?, in other stages of development, together 

 with the moth, so that representatives of all the stages of the insect 

 may be preserved in the Indian Museum for future reference. 



