No. 3. ] Forest trees, 105 



bored shoot numerous fresh shoots sprout out. The effect on the tree 

 is that it remains short and stunted, it becomes bushy instead of 

 growing up into a tall straight tree. 



The larva till about half-grown is ferruginous, afterwards turning 

 to a pretty pale blue colour. When full-grown it is an inch in length, 

 stout, cylindrical, rather broader in the middle than at either end. 

 The usual three thoracic pairs of legs, four pairs or abdominal or 

 pro-legs on the 7th — nth segments, and anal claspers. The head is 

 dark ferruginous, sprinkled with short sparse bristles ; the second 

 segment bears dorsally a large black plate ; the other segments 

 have two rows of small round shining deep black spots on each side 

 (no dorsal row) ; the anterior row consists of three equi-distant 

 spots; the posterior row has a single spot only, placed behind and a 

 little posterior to the anterior spot of the other row ; the under- 

 surface and legs are blue like the rest of the body ; some of the black 

 spots bear each a rather long bristle. The larva is very active when 

 removed from its tunnel in a shootj and spins a large quantity of 

 thick very sticky silk in the breeding cage. The pupa is formed in- 

 side the tunnelled shoots within a very thick and dense cocoon of 

 white silk. It is "6 to "] of an inch in length, smooth, shining, brown, 

 the head rounded, the dorsal area straight, the abdominal segments 

 ending in a sharp point. The chrysalis stage is about a fortnight. 



References to this moth* will be found in <c Indian Museum 

 Notes," vol. i, pp. 35, 36, pi. iii, figs. 3 a, moth ; 3 b, pupa; 3 c, larva 

 in a toon shoot (1889), where it is recorded to damage toon trees 

 in Ceylon, the larvae being described as "white with black and yellow 

 spots "• Mr. E. Ernest Green writes to me that the larvae he has bred 

 in Ceylon are " of a dull purplish colour ;" from AJipur in the Western 

 Duars destroying mahogany trees; from Nilambur, Madras, attacking 

 mahogany trees ; and from Dehra Dun, attacking toon trees. On 

 pages 65, 66 of the same volume it is again reported to injure maho- 

 gany in the Duars. In Vol. ii, p. 16 (189 1) it was recorded as damaging 

 toon trees in Dehra Dun; and is again referred to on page 16? 

 n. 141 of the same volume. Lastly in vol. iii, n. 5, p. 66 (1896) it 

 is recorded that a mass of matted silk containing numerous cocoons 

 of this moth was received from Roorkee in the Punjab, where everv 

 toon tree in the station was covered with the web from base to ton 

 The habits of this moth evidently differ in different places. Where 

 the trees affected are few in number, and short so that they can 

 be easily reached, it would suffice to destroy this insect to cut off and 

 burn every affected twig and thus prevent the pest from increasing in 



* Where it is referred to under the generic name Magiria, which is a synonym 

 flHypsipyla- 



