110 Indian Economic Entomology. [Vol. X» 



connection with the investigation of the economic insects of India which 

 has heen undertaken hy the Trustees of the Indian Museum. 



" (2). Bobhadala. It is a milder attack. No insect is found. The leaf is not 

 altogether deprived of its greenish tint, but some parts of the leaf in small patches 

 become pale yellow and gradually dry up. This form of attack is found when the 

 plants are three or four months old. By this the outturn is not altogether lost, as in 

 the preceding case ; but it is reduced to one half." 



No insects could be found on the leaf forwarded as attacked by this 

 pest. 



Pubh S c S Garaen EanSal ° re Mr ' J ' Cam eron writes (16th January 1889) :— 



" We have been trying experiments in the cultivation of mahogany, and I observed 

 some weeks ago that the leaves of our young trees were much eaten by this ineect. In 

 fact some score of the plants were quite denuded of foliage." 



The insects forwarded were found to be the larvse of a species of 

 Bombyces moths belonging to the family Limacodid&. Specimens of 

 the moth are necessary for the precise determination of this insect. 



Mr. Cameron adds — 



" We have not been troubled this season by the Lemon Tree Pest (Papilio eritho- 

 nius), nor by the Pyrales moth, which committed such havoc to our lawns in November 

 1887." 



The local report, dated 9th April 1889, received through the Director 



~, of Agriculture, Bengal, from the Collector of 



Cbamparan pests. & J ° * 



Champaran, is as follows : — 



" Of the gentlemen consulted on the subject, I have received replies from a few 

 leading indigo-planters, and have thus been able to collect the following information. 



" There are insects of various descriptions which cause damage to crops at various 

 stages of growth, but the following are known to be the most injurious and to appear 

 more frequently than others. 



" 1. Bherooahs. — A kind of beetle chiefly found in high light lands, travelling 

 along just underneath the surface of the ground and cutting the roots of the crops. 

 A good ploughing in April and May, or hoeing, is of benefit in destroying them (one 

 cannot do that, however, with indigo, and it accordingly suffers greatly). 



" 2. Grasshoppers. — These are very destructive to any crop sown after the weather 

 gets warm, say in April. Indigo then sown is sometimes completely cleared off. 

 China (Panicum frumentaceum, small millet ? ), a native crop, also suffers, as does 

 Moong {Phaseolus mungo, pulse ? ), aud paddy. 



" 3. Caterpillars. — These sometimes come in swarms and demolish all the leaves 

 of the indigo crop. Sometimes, when the plant is young and the nights are cold in 

 March, the appearance of caterpillars is marked by a kind of blight first coming, and 

 forming a web which seems to stick the leaves together and the caterpillar then forms. 

 Again, when the plant is fully ripe aud fit for cutting, they appear and do much 

 damage by clearing off the leaves wholesale. 



" 4. Locusts might be added ; only fortunately their visits are rare. 



' 5. A species of beetle, red and yellow, with black spots, is most destructive to 

 flowers ; it appears chiefly to attack the H vbiscus, but it is also partial to roses and 

 other flowers. 



