JJo, 5,] Miscellaneous Notes. 77 



insects passed over Chhiodwara on 24th May. They appeared to be 

 coming' from the north-east, and goings towards the south-west. 

 They were reported at Lalbarra in the Balaghat District on the 25th 

 May, and were then said to have come from the Seoni District. They 

 were seen at Aimori in the Chanda District on the 29th May, and are 

 referred to as again passing over Chhindwara on the 30th May. No special 

 damage was reported, so the flights were probably small ones. No speci- 

 mens were forwarded, so the identity of the insect could not be ascer- 

 tained. 



From specimens forwarded by the Commissioner of the Patna 



Division in August 1892 the identity of 



Schizodactvlus monstruosus, ,\ • ] i. o i ■ i j 7 j. n 



T). y the cricket be hizodacty L%s monstruosus^ Drury, 



as determined in the Indian Museum collec- 

 tion, with the insect known as Bherwa in the Indigo planting districts, 

 has at last been definitely ascertained. According to the local reports 

 the insect occasions much damage to young crops and especially to 

 indigo by biting through the roots. The only remedy attempted seems 

 to be that of flooding the crop and even this is said to be only temporari- 

 ly effective. 



Damage to young juar crops by insects was reported in July 1892 by 



the Deputy Commissioner, Upper Sind 

 Gryllodes melanocephalus, -i? i- o • j? j^i • l^ s 



ggj-v^; ^ r rentier, bpecimens or the insect were tor- 



warded through the Director of Land Records 

 and Agriculture, Bombay. They prove to belong to the species Gryllodes 

 melanocephalus, Serv,, as determined in the Indian Museum collec- 

 tion. 



Through the Director of Laud Records and Agriculture, Assam, were 



Cricket injurious to Tea. f^^'^^fded to the Museum in July 1893 



some larvse of a cricket said to have proved 

 injurious to tea plants in the Jorhat District. The specimens had been 

 furnished by Mr. H. Morison,who wrote that the insect did much damage 

 in nurseries at night by cutting the young plants off level with the 

 ground. The creature was observed to be specially abundant on sandy 

 soil. It makes burrows from nine to eighteen inches deep in the ground, 

 where it conceals itself during the day time. In the evening it sits at 

 the mouth of the hole and may be recognized by its shrill piping. The 

 species appears to be Brachytri/pes achatiuus, Stoll., as determined in the 

 Indian Museum collection by Dr. Henri de Saussure. 



