54 Indian Insect Pests, tVol. I. 



stage. In cleaning out the granaries, therefore, it would seem desirable 

 to take special care to whitewash all old wood-work with hot lime, so as 

 to fill up the crannies and burrows where the larvae have taken refuge. 

 Curtis notices a number of other recommendations that have been made 

 for dealing with the pest, one of them being to sprinkle the grain with 

 salt, as is being done in Jamaica; but the most promising measur® 

 with the Wolf Moth, as with the Wheat Weevil,^ seems to be the 

 thorough cleaning up of the granaries. 



Obscure lepidopterous larvae, which it is quite impossible to determine 



_ , , .„ precisely without examination of the moth, have 



Paddy caterpillar, f •!! iita- ptit» 



been received through the Director of Land Kecords 



and Agriculture, Bengal, forwarded by the Commissioner of Chittagong 

 from Mr. Cosserat, who writes that they are known locally as Sirmayee 

 poka or Sirmayeilocky and that they are said to cause *' considerable da- 

 mage to ripe paddy crops by separating the bunches from their sheaves.'^ 

 They are reported to have been particularly numerous in Baraghope 

 and Koiarbil, in places where the rice escaped damage by salt water. 



From this description it is probable that the insects belong to the 

 group of " cut worms " (Noctues, — see p. 33), but specimens of the moth 

 should be sent for precise determination. 



Specimens of a second pest, known locally as Silainpoka, were received 

 together with the above from Mr. Cosserat, they are said to injure rice 

 in the same way, and probably belong to the same group, but the species 

 cannot be determined from the imperfect specimens received. 



Caterpillar of a Noctuid moth, too obscure for identification without 

 having the perfect insect, have been received through 

 the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, 

 Bengal, to whom they were forwarded by the Collector of Balasore from 

 Koylash Chandra Rai, who writes :^ that they are known locally as 

 Katree poka, and that they destroy yong paddy plants, mostly in seed 

 beds, by cutting off the plants as if with scissors just above the water. 

 Specimens of the moth and further particulars are desired. 



Specimens of an insect were forwarded to the Museum by the 

 Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Bengal, 

 from Babu Kali Narayan Roy, Manager of the 



1 



' It appears that the " Wolf Moth " is not so exclusively confined to granaries, through- 

 out the whole of its life as is the Wheat Weevil, though it passes the greater part of its 

 existence there. 



2 Letter dated Dehurda, 26th August 1888. 



