100 



Indian Mvseiim Notes. 



[ Yol. III. 



moths on tlie 5tb of Mav. In the case of one at lenst of the specimens, 



the eaterpilhiv, when fall fed, seems to have 

 ilc&erted tlie fruit and spun itself up into a 

 very slight silken cocoon upon the side of 

 the cage, and this is likely to he the general 

 habit of the insect, though it would be as 

 well to observe further specimens before con- 

 cluding that the habit is an invariable one. 

 The moth proves to be indentical with some 



specimens in the Museum collection, which have been determined by 

 Colonel Swinhae as Lencinodes orbonalis Gi.en. (Pyrales). This species has 

 been recorded as occurring in all parts of Northern India; also in 

 Burma, Ceylon, the Andaman Islands, Java, and South Africa. 



Ortlioptera in Slialipur. 



In July 1891 some Orthopterous insects were forwarded to the 

 Muspum by the Deputy Commissioner of 

 the Sliahpur District, Punjab. They were 

 of two kinds known respectively as Toka and Tiriddn. Both species 

 were said to be exceptionally numerous in Shahpur, where they hnd 

 done considerable damage to the 3"0ung summer crops. The Toka 

 insect proved to be a cricket allied to the genus Qryllodes, but hiiherto 

 unnamed in the Museum collection. It has, therefore, been sent to Eurof^e 

 for identilneation. According to the reports furnished by the district 

 officers^jthis insect sometimes does much damage to you n(,»'bajra(^eH«/5?/^?/-w 

 typJioideum)^ jowar {Sorglium vulgare), cotton {Gossi/piiim. herhacenm) 

 and other crops, both in !Shahpni-and also in Hissar where it is known by 

 the same name. It appears in the latter part of April. During the day 

 time it generally lies hidden in the ground, but in the cool of the evening 

 it comes out and feeds ujion the young plants, hut does little damage 

 after the crop is four or five inches in height. It disappeais in the hitter 

 part of the rainy sea^jon. With regard to the life history of crickets oP 

 this kind little has yet been observed in India, but in the case of sillied 

 species in the United States, according to Comstock {Introduction to 

 Entomology) the eggs are usually laid in the ground in autumn. They 

 hatch in the following spring, and the insects mostly die off on the ap- 

 proach of winter. With regard to remedies, too little is yet known to 

 enable any very definite treatment to be recommenled, but breaking up 

 the ground in the cold weather would seem likely to be useful, as it 

 would expose the eggs, both to their natural enemies the birds, and also 

 to the extremes of temperature, which would probably be unfavourable to 

 hatching. The Tb'idda insect proves to be an Acridid grasshopper of the 

 genus Chroiogomis, which has been referred to on several occasions in these 



